If you’re looking for a new way to transcend our often sedentary, distracted days, try a color walk. Set aside some time for a walk, choose a color, and then take note of that color wherever you go. Begin your color walk in your neighborhood or on a hiking trail, and then follow the color — taking note of its different shades and iterations — and see where it takes you. Don’t try to combine your color walk with other activities, e.g., listening to music or talking on the phone. Stay present and focus primarily on your sense of sight. You may observe small things you never noticed before, which provides a new perspective of your “same old” surroundings.

Give yourself the love you deserve. Take a five-minute mental health break with a guided self-love meditation app, podcast or video. Here’s one we like.

Expressing gratitude is a proven way to bolster well-being. It helps us focus on the present moment and what we have, rather than what we’re striving for or what we lack.

Consider cultivating gratitude in your life by sharing your love for others. Write a letter, email , or text to someone you love, letting them know why you appreciate them. It’ll make you feel good. And, of course, you’ll make somebody’s day!

Need a quick mental health break? Practice one of these 31 tips to inspire new habits and support your well-being.

• Track gratitude and achievement with a journal. Include 3 things you were grateful for and 3 things you were able to accomplish each day.
• Start your day with a cup of coffee. Coffee consumption is linked to lower rates of depression. If you can’t drink coffee because of the caffeine, try another good-for-you drink like chamomile tea.
• Set up a getaway. It could be camping with friends or a trip to the tropics. The act of planning a vacation and having something to look forward to can boost your overall happiness for up to 8 weeks!
• Work your strengths. Do something you’re good at to build self-confidence, then tackle a tougher task.
• Keep it cool for a good night’s sleep. The optimal temperature for sleep is between 60˚ and 67˚ Fahrenheit.
• “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” -Martin Luther King Jr. Think of something in your life you want to improve, and figure out what you can do to take a step in the right direction.
• Experiment with a new recipe, write a poem, paint or try a Pinterest project. Creative expression and overall well-being are linked.
• Show some love to someone in your life. Close, quality relationships are key to a happy, healthy life.
• Boost brainpower by treating yourself to a couple of pieces of dark chocolate every few days. The flavonoids, caffeine, and theobromine in chocolate are thought to work together to improve alertness and mental skills.
• “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.” -Maya Angelou. If you have personal experience with mental illness or recovery, share your story on our Stories Page to spread awareness and help end health-based discrimination. Check out what other people are saying at Stories Archive | Mental Health Colorado
• Sometimes, we don’t need to add new activities to get more pleasure. We just need to soak up the joy in the ones we’ve already got. Trying to be optimistic doesn’t mean ignoring the uglier sides of life. It just means focusing on the positive as much as possible.
• Feeling anxious? Take a trip down memory lane and do some coloring for about 20 minutes to help you clear your mind. Pick a design that’s geometric and a little complicated for the best effect.
• Take time to laugh. Hang out with a funny friend, watch a comedy, or check out cute videos online. Laughter helps reduce anxiety.
• Go off the grid. Leave your smartphone at home for a day and disconnect from constant emails, alerts, and other interruptions. Spend time doing something fun with someone face-to-face.
• Dance around while you do your housework. Not only will you get chores done, but dancing reduces levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) and increases endorphins (the body’s “feel-good” chemicals).
• Go ahead and yawn. Studies suggest that yawning helps cool the brain and improves alertness and mental efficiency.
• Relax in a warm bath once a week. Try adding Epsom salts to soothe aches and pains and help boost magnesium levels, which can be depleted by stress.
• Has something been bothering you? Let it all out…on paper. Writing about upsetting experiences can reduce symptoms of depression.
• Spend some time with a furry friend. Time with animals lowers the stress hormone, cortisol, and boosts oxytocin which stimulates feelings of happiness. If you don’t have a pet, hang out with a friend who does or volunteer at a shelter.
• “What lies before us and what lies behind us are small matters compared to what lies within us. And when you bring what is within out into the world, miracles happen.” – Henry David Thoreau. Practice mindfulness by staying “in the present.” 
• Be a tourist in your own town. Oftentimes people only explore attractions on trips, but you may be surprised by what cool things are in your own backyard.
• Try prepping your lunches or picking out your clothes for the work week. You’ll save some time in the mornings and have a sense of control over the week ahead.
• Work some omega-3 fatty acids into your diet–they are linked to decreased rates of depression among their many benefits. Fish oil supplements work, but eating your omega-3s in foods like wild salmon, flaxseeds or walnuts also helps build healthy gut bacteria.
• Practice forgiveness – even if it’s just forgiving that person who cut you off during your commute. People who forgive have better mental health and report being more satisfied with their lives.
• “What appear to be calamities are often the sources of fortune.” – Disraeli. Try to find the silver lining in something kind of cruddy that happened recently.
• Feeling stressed? Smile. It may not be the easiest thing to do, but smiling can help to lower your heart rate and calm you down.
• Send a thank you note – not for a material item, but to let someone know why you appreciate them. Written expressions of gratitude are linked to increased happiness.
• Do something with friends and family – have a cookout, go to a park, or play a game. People are 12 times more likely to feel happy on days that they spend 6-7 hours with friends and family.
• Take 30 minutes to go for a walk in nature – it could be a stroll through a park, or a hike in the woods. Research shows that being in nature can increase energy levels, reduce depression, and boost well-being.
• Do your best to enjoy 15 minutes of sunshine and apply sunscreen. Sunlight synthesizes Vitamin D, which experts believe is a mood elevator.
• “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” -Albert Einstein. Try something outside of your comfort zone to make room for adventure and excitement in your life.

Grab a journal or laptop and reflect on how you’ve changed or grown over the last two years. What do you want to take with you? What do you want to leave behind?  

Take a few minutes to help your mind find peace and balance, and cope with uncertainty, through this guided meditation. Do you have a free online meditation that you like? Share it with us at outreach@mentalhealthcolorado.org. We’d love to share it with other Coloradans.

Physical activity counterbalances the symptoms of depression, according to experts. There are so many benefits to getting active and staying active; here are five easy hiking trails across Colorado that offer natural beauty with low impact.

Whether you’re on a walk, sitting on your patio, or just washing dishes, consider taking a deep dive into one of 27 great mental health podcasts. Hearing others’ real-life experiences can remind us that we’re never alone in our mental health journeys.

Dharmaseed.org is a repository of more than 30,000 free, Buddhism-based guided meditations and dharma talks. Search for a subject that interests you – from exploring compassion to seeking enlightenment. Listen as Buddhist monks, nuns, and other dharma teachers from around the world share their spiritual teachings.