Mental health can be a confusing concept. What do we mean exactly by mental health? Therapy even more so, especially if you’re not sure what to expect! In this blog I try to describe mental health by comparing it to a journey or process, in hope to shed some light on what you can expect from therapy and dealing with mental health complaints.

Life’s challenges

Life is inherently difficult and has its highs and lows. We continually have to navigate our way through stress and fear, find balance between work and rest and maintain our relationships, all the time while finding space for ourselves and our happiness. A good example of this is how many of us have now been faced with the task of adapting to our new lives under a pandemic. Some would even suggest that, to some extent, hardship is an inevitable part of the human experience. Nonetheless, our ability to navigate these obstacles and hardships is often directly influenced by our mental health. 

Dealing with challenges

Many people view mental health as a destination or a state of being, a place we can reach where our daily stressors and hardships no longer exist, where we no longer have anxieties, negative thoughts or emotions. A place where we are happy. But instead, it is not these thoughts, pain or anxiety that define our mental health; that is all part of being human. It is the way we manage these obstacles, thoughts and emotions that define our mental health. It is the way we adapt to our internal and external environment, without causing more hardship to ourselves or others. While in the meantime, being able to work toward our goals and values with satisfaction.

Unhealthy coping techniques

Too often as humans we tend to manage distress in unhealthy ways. We use coping techniques that provide short-term relief, but actually in the long term maintain or can even worsen our problems. Think about drinking alcohol to make you feel better, avoiding a certain place, person or activity that makes you anxious, or procrastinating when you know you have work to do. By accepting, tolerating and managing this short-term distress in a healthy way we can reduce our long-term suffering. 

Mental health is an ongoing journey or process, something one continually has to work on, nurture and manage

There is no quick fix

Some may come to therapy hoping to receive a quick fix where their problems are resolved. But mental health is an ongoing process or journey, something one continually has to work on, nurture and manage. There is no quick fix! Part of this process is how we manage our daily stressors. Therapy won’t always be able to resolve all your problems, but it certainly will be able to help you to gain insight and provide you with the tools and skills to manage your own problems and distress in a healthy way.

Practice, patience and perseverance

Mental health can be compared to learning a sport or building up muscle. You can’t be expected to pick up a football for the first time and play as a professional, or start lifting weights for the first time and lift the heaviest weight. It takes practice, patience and perseverance. Over time you will develop your skills and fitness, and you’ll notice it will start to come more naturally to you. The same can be said for our mental health, it is an ongoing learning process, in which we gradually learn about ourselves and how we can best manage our own emotions and thoughts in a healthy way.   

Mental health is a long and a bumpy journey that requires effort, practise and commitment. Nevertheless, I am sure the commitment will be worth the reward in the end. Don’t forget to look back at how far you have come already! 

I wish you every success on your mental health journey!

Help via NiceDay

Do you need support on your mental health journey? Are you looking to gain some new insights or learn some new skills? You can follow treatment via NiceDay at multiple organisations, click here for more information.

Many people, sooner or later, have to deal with major life events and everyone processes these events differently. Often you will be able to cope with major events independently, but sometimes you can experience something that is so shocking that it is difficult to give it a place. For example, witnessing or experiencing a robbery, an accident, abuse, a nasty divorce, harassment, dismissal or the death of a loved one

When you experience one or more shocking events and / or if you have witnessed such an event, trauma can arise. If a trauma is not processed properly, it can cause issues dealing with yourself and others. But how do you process a trauma?

Physical and psychological complaints

There are a number of physical and psychological complaints that can arise as a result of a trauma. You may notice that you are having trouble sleeping, that you are suffering from nightmares or that you are ‘reliving’ your trauma. You may become scared and withdrawn, or aggressive and angry. In addition, you can feel guilty, be constantly tense and no longer enjoy the things you previously liked. The trauma imposes itself on you, and you begin to notice that it affects your functioning in daily life. If you identify with any of the above characteristics, it is important to read more about trauma processing.

Trauma processing

Everyone copes with trauma in their own way. How the trauma is processed also depends on the severity of your trauma and your individual characteristics. Below I will discuss a number of ways of processing a trauma.

1. Psychoeducation

In short, psychoeducation is information about the complaints that you experience. Reading trauma-related psychoeducation will give you a better idea of ​​what is going on. For example, you will learn about how a trauma can be expressed. Further reading may help you understand your behaviors and thoughts better. Reading experience stories can also be valuable. You can feel understood and follow the advice given by others.

