14 Mental Health Practices That Proved Surprisingly Effective in Recovery Routines
Recovery routines often include physical strategies, but mental health practices can be just as powerful in supporting long-term healing. Experts in psychology, wellness, and rehabilitation have identified specific techniques that consistently help people maintain balance and build resilience during their recovery journey. These fourteen approaches range from structured reflection exercises to movement-based practices, each offering practical ways to strengthen mental well-being alongside physical progress.
Embrace Embodiment Through Yoga
One mental health practice that has been essential to my recovery from nearly lifelong anorexia is yoga—but not as exercise. As embodiment.
I discovered its importance during a relapse in 2010 while I was in treatment. I was despondent, disconnected, and if I'm honest, not fully committed to recovery. Then, on the very first day of a yoga and body image class, something cracked open. I remember being in Warrior II and having three clear thoughts, almost like a download.
First: I don't actually have to loathe my body. That alone felt radical after a lifetime of hating the very body that held my spirit. Second: Oh... I have muscles. Feeling the strength in my legs made me realize how disembodied I had been—how much I'd been living from the neck up. And third: I have to share this. I knew immediately how profound embodiment could be for self-awareness and healing.
That moment changed everything. It eventually led me to shift away from practicing as a traditional psychologist and toward holistic coaching, so I could integrate Eastern practices like yoga alongside mental health work. Today, practicing and teaching yoga continues to ground me, bring me back into my body, and support my recovery. Yoga, for me, is a practice and a lifestyle—not something I do to my body, but something I live with it.
Keep a Recovery Journal
The most impactful mental health practice I have instituted within my recovery routine has been journaling about the importance of the recovery I am taking. Reflection has always drastically benefited my ability to pursue long-term goals, as it allows me the ability to remain extremely intentional on the more macro-scale visions I have in mind, rather than focusing on the potential boredom or that potential feeling of wasting time the recovery periods can feel like. Journaling allows me to fully embrace recovery as profound work on its own, with the understanding that without it, an injury is right around the corner to halt all progress without my choosing; I would much rather have the ability to choose when I rest and recover.
Use Infrared Sauna Then Reflect
One mental health practice that's been surprisingly effective in my recovery and daily life is infrared sauna combined with intentional journaling right after. I discovered its importance when I noticed I felt more emotionally grounded after using the sauna, especially after long clinic days. The physical detox and heat seem to calm my nervous system, and journaling afterward helps me process thoughts without distraction. It's like a mental and physical reset button and I've recommended it to patients who report similar benefits.
Schedule Worry Windows for Control
A practice that many people in recovery say helps more than they expected is "worry scheduling."
Instead of trying to stop anxious thoughts all day (which usually backfires), you set aside a short, fixed window—say 15 minutes in the evening—where you allow yourself to worry on purpose. Outside that window, when a thought pops up, you tell yourself: "Not now. I'll think about this at 7:30."
Why it works better than it sounds:
It reduces the constant mental tug-of-war. You're not suppressing thoughts; you're postponing them.
Most people discover that when the worry window arrives, the thoughts feel less urgent—or don't show up at all.
It gives your brain proof that anxiety isn't an emergency that needs 24/7 attention.
People often discover its importance accidentally. They notice that anxiety eases on days when they're too busy to ruminate, or when they delay responding to a worry and nothing bad happens. Worry scheduling turns that accident into a repeatable skill.
What surprises people most is this: control doesn't come from thinking more—it comes from choosing when to think.
Practice Gratitude to Respect Your Body
No pain, no gain. That was the mentality I grew up with. I pushed hard. I ran, lifted, took dance classes, practiced martial arts, and moved from one thing to the next without a break. I told myself that this was what my body needed, to get stronger. Then I injured my shoulder, and suddenly I couldn't do much at all.
But there's also another saying: "You don't realize what you have until it's gone". Sadly, most lessons about caring for the body are learned this way.
That's when gratitude became part of my recovery. Some days it looks like journaling. Other days it's a simple thank you and appreciation for a body that works hard and deserves rest, too.
I learned that part of recovery is rebuilding strength and also about respect. Gratitude changed how I care for myself. I think more about what I put in my body, whether I've rested enough, if I'm protecting my skin, and how all of that affects not just my health, but my mood and energy.
Train Combat Arts for Resilience
One mental health practice that's been surprisingly effective in my recovery journey is consistent training in combat sports—primarily Muay Thai and boxing. It's not therapy in the traditional sense, but it functions like one in all the right ways: it demands full presence, offers a clean emotional release, and builds a stable sense of confidence that carries over into the rest of my day.
