Hey there, friend. How’s it going today?
Alright? Just okay? Or maybe not so great?
Wherever you are today, I want you to know that it’s fine—even when you don’t feel fine. You can feel a myriad of emotions on any given today, including the “bad” ones. And when it seems that you experience more of those “bad” ones on more days than not—that is fine as well.
Our mental health is so, so important to our overall wellness, and it’s totally normal to have dips and stumbles when you take the journey to better your mental wellness. We, as humans, are never perfect—so we shouldn’t expect our mental health to be perfect, either.
Wherever you are on your personal mental wellness journey, though, I’d like to reach out a hand to meet you. And whether I’m meeting you halfway or just at the beginning doesn’t matter… what matters is that you’re here, reading this now, and ready to seek resources for yourself.
This is also the part where I offer some amazing, totally free mental wellness tools to you. Because, as a fellow human, I’ve had my own struggles, and I’ve found ways to help myself through things like journaling, meditations, and mindfulness. That’s why I’ve created a couple of great resources that I use myself and believe can possibly help you, too.
So, let’s go through this list of resources I’ve compiled for you to achieve the better mental wellness that you deserve.
1. A Mental Wellness Journal
Journaling is something that many people find helps them because it allows you to “talk yourself through things”. Of course, it’s not always for everyone, but it usually doesn’t hurt to give it a try.
If you’re new to journaling, though, or you just find yourself stuck in the journaling you’ve been doing up until now, this journal is great because it comes with prompts and guided worksheet pages.
There’s over 20 pages included, and it’s a simple PDF document that you can either print or write on digitally.
Some of the included pages are:
- A daily/yearly mood tracker
- A trigger tracker
- Mazes, word searches, and “would you rather” activities
- Journaling reflections
- Affirmation creation
- Accomplishment lists
- The “why” of emotions
- Self-care lists
- A self check-in sheet
- Notes of positivity collection
- Personal trait reflection
- A page to write an ode to yourself
- Transforming negative thoughts
- Identifying values
- A sheet for 5-level living
All pages are guided, so you don’t have to do any traditional “essay” writing or anything, and they are all designed to help you promote self-worth and understand your own emotions.
2. This 7-Day Mental Health Course
This is, probably, the absolute best thing on this list—and I’d so very much encourage you to try it.
It’s a full mental wellness “course”—meaning it’s packed full of calming meditations, in-depth worksheets, and plenty of guided mental health chats. The course spans 7 days (with an added “Day 0” that’s optional), too, so it’s definitely going to have something that can help you in your own mental wellness journey.
As always, I created this course myself, so you’ll be seeing a lot of me in the guided videos. This way, you can get the vibe of talking to me one-on-one, just like you were conversing with a good friend. After all, I’d like to think of everyone who joins the course as a friend on their way to better mental health, and I’m more than happy to help them along!
Throughout the course, you’ll get to learn about and practice things like self-care, positive goal-setting, stress-coping, and much, much more.
To see the full course, just click below, where you’ll be taken to the free course page. There, you’ll be able to go through all 7+ days of videos and downloadable worksheets, getting you closer and closer to, hopefully, more positive mental wellness.
3. These Guided Sleep Stories
Sleep stories are calming, well, stories that you can listen to as you’re trying to go to sleep. Think of them as partly meditations, too, because they often guide you through visualizations as you begin to close your eyes at night.
I personally love listening to sleep stories because they put me to sleep way faster than listening to, say, television late at night. Sleep stories talk directly to us, for us. They almost have an interactive quality, too, since they take us through so many calming visualizations.
So, I’ve started a small collection of sleep stories that I have written and recorded for everyone to enjoy, completely free. Check them out through this playlist on YouTube.
4. A Printable Bullet Journal
If you are someone who loves journaling and wants to take it to the “next level”, give bullet journaling a try. With a bullet journal, you can create traditional “diary-like” entries, or you can make to-do lists, goal lists, and calendars for daily tasks.
While bullet journals are often seen as just “trendy” and made more for looks than function… well, they can certainly be useful tools when you know how to use them. That’s why I’ve created this guided bullet journal template, which will help you learn how to bullet journal as you complete it!
Bullet journaling can be great for your mental wellness because you can use it as a traditional journal, but you also have the freedom to add doodles, charts, and lists to each page as you see fit. Download the free journal PDF now, or check out the guided video for more peeks into what this journal is and how to use it.
BONUS 1: Free Painting Classes
For some, engaging in a long-loved hobby or new activity can improve mood and decrease or ease negative thoughts. So, here’s a hobby that may or may not be new for you to try: painting!
Painting is an art form that allows for self-expression, and it often has a calming affect on those who try it. Whether you’re a long-time artist or have never even thought about making art before, I’d like to offer you a whole list of free painting classes online.
And, for those who do want to improve their mental wellness through the art of painting, I can’t recommend this “Watercolor for Self-Confidence” class enough. It comes with a full guided video plus a free painting “coloring page”, all tailored to beginner painters.
BONUS 2: Guided “Do Yoga While You Read” Sessions
Yoga is a classic way to move your body in ways that should feel good for you, both physically and mentally. Using yoga is a great tool for your mental wellness because it not only helps you with things like improving blood flow and gaining flexibility, but it also has the power to ease stress and calm negative thoughts.
To try yoga with a twist, I came up with a way to do yoga while I was reading (because reading has amazing benefits for your mind, too!). I then decided to record some of my yoga sessions and share them as guided, walk-through videos for you all.
So, pick up a book, find a place to practice some yoga, and come join me.
So, there we have it—tons of free resources for you to explore and possibly improve your own mental health. Note that this list will likely change and expand over time, so feel free to come back often and see what’s newly added!
And, as always, I wish you the best in your mental wellness journey.
–Kari
Kari Lynn M. 