2. Visual therapy

Talking about trauma is incredibly difficult. Some succeed, but some don’t. If talking about trauma is too big a step for you, you could give visual therapy a chance. Through visual therapy you can give form to and visualize your experiences. With different materials such as paint, clay, textiles or pencils, work can be created. Through visual therapy you can gain insight, process the trauma and, moreover, it can improve cognitive and / or physical functioning.

3. Psychotherapy

You can follow psychotherapy in group form or one-on-one. In a safe environment you will talk about the trauma with your professional. It is important to know that you decide on how much you want to share about your experience. You can indicate your limits at any time.

4. EMDR

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy that has been proven to be effective in the processing of traumatic experiences. This type of therapy ensures that the intensity and emotional charge of a bad experience and memory decreases.

Seek support

We as humans are social animals, and we need each other. This is especially true after experiencing trauma. You may not feel like it, but try to reach out to your loved ones anyway. Indicate what you expect from them. Is it a listening ear? Is it a hug? You deserve to be supported and heard. You don’t have to go through this alone.

Are you or someone close to you dealing with an (unresolved) trauma and do you need personal help or advice? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with a NiceDay professional.

“Accept it like it is” might be a phrase you have heard before. But what exactly is acceptance? And how do you implement acceptance into your life to improve it? How can acceptance benefit you?

What is acceptance?

Acceptance refers to recognizing and accepting the reality of a situation, experience, or emotion without trying to fight, change or avoid it. Sometimes acceptance is viewed as passivity, or giving up, but it is far from it. Acceptance can take a great amount of motivation and resilience, especially if it is something that you don’t support or like. However, just because we accept something, doesn’t mean we cannot work toward changing it. Acceptance can be a good first step to moving forward and making a commitment to progress or change, and thus, can have an important role in therapy. One type of therapy that puts a lot of emphasis on acceptance is ACT, otherwise known as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. 

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy – also known as ACT – theorizes that trying to control or suppress our emotions can paradoxically lead to more distress and intensify these emotions. A good example of this is anxiety, where by constantly trying to control it, we put more focus and attention on the negative feelings.This in turn actually leads to an increase in anxiety, creating more distress. ACT believes that stress and hurt are a natural and inevitable part of life. By accepting the experience, it can help to obtain some inner peace. The pain will still be there but you will suffer less from it.

Worrying and obsessing over something that we cannot control, can leave us stuck. The distraction and struggle become the block to reaching our goals. ACT proposes that instead of directly working against our emotions, we should accept them compassionately as a natural response to our experiences and commit to making changes in areas that are possible. 

This video gives a nice metaphor for acceptance:

Practising acceptance

There are various techniques that can be used to practice acceptance: 

• Mindful acceptance 

Observe and be aware of your thoughts, feelings, and sensations at any given moment, without judging them or consciously trying to change them. Observe them and let them pass. 

• Label your experiences and emotions 

Acknowledge their presence. Treat them with curiosity and openness. 

• Self compassion

Embrace your flaws and weaknesses with care, compassion, and patience.  Allow yourself to not be good at everything, but also acknowledge your character strengths. 

Remember that acceptance, like most other skills, takes practise; try to be patient with yourself. However, do you want help or support practising acceptance? Contact our NiceDay Team, they will gladly guide you to a suitable professional!

When the evening falls and my eyes are starting to feel heavy, I lift myself off  the couch and head towards my favorite place: my bed. Ever since I was little my bed has been important to me. It stands for safety and security. I used to hide under the blankets, scared of monsters and burglars. When I got older my bed got another meaning: besides safety and security it gave me comfort. Feeling safe is a big topic in my life right now. I started asking myself with whom and where I feel safe, now that I am 25 years old. Did something change? Or do I still only feel safe in my own bed?

Where do you feel safe?

During multiple therapy sessions I have been asked where I feel most safe. In the beginning it took me quite some time to find an answer to that question. The only answer that would pop up was: I feel safe in my own bed. It was when I said it out loud that I started to realize. I felt sad that I didn’t feel safe while being with a person, but with an object. I thought something was wrong with me. Later I found out that it wasn’t the bed that gave me comfort, but the blanket. The weight of the blanket made me feel like I was being hugged. The warmth and softness of the blanket gave me peace and comfort and helped soften the pain.

With whom do you feel safe?