For many men, even getting to the gym can feel like a weekly negotiation with motivation. Combat sports remove that mental debate entirely. The feedback is instant: if you're distracted, drained, or mentally spiraling, it shows up immediately in how you move, react, and perform. Training becomes active nervous-system regulation... you're learning to breathe under pressure, stay composed when your body wants to panic, and recover quickly between high-intensity bursts.
The mental health benefits compound fast: reduced stress, sharper focus, better sleep, and greater emotional resilience. Physically, it checks nearly every box: endurance, strength, mobility, coordination - so you're not piecing together the "perfect" routine. You just show up and let the sport take care of it. The best part? As it becomes a habit, it gets easier, more fun, and surprisingly sustainable.
Take a Silent Cooldown Stroll
One mental health practice that surprised me with how effective it was is intentional mental off-ramps after training—specifically, a 10-15 minute walk with no input (no music, no phone, no podcasts). I used to finish workouts and immediately jump back into work or stimulation, and I noticed I stayed wired for hours. Recovery felt incomplete even when my body was tired.
I discovered the importance of this almost by accident. On days I walked quietly after lifting or hard runs, my sleep improved, my mood steadied, and soreness felt more manageable the next day. It became clear that my nervous system needed a signal that the stress was over, not just physical rest. That walk acts like a reset button—heart rate comes down, breathing slows, and my thoughts stop racing.
As a NASM Certified Nutrition Coach (CNC) and ISSA Nutritionist, I now treat mental recovery the same way I treat physical recovery: it has to be deliberate. That simple, low-tech practice ended up improving my training consistency more than adding another supplement or mobility drill.
Go Outside for Twenty Minutes Daily
After winning the fight against cancer my anxiety level was at an all-time high. Even though I won the battle I was losing the war. I found walking outside for 20 minutes a day helped to clear my mind, makes me more focused and energetic, and above all decreased my anxiety levels immensely. I found it has many mental health benefits, not just physical benefits like most people think, and as I thought until I started doing it daily.
Maintain Rituals on Rest Days
One mental health practice I've incorporated into my recovery routine is keeping my post-workout ritual even on rest days. I noticed that on days I didn't work out, I felt an odd psychological discomfort around the time I usually train, almost like my body was expecting the routine. By still showering at my usual post-workout time, even when I'm not sweaty, that discomfort noticeably eases. I realized the benefit wasn't physical but psychological: the ritual itself signals "completion" to my brain. It's a simple, placebo-like practice, but it's been surprisingly effective at helping me feel mentally settled on rest days.
Adopt NSDR for Midday Reset
I've started leaning on NSDR--Non-Sleep Deep Rest--as my mid-day reset, and honestly, it beats a nap or another cup of coffee every single time. When you're running a company, you're constantly jumping between high-stakes fire drills and big-picture strategy. Your nervous system just stays stuck in "on" mode. I really figured this out during a massive scaling phase. By 2:00 PM, my brain felt like sludge. It didn't matter how much caffeine I pumped into my system; the clarity just wasn't there.
So, instead of trying to white-knuckle it through the afternoon, I started taking 20 minutes for a guided NSDR protocol. It basically down-regulates your nervous system without that heavy, post-nap grogginess. The science behind it--which guys like Andrew Huberman at Stanford have really popularized--shows it actually replenishes your dopamine and drops your cortisol levels. It gets you into this "alert but calm" state. For me, this wasn't just some wellness trend. It was about keeping the cognitive speed I need to lead a global team across different time zones.
The real kicker was how it changed my evenings. Because I reset in the middle of the day, I stopped dragging all that residual work stress home with me. It flipped my perspective entirely. I stopped trying to just "survive" the workday and started treating my energy like the finite, strategic resource it actually is.
Look, when you're under pressure, even a 20-minute break can feel like a failure of productivity. But here's the truth: grinding through burnout doesn't just hurt you. It ruins the quality of every decision you make for your team. Real resilience is knowing when to step back for a moment so you can actually step forward with a clear head.
