The beginning of the holiday season brings many people a joyous and celebratory time. However, many people’s experiences during this time of year can be difficult. This can be due to anxiety, depression, and or stress. Despite the mental health conditions they may be experiencing, these people in your life will benefit from mental health gifts that show your thoughtfulness, understanding, and support of what they face daily. This list of mental wellness gift ideas for the holidays will provide you with a range of suggestions when looking for gifts for someone with anxiety and depression, stress, or any other mental health condition. In addition, this list of gifts that support mental health makes a great mental health gift guide as well!
Mental Health Gifts For People With Anxiety
Weighted Blankets
I mean who doesn’t love a weighted blanket? The soothing weight of a weighted blanket mimics a therapeutic technique called deep pressure stimulation or pressure therapy. Weighted blankets are linked to the ability to help reduce stress and anxiety while also producing feelings of calmness. There have also been indications that weighted blankets can be a benefit for other conditions as well. Plus these are great perfect mental gifts to give someone for the cooler days/nights ahead in winter.
Mental Wellness App Subscriptions
A subscription to a mental wellness app can offer a mental health gift that keeps on giving beyond the holidays. The various apps available can provide family and friends with several useful tools to improve their mental well-being. A few of these tools can be practices and services which include mindfulness, a virtual mental health counselor, techniques to meditate, medication management, calming stories at bedtime for anxiety relief, and more. The benefits of apps like this are extremely life-changing. A mental wellness app can be just the motivation needed to help that loved one who may be affected by a mental illness. The price of many mental wellness apps have subscriptions that range from just a few dollars to the double digits.
Scented Candles
The sense of smell plays an essential role in our psychological well-being. The smell of a scented candle stimulates the limbic system that connects to both emotions and memory. Therefore, the smell of a scented candle can bring about positive memories which makes for a great mental health gift. The use of scented candles can improve the imbalances of certain psychological mood disorders like anxiety and or schizophrenia. Lighting a scented candle at the end of a hard day can take anyone to a soothing place.
Meal Box Subscription
For many people with anxiety, they get triggered by trying to figure out what to make for dinner. Cooking can truly feel like an overwhelming task considering all that goes into it. I get anxious just thinking about the age-old question “what am I going to cook for dinner?” With a meal box delivery subscription, you can take the anxiety and worry out of that question. It’s perfection in a box at your doorstep! Each box usually comes with a personalized amount of meals for the week, the necessary ingredients for each meal, and the recipe card for the meals. These boxes can be a saving grace for people who tend to neglect their need to eat healthy meals. A subscription for meal delivery services makes a phenomenal mental health gift for people with anxiety.
Jigsaw Puzzles
Although some jigsaw puzzles take quite a bit of time to complete, they can be interesting mental health gifts for people with anxiety. Putting together a jigsaw puzzle can provide a calm activity that helps reduce anxiety. Puzzles allow people to slow down and focus on the moment in front of them. They also serve as a distraction from recurring negative anxious thoughts. The brain releases the feel-good neurotransmitter hormone dopamine as pieces of the puzzle are put together. Finishing a puzzle provides a challenge as well as a sense of accomplishment.
Mental Health Gifts For People With Depression
Light Therapy Lamps
Speaking of the cooler days, they usually bring about less sunlight. That is why a light therapy lamp is considered to be one of the best gifts for mental health during these changing conditions. The cooler months ahead in winter usually mean a change in mood for millions of people. This change in mood is known as seasonal affective disorder. A light therapy lamp is a helpful gift for people with depression. 15 minutes to 30 minutes in front of a light therapy lamp has been said to improve shifting moods in the fall and winter.
Journals
When the negative emotions of a friend or family member keep popping up, sometimes all they need to do is write them down. That is when a journal comes in handy. Writing emotions down in a journal is one of the many well-known methods to help with overall mental health and wellness. There is an extensive list of benefits to journaling which include stress relief, recognition of triggers, and managed emotions. Guided journals that offer prompts are great mental health gifts for someone with depression because they provide insight into unknown various feelings.