Two weeks ago I had another EMDR session. By the end of the session a memory came up. It was the Summer of 2016 and I had just returned home from a session with the POH-GGZ. I had told her about something that was extremely hard for me. Once I got home in my student home I burst into tears. I felt so much pain and sadness, but I was too scared to talk about it and felt so alone. To comfort myself I laid down in my bed with the heavy blanket wrapped around me. After telling my therapist about this memory she asked me the following: “If this were to happen now, who would you want to be with you?”. This time it didn’t take me long to know the answer. 

I feel safe with you

I have said it so many times. With you I feel safe. At the same time my mind and my body aren’t on the same page. My mind keeps telling me that I am not allowed to feel safe with you and that I should ignore the feeling. My body on the other hand keeps telling me the exact opposite. I know where this battle is coming from. In my past there have been people that have violated my trust and therefore I am extra cautious when I start feeling attached to someone. I don’t easily open up to other people, only when I can physically feel that everything’s alright. 

And that happened with you. I keep insuring myself that I don’t have to be afraid. That I don’t have to fear that you won’t treat my right. That the security that I feel with you is genuine and that I can trust my body on this. The inner battle is still ongoing and I accept that it is. That’s all I can do right now. There’s no use in fighting it. 

Love, Ghyta

Find all Ghyta’s experience stories here.

When you want to change or tackle something in your life, it can be helpful to talk to a professional, like a therapist or coach. But what is the difference between a therapist and a coach? When do you go to a therapist and when do you need a coach?

The similarities

Coaching and therapy both focus on someone’s personal development by having conversations. And there are more similarities:

• Both create a safe, professional, supportive environment, without judgment,
• In both cases someone listens to you and asks in-depth questions,
• Both focus on resilience,
• Therapists and coaches can help you with life questions,
• In both cases there is attention for your core beliefs and help you to change perspective,
• Both will try to help you find the answers yourself.

The differences

There are also differences between coaching and therapy. If you look very “black and white”, you can say that a therapist focuses on the “sick” person and a coach helps a “healthy” person. These are other differences between therapy and coaching:

Therapy 

• Focus on the past
• Focus on the problem
• Gives advice and recommendations
• You will be diagnosed 
• Focus is to get from the minus to 0
• Helps to provide insight into problems and offers help with solving 
• Focus on the complaint 

Coaching

• Focus on the present and the future
• Focus on the solution
• Does not give advice, but only direction
• No diagnosis 
• Focus is to get further into the plus
• Helps in reaching personal development goals
• Focus on power
  

Despite the above differences, there is a large overlap between coaching and therapy in practice. Many therapists work in a solution-oriented way. And coaches will not ignore problems when they appear. The differences between two random professionals are probably bigger than the differences between a therapist and a coach.

If you consider consulting a professional, the most important thing is to feel safe and secure with the person you are talking to.

Do you want advice from a professional or experience expert? Simply ask your question.

One of the most important factors within treatment is the therapeutic relationship. Connecting to each other creates a safe and trusted environment. You accept more from each other and there is more effort being put into the collaboration. But it’s not always that easy! In this blog more information about the therapeutic relationship.

 There are a few important elements to build a good relationship:

• Mutual trust, respect and care. Communication should be used in a way that feels nice for both and you have to keep account of each other. The content should also be accepted without any judgement to create a safe environment.
• General agreement on goals/tasks of the treatment. We’re talking about a collaboration so it’s important to have clarity about what you want to achieve and how you want to reach it. This way you’ll always know what you’re up to.
• Shared decision-making. As a client you ask for advice, not for guidance. But the therapist is also free to give advice about things that might need a different approach. Be aware that you’re always standing next to someone in this collaboration!
• Mutual engagement in the tasks. Since you’re working together towards a goal, this also means you can expect input from both ends. The balance can differ a little for each collaboration, but always evaluate if it’s a reasonable balance!
• Communication about the relationship. Because we’re unable to read each other’s mind, it can be difficult to know how someone is feeling about you. It’s okay to mention the qualities you value of the other or tell that you like the collaboration. There should also be room to correct problems and difficulties in a decent manner. 
• Freedom to discuss negative emotional responses. In a setting in which you discuss difficult things, it might happen someone will respond negatively and emotionally to you. To prevent these emotions from affecting the relationship negatively, it’s important to mention what’s happening and to clear personal tension.

 What can you do to improve the relationship?

