I suffered from mental health issues for most of my life. I was in and out of therapy from adolescence until my thirties. I always thought I would be angry, depressed, and anxious, and I wasn’t sure if therapy really worked. Luckily, I eventually found Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and it completely changed my life.
In less than a year, I went from a very anxious and depressed person to someone who is calm and ready to handle whatever life throws at me. I was so shocked by my transformation that it inspired me to start this blog because 35 years is too long of a wait to get better. I want to help people learn how to quickly improve their mental health.
The good news is that through my experience I believe I have figured out how to help others find a shortcut to better mental health. So, if you want to learn how to quickly improve your mental health keep reading.
Why Does It Take So Long To Improve Mental Health?
There are many reasons why it can take a long time to improve your mental health. To start, according to the American Psychological Association (APA), it takes 15 to 20 sessions for 50 percent of patients to experience some recovery. If you’re going to therapy twice a month, it could take you roughly seven to ten months to see some progress. If you’re in the other half of that statistic it could be quicker or longer.
Commitment could be another factor. If you’re just going to therapy and you expect that to fix all your problems, then you’re likely in for a long hard road. Recovery takes work. If your therapist suggests exercises to try outside of therapy and you don’t do them, then your odds of getting better probably are not great.
Other problems may include a bad fit between patient and therapist, a therapy program that isn’t right for you, a need for medication, a need for a different medication, or a lack of persistence. I can tell you that I personally suffered because I was in therapy off and on instead of sticking with it.
Whatever the reason, the most important thing to remember is that everyone is different. What works for one person may not work for another. Stick to your journey and try not to compare your progress to others.
Find the Right Therapy Program
The first step to quickly improve your mental health is to find the right therapy program. Usually, when people seek therapy, they often go to their insurance website and find the closest covered therapist. I’ve never met anyone who thought to consider what type of therapy is best for their problem first. I didn’t even know there were different types of therapies until my therapist recommended ACT.
To give you an idea of the number of choices here’s a list of common therapy programs:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — to help you uncover and change negative thought patterns.
- Acceptance And Commitment Therapy (ACT) — Technically ACT is under the CBT umbrella, but in my experience, it’s quite different. It can help you learn to stop avoiding and struggling with difficult thoughts and emotions through psychological flexibility and values-based action.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) — DBT is like a combination between CBT and ACT where a therapist will help you focus on being mindful, accepting unpleasant thoughts and emotions, and changing thought patterns.
- Exposure Therapy — Another form of CBT, Exposure Therapy helps you figure out what triggers your anxiety, and how to deal with it in a healthy way. Then, your therapist will expose you to those triggers in a controlled environment to help you overcome problems like Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), phobias, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
This list is just a small sample of what’s out there and doesn’t even cover alternative therapies like coaching and holistic treatment. With so many options available how do you find the right one?
Well, my advice is to search for the best type of therapy for your problem. For example, I wrote a blog post about the best type of therapy for anxiety comparing CBT and ACT. You could find a resource like that through a search like “best type of therapy for anxiety.” Or, if you have OCD try “best type of therapy for OCD.” You get the picture.
Additionally, it’s important to have a solid understanding of your issues. For example, I wrote a comprehensive guide about anxiety that offers insight into various types, treatments, and so much more.
Read up on different therapies and how they approach your problem, then decide on which one is best for you.
Find the Right Therapist
The second step to quickly improve mental health is finding the right therapist for you. Luckily, if you start with the right therapy this will help you narrow down your options.
Just like in any industry, therapists come from all walks of life. Someone who may not be right for you may be right for someone else and vice versa. So, the best piece of advice I can offer to find the right therapist is to try different ones out until you are comfortable.
I know this is easier said than done. For example, I know people who went to one therapy session, completely disliked their therapist, and never went back. Don’t let this be you. If you get a therapist you initially dislike then call a different one. You don’t even have to follow up with the one who was a bad fit.
