4 Simple & Fun Mental Health Activities For When You Can’t Afford Therapy

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Last Updated on April 29, 2024 by Isabelle Dias

Therapy is an essential practice to keep your mental health in check. But in most cases, it can cost a pretty penny. So, what to do when you can’t afford therapy? 

Today I want to share some of my favorite mental health activities that will help you out in the seasons when you may have no money for counseling. Also, in the end, I will share with you some places where you can find free alternatives to therapy, so make sure to check that out! 

Take a deep breath, get comfortable and let’s discover some ideas for mental health activities. If you need to pin this baby for later, I recommend doing that now!

Some cute ol’ disclaimer for y’all: I am not a doctor or therapist. What you are about to read is based on my own experience and tools I learned while researching and living with depression. Nothing here is intended to be a replacement for therapy. Those ideas are for entertainment and educational purposes only. So take my words with a grain of salt, and let it go if it does not resonate with you. Ok, boo? 💖

#1 Favorite mental health activities backed by science: Journal your feelings away

Journaling has been known by the medical community as an effective tool to manage anxiety, overwhelming feelings, and even cope with depression. 

The reason why writing it down can be so powerful, it’s because it helps you have a clear picture of what is really going on. 

What are your real fears and the genuine concern lying beneath? 

It also can help you understand your triggers better and how they affect you while also identifying toxic behaviors and thought patterns. 

Beyond that, it provides a beautiful opportunity to create your own space for positivity and encouragement. 

As someone who deals with depression, I can testify that my morning journaling session is one of the key ingredients to stay grounded on the good days and cope with the hard ones. 

If you don’t know where to start, let me share with you some of my favorite guided journals prompts to get your inspiration juices going! 

17 Daily Self Reflection Journal Prompts

25 Essential Self Love Journal Prompts

23 Eye-Opening Finding Yourself Journal Prompts

30 Day Journaling Challenge: Become A Self Love Baddie (if you are feeling saucy) 

#2 Use the Wheel of Emotions as a mental health activity

Emotions can be tricky and confusing. But what if there is a proven way to make more sense of them? Well… There is! 

Have you ever heard about the Wheel of Emotions? 

Some places call Emotion Wheel, Feelings Wheel… Overall, they are very similar. 

This tool can be used as a logical and candid way to understand your feelings in a nutshell. The original version, created by Dr. Robert Plutchik, goes like this:

“It shows there are 8 basic emotions: joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, anticipation, anger, and disgust. Plutchik’s Wheel of emotions organizes these 8 basic emotions based on the physiological purpose of each (…) this framework helps bring clarity to emotions, which can sometimes feel mysterious and overwhelming.” – SixSeconds

If you want to check out the original Wheel of Emotions, a quick Google search will do. 

How to use the Wheel of Emotions

But, for the purpose of this post, I took the liberty of designing a (very) simplified version of the Wheel, so you can start off easy and graduate to the big thing after – if you want to, of course! 

Ok, but how to use it? Here is a step by step process to get you started: 

1. First, identify how you are feeling. Think about this as your BIG emotion at the moment. Happy, excited, tender, sad, angry, scared? Find it on the Wheel! 
2. After that, go a little deeper. Analyze the specific aspect inside of this emotion that matches you at that moment. Let’s suppose your main feeling is scared. So, after looking at the possible layers of that emotion, you understood that what can describe your current emotional state even better is anxiety. 
3. After that, take some time to journal about it. Something like answering the question: “Why Am I feeling ____?” (“Why Am I feeling anxious?” for our example). 

This will help you make better sense of what is going on inside you and bring you some clarity on how to cope with it. 

#3 Consume free educational content created by therapists to help you out with more mental health activities ideas

You don’t need to pay money to see a therapist, honey (I feel so proud of myself every time I rhyme!). 

Let me explain; the internet is a fabulous place, with incredible people creating life-changing content. And some of those people are therapists! 

You can find excellent educational content about mental health straight from the source. 

Let me share with you some of my favorite therapists/creators around, plus some ideas on where you can start: 

Mickey Atkins is a therapist and social worker. She creates fun, relatable content that is also educational. Bellow some videos that might be a great place to start: 

The second therapist ft content creator I want to introduce to you today is Kati Morton. She is a licensed therapist and makes educational videos on anything and everything related to mental health. From abuse to anxiety, depression, and even techniques on dealing with your overwhelming feelings better. Check out those videos: 

#4 Look for free alternatives to therapy

Last but not less, have you ever thought that there are free alternatives to therapy? Here are some ideas: 

Look for a community mental health center

Most Community Centers can provide low-cost or even free therapy and counseling. 

Look for the Department of Human Services at your state government website. Or just do a Google search on “Community mental health centers near me.” 

Try a training clinic

Training clinics are usually located in universities, with graduate students getting ready to become clinical counselors or psychologists. There the students are trained and supervised by licensed professionals with years of experience. 

Find a support group for people with the same challenges as you

Most support groups are free and may be run by a mental health professional or a group member who has been in recovery for longer. 

Always remember that it’s crucial to find a group that works for you. To make sure it’s the right choice, chat with the group leader and understand better how the group dynamic works before you sign up.

If you are in the US, you can go to Mental Health America and check out a list of specialized support groups. 

If you need to talk to someone right now, screenshot this story and call this number: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255

Whatever option you chose, make sure to talk to someone and look for help! You are not alone, and even if you don’t feel like it, there are so many people ready and excited to help you! 

Your life is so important; you are loved and so worthy! 

Now, I am sooo curious! What did you think of those mental health activities? Leave a comment below and tell me about it. 

If those ideas were helpful, be sure to share them with a friend that can use this! 

Always remember: you deserve to live a life you absolutely love ♥

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