• A purely formal bond won’t lead to a deep relationship very quickly. Try to keep room for personal things. Ask about fun things, hobbies, keep room for a joke or tell something about your own personal situation. Try looking for things you have in common!
• Do you notice you become agitated by the other? Try to discover if that person might be in your allergy. It happens quite often that someone that’s really proactive and responsible, gets agitated by someone that’s a bit more passive and lazy. But it’s also the other way around! Try having a conversation about these differences!
• Communicate your expectations and ask about someone’s working method. While some are very independent, others would like some additional explanation. Ask about this or mention this before you get into action!
• When someone feels misunderstood, this will influence the relationship in a bad way. Unfortunately, it won’t happen very often that someone will mention this of their own accord and we tend to think we know someone’s intentions. Try to create room to discuss negative aspects of the collaboration, but also ask about the opinion of the other. If the misunderstanding becomes clear, you will see things will become a lot less difficult!
• The last thing you need to take into account, is that people can find it difficult to express their appreciation of the relationship. Your sense that the bond might be not that good, can thus be a misconception. Maybe you actually mean a lot to the other and it’s okay to check this once in a while!

Can you tell us a little something about yourself?

“I am a 34 year old, female living in Haarlem. I have a partner and I am an expat. I moved to the Netherlands three years ago and I currently have quite a demanding manager job in the IT sector. So, I am this kind of person that moved to a new place with challenges from the past but also with new challenges on their plate.“

Why did you start with NiceDay?

“I started feeling down, having low energy and I encountered certain problems. First I had a talk with my general practitioner. At that moment the situation was not critical so I needed to wait several months to get into care. After that some bad events happened at home and work. All in a few days. I wanted immediate help. I didn’t want to wait for months. A friend of mine told me about the possibility to immediately start with NiceDay. So I downloaded the app and I had contact with someone from the NiceDay Team almost directly.”

Did you try other services while being on the waiting list for insured mental health care?

“Yes, I tried two others. The first one wasn’t the right fit because I couldn’t find an English speaking coach which I also had a click with. That specific coach was quite invasive, stating things as “you should change your job”, without looking for the underlying causes. The other app I tried, didn’t have a warm welcome either. They immediately asked me for my payment details. There were no clear insights on how to proceed. In NiceDay I immediately felt welcomed, the coach that I got for online therapy explained me the process and what I could expect. Step by step, which was very comforting at that moment.”

Can you explain us more about your NiceDay-journey? How many times did you have contact for example?

“I started off with an intake, that conversation was very open and all the options were discussed. Coach Ayla also asked me how frequent I would like contact. We started off with contact every 5 days, after some sessions it got less frequent. It wasn’t only video calls either, we also used chat only sometimes. I felt heard. I really felt a personal click with my coach and of course the convenience of staying in your own house to do sessions is amazing. After the sessions I always felt energised and optimistic in contrary to what I’ve experienced in sessions with others before.”

What is the current situation?

“I came to the end of my sessions with Coach Ayla. Now I am going to continue with online therapy within NiceDay but with insured care. This means I will get a different psychologist, but I will still stay active within the NiceDay app. There is no connection yet. until there is, I will still stay connected to Ayla. So, technically my NiceDay journey is not done yet. The difference is, that before it was coaching and now I am moving on to treatment for a specific complaint done by a psychologist of PsyQ.”

What are your takeaways from the sessions with your coach?

“We worked on my anxiety and the loss I experienced. There are some things that really stuck with me. I found the tools that my coach provided very simple yet very powerful. Regarding anxiety: we all know how easy it is to say “don’t worry” to another person and how impossible it is to actually stop worrying yourself. My coach suggested to schedule the worrying time. I got stuck in a negative worrying cycle about my job, my family, my house etc. quite often and with scheduling time when I could worry, I wouldn’t allow worrying to take over my whole day.

Ayla taught me to extend my worrisome thoughts to the point where I would find how low the probability of the event that worries me actually is. It’s a completely different perspective.

Before I started working with NiceDay I would find myself worrying about my boyfriend being really late while having a flat battery on his phone. I would start imagining horrible reasons why he could be late. I would try to stop those thoughts and distract myself. But then in a few minutes come back to my worries “what if something happened” and being stuck in a loop. Thinking my whole worry through “I am afraid there was an accident – I am afraid that after the accident nobody helped him – I am afraid that nobody would call me” and doing a reality check. “He is with a group of colleagues, in the most crowded part of the city, where if anything happens actually people would already have contacted me” show how little the possibility is.

However, maybe the most important takeaway is a personal revelation.

