--- title: Mental Health Tips: How to Stay Mentally Strong description: Life hacks for even the most stressful days canonical: https://time.com/4212291/stay-mentally-strong-health-tips/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-08T20:26:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:01:48.213Z og:title: How to Stay Mentally Strong When You're About to Crack og:description: Life hacks for even the most stressful days og:url: https://time.com/4212291/stay-mentally-strong-health-tips/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ee083ce29378b1c/69887c965f570f0963b1f8da/mental-health-egg-crack.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 548298909 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Stay Mentally Strong When You're About to Crack twitter:description: Life hacks for even the most stressful days twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ee083ce29378b1c/69887c965f570f0963b1f8da/mental-health-egg-crack.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Ways to Stay Mentally Strong When You Think You're About to Crack by [The Editors of Motto](https://time.com/author/the-editors-of-motto/) ## The Editors of Motto Feb 8, 2016 8:26 PM UTC  Cconceptual cracked egg Cconceptual cracked eggpchyburrs—Getty Images/RooM RM by [The Editors of Motto](https://time.com/author/the-editors-of-motto/) ## The Editors of Motto Feb 8, 2016 8:26 PM UTC Everybody has those work days that no amount of coffee, chocolate or wine can seem to fix. Whether you’re recovering from a too-short weekend or pushing through the end of a too-long work week, it’s hard to keep your brain decluttered and calm. Prioritize self care with these easy tips and refresh your mind without missing your deadlines. If you’re in the office, leave your desk for a second to stand in a power pose and take in some deep breaths. Make a quick to-do list so you can visualize your tasks to make them seem less daunting and then plan for a night of TV watching, cooking or coloring to get your mind off of everything. You’d be surprised what a difference it can make. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4212291/stay-mentally-strong-health-tips/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4212291/stay-mentally-strong-health-tips/"},"headline":"5 Ways to Stay Mentally Strong When You Think You're About to Crack","datePublished":"2016-02-08T20:26:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:01:48.213Z","description":"Life hacks for even the most stressful days","url":"https://time.com/4212291/stay-mentally-strong-health-tips/","keywords":["motto","Health Care","Mental Health","video"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ee083ce29378b1c/69887c965f570f0963b1f8da/mental-health-egg-crack.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Editors of Motto","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-editors-of-motto/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ee083ce29378b1c/69887c965f570f0963b1f8da/mental-health-egg-crack.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"548298909","caption":"Cconceptual cracked egg","creditText":"pchyburrs—Getty Images/RooM RM","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4212291/stay-mentally-strong-health-tips/","name":"5 Ways to Stay Mentally Strong When You Think You're About to Crack"}}]}] ```