Ways to Improve Your Mental Health Back

If you're a man under the age of 45, the thing most likely to kill you is suicide. Just let that sink in: beyond disease, beyond tragic accidents, beyond all other causes, the most likely killer of men under 45 is themselves.

Get a Social Network Don’t stress about your instahabit: the much-touted stats about internet use and poor mental health shouldn’t be a blip on your radar. The idea of internet use correlating with depression is based on a study from 1998, well out of date with how prevalent social networking is now.

Cyber Psychology and Behaviour have found that chat sessions with an anonymous user left participants feeling significantly less isolated, and social networks full of existing acquaintances combats loneliness and boosts self-esteem. Get connected to stave off the monkey on your back.

Get Back to Nature A 2014 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine linked depression to a sedentary lifestyle, so banish the binge-watching and start by going for a walk.

Bonus points if you can find a tree. The journal Health Promotion International found that human contact with nature and pastoral settings is highly effective as part of a strategy to combat mental health problems such as depression. The study also found that too little contact with the natural world is connected to a loss of physical health, so consider taking a jog in the park to boost your mental and physical health.

Get Zen Here comes the meditation spiel, but hold the anti-New Age scoffing and listen to the facts.

A study from Cognitive Therapy and Research found that an 8-week course in mindfulness and stress reduction techniques could kill or significantly reduce ruminative thinking, the negative thought spiral that leads to depression.

It does this by encouraging you to focus on the present instead of feeding your anxiety about future events. The study also found that people that did the 8-week course were around 10 per cent less likely to relapse into depression than people on anti-depressants.

Get a Hobby Whether it’s cycling, woodworking or playing the tuba, filling your time with meaningful activities other than work will keep your brain at its best.

The Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology looked at employed and unemployed participants and found that social leisure activities rather than solitary ones slashed depression and psychological distress. A group activity like five-a-side, for example, is the perfect combination of workout and team building. Score.

Get Big Although steady-state runs are nice for getting you out and about, a good lifting session is just as good for keeping your cranium shipshape.

The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology tested lifting against steady-state runs in combating depression, and found that both resulted in significant mood-boosts. Not sure where to start? Try our chest and triceps workout that promises huge muscle development.