A few years ago I lost my mother. She had cancer. Unfortunately she didn’t receive the adequate medical care on time in the country she was living in. I had a lot of responsibilities, trying to find treatments and clinics and didn’t know exactly how to do it. From that moment onwards, I felt a strong urge to control everything and if I didn’t have control over a situation I would end up in that negative, worry cycle.

After two talks with my coach, she gave me another angle to look towards my anxiety. I was always expecting bad things to happen, since these bad thing had happened before, and the only way for good things to happen was if I could control them. But actually what happened was the opposite, so learning again that good things also happen on their own without overcontrolling every aspect of life is like learning to walk again.”

Would you recommend NiceDay to others?

“I already did actually! I understand how hard it is to admit that you need help. It was for me as well. Using NiceDay, can change your mind since it removes a lot of big obstacles. You don’t have to go to the doctor, you don’t need to leave your house. And once you opened yourself up to the help, it becomes also easier to take care of yourself. And that’s important, you should take care of yourself!”

If you have been considering going into therapy, the amount of available information can be overwhelming. Which therapy is right for you? Do you need a referral? Do you have to pay for it yourself? How do I take my first step? All these questions can arise when considering going into therapy. If you are considering going into therapy for the first time, it is good to know and think about the following things.

Think about you needs and complaints

Write down the complaints that you experience. Also try to come up with some examples. Are the complaints focused on one area in your life or on multiple areas? How are these complaints limiting you in your daily life? You can also ask yourself how long these symptoms have been present in your life. You can then start thinking about the support you would like to receive. What are your needs when it comes to counseling? Do you want someone to think along with you, do you need practical support or do you want to reflect on certain situations in the past? It is of course also possible that your complaints are present in several areas of life, but that you prefer to focus on one aspect.

Different types of therapies

Feel free to use Google to find out which therapies are available and what might suit you. You will probably discuss the different types of therapies after your intake with a therapist. But still, you can check out yourself what is out there. In addition, you can find out online which mental healthcare institutions or therapists are available in your area. Who knows, maybe you’d rather sign up with a coach than with a psychologist. Or you might discover that specialised care is offered for the problems that you experience (addiction, concentration problems, etc.). Many independent therapists or coaches have their own website on which they have placed their photo and information about their way of working. This often gives an impression of what you can expect from them.

Contact your general practitioner

This is an important step because your doctor is familiar with the social institutions in your area. In addition, your general practitioner can think along with you and help you to make your request for help concrete. It could also be the case that your general practitioner advise you to talk with the POH GGZ (practice supporter) to make your request for mental support concrete and this person can also help you in finding the right support. You often need a referral from your doctor to be eligible for mental health care that is insured.

Take into account the (long) waiting lists

Unfortunately, there are often (long) waiting lists regarding mental health care. That is why it is important to take your complaints seriously. Don’t wait too long to ask for help. If you have the feeling that the waiting lists are too long and need help sooner, you can ask your health insurance if you would eligible for that. You can find more information about this on the websites of the health insurance.

Relationship with your therapist

You may not immediately feel a click with your therapist / coach. Give it some time. You may need a few conversations to feel comfortable. Also, if you do not feel a click after a few conversations, tell your therapist. If you have the feeling that you are not being taken seriously, also tell your therapist. It is good to tell your the therapist how you are feeling about him/ her.

Try to be patient

Therapy is a process. It is often the case that you start to feel worse at the beginning because all the emotions / complaints that you experience are discussed in detail. In addition, it takes time to implement behavioral change. Remember that the behavioral patterns that you are currently working on have probably evolved over the years. This means that you also need time to learn new behavior. In addition, the ups and downs are also part of a process.

NiceDay app

Are you struggling with mental health issues? Or do you know someone who is struggling with mental health issues? Via NiceDay we treat people with depression, anxiety and stress complaints. At the end of the treatment we prepare a relapse prevention plan together with the client. Are you interested? Download the app or ask for information via support@niceday.app.

Would you let a baby listen to Mozart nonstop? For years we assumed this would positively affect the intelligence of a child. Unfortunately, this is a myth. An innate talent for numbers causes someone to be good at mathematics ánd to prefer classical composers like Mozart. However, both listening to music as creating music affects people a lot.