Music Streaming Subscription
As the saying goes, ‘Music makes the world go round’! Music can also help many people cope with various mental mood disorders, specifically depression. Listening to music can stimulate the body’s feel-good hormone known as dopamine as well as endorphins which are hormones that induce happy moods. Purchasing a music streaming subscription for a loved one with depression can truly improve their overall mental well-being. Music can become an alternative form of therapy to encourage positive changes in mood and mindset for people with depression.
Artwork
Time spent at the museum usually leaves people in awe and they have more of a sense of calm. What if you bought a piece of artwork for someone dealing with depression to provide that experience for them right in their home? Various forms of artwork have the ability to trigger the release of mood-boosting neurochemicals associated with feelings of happiness. Looking at art can help people slow down. Art can help center people by taking their minds off the recurring symptoms of depression. It also makes a great mental health gift for people with depression in the way that moves people to be more rooted in present moments of quietness when viewing phenomenal artwork.
Online Fitness Class Membership
Physical fitness is a pathway towards improving mental health. Encouraging a loved one or friend to move their body makes a nice gift for people with depression. Exercise can provide a sense of well-being because initiative is being taken to care for oneself. Taking just 15-60 minutes out of the day to work out in the comfort of your home can help treat depression as effectively as antidepressant medication.
Mental Health Gifts For People With Stress
Spa Therapy
What better way to brighten the mood of a friend struggling with mental health than by gifting them with time at the spa? Time at the spa is one of many mental health gifts that offer both mental and physical benefits. Those benefits come from the various services that they offer. A few treatment options in a spa can help relieve stress and diminish symptoms. These can include yoga, aromatherapy, and full-body deep-tissue massages. Spa therapy provides the space to renew the spirit, regain mental clarity, and improve life’s longevity.
Self Help Books
Being able to share the gift of a different perspective of emotions through self-help books is always an appreciative wellness gift. Someone going through a stressful or tough period mentally may find inspiration from these books. Self-help books offer several coping skills and strategies to shift thoughts and feelings in a more positive direction. These types of books can be just the thing to help just about anyone decompress after a stressful day or stressful time.
Massage Tools
There is nothing like a massage at the end of a stressful day of life. However, everyone won’t be able to book themselves a massage at the spa every single day. Bringing the sense of a full body massage to a loved one is a perfect gift to alleviate their stress. Handheld massagers help reduce stress by lowering cortisol levels which is a hormone related to stress. A massage tool is one of the best mental health gifts to promote increased relaxation and calmness for people with high levels of stress.
Sound Machines
Purchasing a sound machine as a mental health gift provides ambient sounds for a sense of calm. Sound machines provide a sense of calm which redirects focus onto the sounds rather than the thoughts and emotions that may be running through the mind. The relaxed state of a sound machine can be beneficial for individuals who have issues with stressful environments. In addition, sound machines assist in the sleep routine of many individuals who deal with stress. Sound machines can be just the impactful gift that helps a loved one cope well.
Mental Health/Wellness Retreat
Imagine your friend or loved one sitting in serenity overlooking a hillside full of beautiful trees and streams as their stress melts away! That experience can be gifted to them by sending them on an all-expenses-paid mental health/wellness retreat. A mental health/wellness retreat gives that person in your life who is struggling with stress a chance to take a break from all the stressors of life. During a mental health retreat time is spent focusing on healing, customized support from mental health professionals, gaining clarity, possible spiritual restoration, and more. The entire point of a mental health retreat is to take the stress out of your life for a few days and to help you learn how to manage stress better once normal daily life resumes. Mental health/wellness retreats are multi-faceted and just might be one of the best mental health gifts!
Mental Health Gifts For People With Depression, Anxiety, and Stress
Mental Health Apparel
Advocating for the mental health and wellness of everyday individuals is taking on a new look in the fashion industry. Gifting a person in your life who is managing depression, anxiety, and stress with clothing targeting mental health is the perfect mental health gift idea. This is the type of clothing that will promote candid conversations about mental health amongst all types of people. Wearing a shirt that is comfy and helps dismantle stigma can never be wrong. Many mental health clothing brands donate a percentage of their profits to mental health organizations. That’s a win-win for mental health awareness and community!!
