19½ WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH (THAT DON’T INVOLVE MEDITATION)

RELIEVE ANXIETY

1 NOTICE 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Anxiety is about the future (Will I hit this deadline?) and the past (Did I screw up that task?). To anchor yourself to the present, our cover guy, former monk, Jay Shetty, recommends running through five simple numbers when your mind starts racing

5 things you can SEE

4 things you can TOUCH

3 things you can HEAR

2 things you can SMELL

1 thing you can TASTE

2 Troubleshoot Pre-Trouble

It’s not worrying; it’s strategising. If you prepare for difficulties and preemptively think through how you’ll handle them, problems are less likely to throw you off, explains Emily Balcetis, an associate professor of psychology at