Try Slow Nasal Breathwork with App
Last year, I listened to the book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, and it really changed my life. Being neurodivergent, I love understanding the deep science behind why certain tools work so well. James Nestor's explanation about how intentional nasal breathing can have such a huge impact on overall health and recovery made me, pause my audiobook and immediately download the Paced Breathing app. I now use it the app to guide short breathing sessions throughout my day, after workouts, and before bed. I even like to have the app playing in the background, reminding me to breath deeply while working on the computer, scrolling on my phone, or even online shopping. Having autism and ADHD, I catch myself breathing shallow when I am in moments of hyperfocus (even now while writing this). Pause and notice how you're breathing right now? Was it slow deep belly breaths? Or, was it short and shallow? Those long, slow exhales really go a long way with relaxing our nervous system and slowing down our heart rates. It is a signal to your body that you are safe and can relax. Many fitness trackers, like my Oura ring, make it easy to see how slow breathing session affect your stress levels, sleep quality, and HRV. I notice a huge improvement in my recovery scores when I practice my breathing on a regular basis. And if I forget and plow through my day with no breaks, my ring will expose me by saying that I've had quite a stressful day. It's helpful for me to have a reminder that breaks are important and my body deserves rest. The amount of times my patients say "thank you" for recommending this app, makes me think this tool should not be gatekept. If you are looking for another way to feel better, try adding 2 minutes of slow breathing to your routine when you wake up, after your workout, and before you fall asleep. Your body will thank you!
Claim Ten Quiet Moments at Dawn
10 minutes of quiet first thing in the morning, whether that is sipping coffee and doing nothing else, taking a short walk, or listening to a guided meditation—getting your mindset dialed in first thing is key. It is so easy to get derailed by picking up your phone and being activated by all the input from social media, texts, emails, and missed calls. Starting your day with everyone else's input will have you chasing everyone else's priorities. If you don't set a few minutes of time aside to decide what is important to you and what you want to spend your time doing, someone else will decide for you. Meditation is a great way to get clear on your priorities, understand what serves you, and decide which action best moves you toward your goals.
I routinely find that I wake up stressed, anxious, or scattered. Addressing that first thing makes everything else I do in my routine more effective. Literally just 10 minutes of quite to acclimate to waking up before I decide what to do next - key!
Insert Micro Pauses for Predictability
One mental health practice that proved surprisingly effective in my recovery was intentional nervous-system regulation through short, scheduled pauses. Instead of adding more "self-work" to my plate, I focused on creating brief check-ins—just a few minutes to slow my breathing, notice my body, and reset.
I discovered its importance the same way I discovered most of what eventually became Time Smart Mama: through lived experience. As a twin mom, I realized that when my days were unstructured and reactive, my nervous system stayed in a constant state of urgency. I wasn't just overwhelmed mentally—I was physiologically stuck in survival mode. No amount of journaling or productivity hacks helped if my body never felt safe enough to slow down.
That insight became foundational to the Time Smart Mama framework. The systems I teach—anchored routines, default decisions, batching, and shared mental load—aren't just about efficiency. They're about creating predictability, which is one of the most powerful tools for nervous-system regulation. When your day has built-in pauses and fewer decisions, your brain and body can finally exhale.
By structuring my time intentionally, I stopped relying on willpower to stay calm and instead built safety into my schedule. The result wasn't just better time management—it was reduced anxiety, improved emotional regulation, and a recovery process that felt sustainable instead of exhausting.
Choose Steady Bike Rides for Calm
One mental health practice that's been surprisingly effective for me is biking, particularly longer, steady rides where I can settle into a rhythm. I initially started biking for physical health, but over time I noticed it was doing something different for my mental state as well. It wasn't about motivation or pushing myself mentally. The shift felt more subtle, like my system was unwinding on its own while I was focused on the road, my breathing, and the repetitive movement.
As I paid more attention, I realized that biking naturally involves bilateral movement, meaning both sides of the body are engaged in a steady, alternating pattern. In the mental health field, bilateral stimulation is often used to help the brain process stress and organize overwhelming experiences. I wasn't consciously applying that idea when I first started riding, but the effect was familiar. After rides, my thoughts felt less tangled, and emotional reactions that had felt stuck or loud beforehand seemed to soften without me actively trying to work through them.
What made biking stand out compared to other forms of exercise was how regulated I felt afterward. Even on days when the ride was physically demanding, my nervous system felt calmer rather than depleted. There was a noticeable difference in how I responded to stress later in the day. I was less reactive, more patient, and better able to shift my attention without getting pulled back into mental loops. It felt like my body had processed something in the background while I was moving.
I discovered its importance gradually by noticing patterns. During particularly stressful or emotionally heavy periods, biking was one of the few practices that didn't require effort or intention to be helpful. I didn't have to analyze my thoughts or force relaxation. The movement itself seemed to create enough structure and rhythm for my system to reset. Over time, that consistency made it clear that biking wasn't just exercise for me. It became a reliable way to help my body and brain process stress and return to a more balanced state, which is why I now treat it as a non-negotiable part of my recovery routine.