On the other side of the coin, you may have a therapist you like, but something just isn’t working. When this happens, it can be hard to speak up and ask for a different approach, or a different person. Just know that above all else, a good therapist will want you to get better. If that means you require a different therapist, then they will be supportive of that. If they are not supportive, then run because they probably don’t have your best interest at heart.
The hard truth is that if you want to quickly improve your mental health you must advocate for yourself. Otherwise, you’re going to waste months in the wrong therapeutic relationship.
Consider If You Need A Psychiatrist
For many people talk therapy isn’t enough to address their mental health issues. The right medication can bridge the gap between therapy and what’s going on in your brain. If that feels like the case for you then you should consider visiting a psychiatrist.
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing mental illness. Often the best place to find one is through a referral from your therapist. However, you can also seek one out yourself.
When it comes to psychiatry there are a couple of important things you should consider. Just like finding the right therapist, you need to do the work to find the right psychiatrist. When I went to the VA to get back on medication, I didn’t like the psychiatrist I first saw, so I requested a different one. You should do the same thing if you’re in that situation.
Additionally, know that not all medications are created equal. I tried several different antidepressants before my psychiatrist put me on a mood disorder drug. The antidepressants never worked but the mood disorder medication did. If something isn’t working, you need to speak up.
If you’re bold enough to declare what you need and persistent enough to not give up until you get it, then you can shortcut your path to better mental health.
Do the Mental Health Work
Doing the work is a crucial step when it comes to improving your mental health quickly. Many people I know often look at therapy like it’s a passive experience. You go see a therapist, they listen to your problems, rinse, and repeat until you get better.
The truth is that when your therapist suggests exercises in or out of therapy it’s very important to do them. Talking and doing are two very different things. In therapy, it’s easy to get hung up on concepts and ideas but stopping to do a therapeutic activity can bring you to the present and help you identify problems without attachment.
Simply talking about your issues in a session once a week or every other week is probably not enough to help you recover. Additionally, the right attitude can go a long way. I know that it’s hard to be positive when you’re suffering from depression and anxiety. I’m not asking you to be positive, I’m saying go into it with a hard work mindset. If you can commit to doing the work, then you will likely get better faster.
If you’re not able to do that, you should still consider therapy, and your therapist can help you get to that point. But, if you’re not in that frame of mind now, then expect that your progress will take longer.
Practice Self-Care For Mental Health Outside of Therapy
In addition to doing the work your therapist asks for outside of therapy, it’s also important to practice self-care. I like to call this creating a mental health routine, and I wrote a blog post about it called, “How to Create a Daily Routine for Mental Health.”
Whether you’re currently working through issues, or you’ve gone through some time of therapy and gotten better, establishing a routine will help you stay on track. The good news is that this self-care routine doesn’t have to be intensive. For example, my routine is simply meditation for 10 minutes a day, and on days where I struggle, I may add in additional activities.
I know this works because when I drop off my routine I start to struggle more. Think of it like maintaining a car. Every three months you need an oil change, and every day your brain needs mental health care.
Understand What It Means To Quickly Improve Your Mental Health
While contemplating this idea so that I could write about it, I discovered something about my journey that I didn’t realize before. It wasn’t just ACT therapy that changed my life. It was the culmination of everything I learned throughout my life. Trying different therapists. Trying different medications. Voluntarily attending anger management. Reading self-help books. I was successful because I never gave up, even though I thought I couldn’t overcome these problems. I’m telling you this so you understand that improving your mental health may not happen quickly.
I’ve learned so much throughout the years that I now have a psychological resiliency toolkit. I can pull on all my experiences to meet any situation that comes up. So, while I truly believe that if you heed the advice in this article, you can quickly improve your mental health, I also believe it’s a lifelong journey.
Most mental health problems don’t just disappear. Many are diseases like any other that you must learn to manage. That’s why this blog is called Not Quite Zen, because I’m not always the picture of perfect mental health. Cut yourself some slack, try your best, and never give up. If I can get better, then you can too.