Adult Coloring Books
Coloring as an adult is such a nostalgic practice that is a form of therapy for reducing stress. It is a creative activity that sends people into a meditative state. Adult coloring has become an extremely popular coping mechanism for depression, anxiety, and other mental mood disorders. These types of coloring books can be funny mental health gifts that often lighten the mental load. This type of mental health gift is meant to cater to adults by offering very interesting artwork that allows for endless creative options throughout its pages. This mental health gift encourages people to breathe and slow down in the midst of a busy season.
Adult Coloring Books Are The Perfect Nostalgic To Add To A Mental Health Care Package
Essential Oils
Just as scented candles play a role in our psychological well-being, essential oils are able to promote mental well-being as well. Not only do essential oils offer an amazing fragrance, they are plant-based extracts that help improve your overall mood. Essential oils used in the practice of aromatherapy have been said to alleviate conditions such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, and more. The most popular varieties of essential oils are lavender, peppermint, and tea tree oil to name a few. Some of the varieties have powerful healing properties. However, they may cause an allergic reaction or adverse effect depending on the person who uses them. So be careful when selecting an oil for that friend or family member who you think will benefit from them.
Mental Health Toolkit
A mental health toolkit makes the perfect gift for the holiday season. For those wondering what a mental toolkit is, it’s resources designed to bring comfort in times of mental stress. The toolkit is used to provide grounding, calmness, and or a redirection of focus to situations in life. The toolkit should be filled with a variety of mental tools focused on the 5-senses, self-care, meditation, or whatever brings that special someone peace of mind. The components are meant to help manage mentally stressful conditions, reduce the severity of mental illness symptoms, and boost overall mental well-being. A mental health toolkit is not meant to stay the same forever. As the circumstances of life change so does the mental health toolkit.
Affirmation Card Deck
The use of affirmations has become a highly free and beneficial daily practice for many people. Affirmations have encouraged many people through some difficult moments as well as set the tone for a positive day! A set of affirmation cards can be just the gift that helps a depressed or anxious person improve their mental wellbeing. They serve the purpose of reframing negative thoughts into positive thoughts, increase confidence about achieving goals, and or setting the intentions for the day. Affirmation card decks have thoughtful short statements which are powerful mental wellness tools.
Mental Health Gifts Are Great Ways To Help A Loved One Prioritize Their Mental Well Being
All of these are the best mental health gifts for the holidays! They are all phenomenal potential purchases. Your friend or loved ones struggling with mental health issues will see how you took time to find something special that will truly improve their life. Remember these gifts make great self-care gifts that can be purchased for yourself as well! If you are looking for more original mental health gift ideas, check out these Mental Health Gifts For Him and Mental Health Gifts For Her! Nonetheless, with this mental health gift guide for the holidays, everyone on your holiday list is sure to get a gift that supports their mental health with these mental health gift ideas!
To shop this mental health holiday gift guide, visit my LTK Shop at https://www.shopltk.com/explore/MindFULLyWellRooted.
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For more unique gifts for emotional support or mental health gift guide inspiration, check out these recommendations from Brown Girl Trauma and these ideas from Choosing Therapy.
To further educate yourself about mental health awareness, visit the National Alliance of Mental Illness, Mental Health America, and the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention.
Let’s Continue The Conversation
What types of gifts to improve mental health do you believe are the best?
Original Posting Date: September 2021
Updated: September 25, 2023
REMEMBER YOUR MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS
A thoughtful and thorough compilation of wellness gifts that everyone is bound to benefit from. Instead of buying items like bags and clothes, these items are more likely to create a better impact on the mind.
First and Foremost, thanks so much for reading this blog post Tia! I appreciate that so much! I am so glad you thought that these gifts have long term benefits rather than superficial usage! all of these will definitely impact the mind in a positive way! Thanks again for reading!