The effects of listening to music

Music is magic: it makes you happy, it brings people together and it reduces pain. Music has a strongly associative ability. Music from horror movies provokes our deepest instincts. Researchers claim that the sound of screaming animals or crying babies are imitated in such films. We associate this with a threatening situation and it causes us to be more alert and frightened while watching a horror movie. Different types of music also affect our wellbeing. Heavy metal increases anxiety and stress: your body secretes more cortisol (stress hormone). This isn’t the case when you like heavy metal though or when you’re listening to music you like in general. This way it activates the reward system and this means the dopamine level in your brain will enhance. This creates an euphoric feeling which is related to sex, food and the usage of heroin and cocaine. Music regulates your emotions: one song makes you feel empowered, for example music with a high BPM (beats per minute) we like while working out. We produce more adrenaline and feel even better while working out (and might actually need this!). Relaxing music (which is, ofcourse, subjective) has a positive influence on pulse rate and blood pressure. Therefore, it is important to listen to music you like when you feel stressed. It will likely settle your hormones.

Music has a reminiscence-effect: memories we can’t recall the easy way can be recalled by means of music. Listen to all of the hits you heard in your early youth or the music your parents used to play when you were quite young. Feeling nostalgic already?

Why do we like predictable music? This has to do something with the survival mechanism of the brain. Our brain wants to predict the future regardless of the situation. This also happens while listening to music. Therefore, most of the existing music triggers a positive response: it’s repetitive and predictable. Exactly what our brains like. Beside the predicting ability of our brain we also process differently the second time we listen to the same piece. This makes it fun to listen to a song more than once: we hear new elements every time.

The effects of creating music

The corpus callosum, the connection between brain hemispheres, enhances when composing music. Neurologist Gottfried Schlaug discovered in his research that people who make music have a fitter brain versus people who don’t engage in music. Amateurists who just started making music actually have the fittest brain! Do you want to have a healthy brain? Start making music!

Music and therapy

The positive effects of music in psychological treatments has also been acknowledged. Music therapy is used with aphasia patients. Aphasia is an impairment of language, affecting the production or comprehension of speech. It also affects the ability to read or write. Music enhances our ability to remember things, which makes patients learn words quicker.

All in all, if you feel upset listen to your favorite music as fast as you can. If you want to keep your brain young, try to make some music. And if you want to learn something, try to sing it :-).

Everyone feels a bit down sometimes. How you handle this differs per person. For one person, it might be nice to spend an hour at the gym to relieve all the stress, while this may not work as well for the other person. Finding an outlet that suits you can help you in dealing with unpleasant situations or feelings. Who knows, you may find this outlet in your creativity. Are you curious how to do this? Keep on reading!

Creative therapy?

There are several theories in psychology, such as the creative-process theory, that indicate that being creative can work therapeutically. Expressive therapies have emerged from this idea. The main difference between expressive therapies and ‘normal’ psychotherapy is the non-verbal aspect: you do not communicate your feelings with words, but with creativity. This can be done in various ways. Expressive therapies therefore consists of various types, such as music, visual arts, dance or drama.

Some inspiration

You do not necessarily have to go into therapy, you yourself can also feel better and happier by being creative. You can learn to express your emotions yourself in a creative way that suits you. Do not be afraid to try different things! Below are a few examples:

1. Go write. The easiest thing to start with is perhaps to write down how you feel in a story or in a poem.
2. Making music. Some people like to express their emotions in music. Whether it’s behind the piano, the guitar, the turntable, singing in the shower or hitting a couple of pans in the kitchen. Try to write your own song, or make a cover of your favorite artist. It does not matter if it sounds beautiful, the most important thing is that you feel good doing it!
3. Dance! Is making music yourself too much for you? Put your favorite music on, and dance through the room! I bet that you will feel a lot better immediately!
4. Painting, drawing or sculpting. You do not have to have a studio to express your emotions and thoughts in visual art. Pencil and paper or a piece of clay is enough to create your own artwork. Even online there are several tools that you can use for this, for example: https://sketch.io/sketchpad/.
5. Handicrafts. Even handicrafts can be very nice to manage your thoughts, to process your feelings, or just to relax. With knitting or crochet you can even make something beautiful and useful for yourself or someone else. Another idea is to for example start embroidering. Making something yourself with your hands can be very satisfying!
6. Woodworking. You can also make beautiful things with wood. Start small: it is, for example, quite easy to put a stool together. Who knows, maybe someday your house will be full of furniture that you have made yourself!
7. Photography. You can also use photography to express your emotions. You do not have to have an expensive SLR camera for this, your mobile phone works fine too. Photograph a beautiful sunset, a still life, or your friends, and see how you feel about it.

NiceDay app: Plan a creative activity in your Daily Planner. Write down how you felt about it.