53 Inspirational Mental Health Quotes (That Feel Honestly Human)

You manage work, kids, friends, the lot… But when the dust settles, guess who’s gone missing? Yep - you.

I know this because I’ve been there. More than once. More than I care to admit to. And when it hits, it feels like I'm juggling chainsaws wrapped in bubble wrap: fraught, fragile, and one wobble away from tears or giggles.

A tough subject. And it being tough is exactly why I’ve started being more open about my own mental health, especially with my teenage daughter.

Just earlier today, I was explaining why I don’t post on social media at weekends anymore. Yup. I avoid it like the mushroom fried rice at a Chinese buffet - yuck!

See, a few months back, I hit a full-on mental breakdown. And honestly? Forcing myself to 'show up' seven days a week played some part in it. The pressure to constantly perform, post, and pretend everything’s fine nearly swallowed me whole.

So I stopped. Yes, I probably miss the odd potential book enthusiast over a weekend. But I’m also saving myself from tumbling back down that rabbit hole.

And let’s face it, breakdowns don’t come with a loyalty card, so I’m not trying to bank another one any time soon!

With that in mind, I’ve pulled together these 53 wise, comforting, and occasionally cheeky quotes on mental health and well-being. Think of them as tiny little life-vests for when you’re drowning in thoughts.

Or just need a gentle shove toward calm.

53 Inspirational Mental Health Quotes

1. “You don’t have to control your thoughts; you just have to stop letting them control you.” - Dan Millman
   

2. “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” - Anne Lamott
   

3. “Breathe, darling. This is just a chapter. It’s not your whole story.” - S.C. Lourie
   

4. “Smile, breathe, and go slowly.” - Thich Nhat Hanh
   

5. "Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strengths." - Unknown
   

6. “If you can't fly, run. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl—but by all means, keep moving.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
   

7. “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
   

8. “It’s okay to be scared. Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave.” - Mandy Hale
   

9. “It’s perfectly okay to admit you’re not okay.” - Unknown
   

10. “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” - Brené Brown
    

11. “Good humor is a tonic for mind and body... It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression.” - Grenville Kleiser
    

12. “Anxiety’s like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but doesn’t get you very far.” - Jodi Picoult
    

13. “Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows but only empties today of its strengths.” - C.H. Spurgeon
    

14. “We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.” - David Mamet
    

15. “Creating something is what helped me from just spinning apart like an unweighted flywheel.” - Stephen Colbert
    

16. “There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won’t cure—but I don’t know many of them.” - Sylvia Plath
    

17. “No amount of anxiety can change the future. No amount of regret can change the past.” - Karen Salmansohn
    

18. “You don’t have to see the whole staircase - you just have to take the first step.” - Martin Luther King Jr. (adapted)
    

19. “Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer.” - William S. Burroughs
    

20. “This too shall pass.” - Traditional Proverb
    

21. “Not everything that weighs you down is yours to carry.” - Unknown
    

22. “Do what you can, with what you've got, where you are.” - Theodore Roosevelt
    

23. “Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but gets you nowhere.” - Glenn Turner
    

24. “The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” - Sydney J. Harris
    

25. “You are enough.” - Unknown
    

26. “There is only one way to happiness, and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” - Epictetus
    

27. “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” - William James
    

28. “No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.” - Virginia Woolf
    

29. “Whatever happens to you belongs to you. Make it yours... let it nurture you.” - Cheryl Strayed
    

30. “Surrender to what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be.” - Sonia Ricotti
    

31. “Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” - Deepak Chopra
    

32. “This life is mine alone.” - Glennon Doyle
    

33. “Trust yourself. You’ve survived a lot, and you’ll survive whatever is coming.” - Robert Tew
    

34. “Breathe. This is just a chapter. It’s not your whole story.” - S.C. Lourie
    

35. “You are not your anxiety; you're the observer of it, and you can decide how to respond.” - Unknown
    

36. “We just need to be kinder to ourselves.” - Meghan Markle
    

37. “What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.” - Glenn Close
    

38. “I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.” - Carl Jung
    

39. “When you can’t change the direction of the wind - adjust your sails.” - H. Jackson Brown Jr.
    

40. “Taking care of yourself is part of taking care of others.” - Jennifer Williamson
    

41. “Healing takes time, and asking for help is a courageous step.” - Mariska Hargitay
    

42. “You are the sky. Everything else—it’s just the weather.” - Pema Chödrön
    

43. “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do.” - Brené Brown
    

44. “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” - Helen Keller
    

45. “Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.” - Proverb

46. “We accept the love we think we deserve.” - Stephen Chbosky
    

47. “Be patient with yourself. You are growing.” - Unknown
    

48. “Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls your life.” - Unknown
    

49. “One small crack does not mean that you are broken - it means that you were put to the test and you didn’t fall apart.” - Linda Poindexter
    

50. “Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go - they merely determine where you start.” - Nido Qubein
    

51. “You don’t have to do this alone. Be brave enough to ask for help.” - Unknown
    

52. “Sometimes, the most productive thing you can do is relax.” - Mark Black
    

53. “It's okay not to be okay.” - Unknown

Final Thoughts

I know more than most that mental health isn’t a straight line. No, it’s more of a rollercoaster where the safety bar squeaks and someone keeps throwing snacks at you mid-loop.

Some days you’ll feel steady; other days you’ll wobble. And that’s ok.

And no, these inspirational mental health quotes aren’t magic fixes - sorry! But they are reminders that,

• You’re not alone

• You don’t have to keep juggling chainsaws, and

• It’s perfectly fine to put things down before they break you.

So bookmark this page. Come back when you need a pep talk, a laugh, or just proof that even the wisest people (from the quotes - not me!) out there have had wobbly days too.

And if quotes are your thing, check out these 53 Funny Quotes On Aging

Take care of your mind. Take breaks. And remember, there's no loyalty card stamp for powering all the way through to breaking point, but plenty of credit for choosing yourself.