May is Mental Health Awareness Month
May 17, 2021
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
In honor of Mental Health Awareness month here is a list of practices and activities that improve or help maintain mental health acknowledging that mental health, just as all areas of health, is on a continuum which means that small actions have the power to move us away from health or towards better health. Improving and maintaining mental health takes our ongoing attention and focus. The more you can build healthy habits into your routine, the more effortless maintaining health becomes.
When looking to incorporate a new habit into your day experts say to pair the new habit with a habit or activity that you already do daily. For instance, if you want to start meditating in the morning set a reminder on your phone and decide you'll pair it with some part of your morning routine (such as meditating after you brush your teeth or eat breakfast every day). If you struggle to follow-through with your new habit, troubleshoot why. Maybe there's a better time of the day to do it, maybe the type of meditation or exercise needs to be different. Start small! It may be more important to first establish the new habit as part of your routine. Often times even 5-10 minutes of an activity is enough at first to practice making the action part of your routine. As you solidify the habit then you can expand the time if you want to.
Write It, Speak It, Think It
Write or journal about your day, your thoughts and/or your feelings for 10-20 minutes. Before you know it, you'll feel your self-awareness, problem solving and self-acceptance expanding.
Think about 3 things your grateful for or happy about before you go to sleep each night OR list 5 things in a gratitude journal on certain days of the week.
Use positive affirmations about yourself and your life. Positive thoughts produce positive chemicals in the brain. Sprinkle these throughout your planner, stick them where you'll see them or schedule a time to read an affirmation list or sit down with a card deck such as Louise Hay's Power Thought Cards. When working with a positive affirmation you don't believe deep down, focus on imagining what it would feel like and be like if it were true now in your life, as if you're daydreaming a new reality. “Beautify your inner dialogue. Beautify your inner world with love, light and compassion. Life will be beautiful.” ― Amit Ray, Nonviolence: The Transforming Power
Be a Little More You
Sometimes we get so focused on all the responsibilities that we forget to schedule in time to enjoy what we like best in life. Life can start to feel stagnant, lack-luster and small which effects our mental health. To combat this, build activities you enjoy into your week. You could even elicit the help of your planner or phone calendar by scheduling in fun or you can just decide on the same fun-day every week. These scheduled days could be blocked out times for activities you enjoy alone, a date night with your significant other, family fun days or a mix of these ideas.
What was that instrument you used to play in high school? How long has it been since you wrote a haiku or poem? Did you used to like digging in the dirt to plant something new? Maybe there's an old hobby that needs to make a comeback or maybe it's time to take up a new one.
Join a group, club or class. This beefs up positive social connections and supports while growing your interest. Before you know it, you could be in Scotland with your hiking group or making French pastries like a pro and feeling rather good about it.
Separate yourself from others for 15 minutes to sit with your own thoughts or have a conversation with Source/God. This strengthens our sense of self which in turn increases our self-esteem and resilience.
Go on a date with yourself. Treat yourself to all the things you wish a date would treat you to. Buy yourself flowers and chocolates, grab your favorite takeout and treat yourself to your favorite movie. You could even decide you'd like to have a monthly date night for one.
Awareness is a Superpower
Ask for help when you catch yourself feeling overwhelmed. This could be as small as a request for someone else to take out the trash or for your spouse/partner watch the fort for an evening so you can get out for a little bit.
Meditate - “In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.” - Anonymous
Psychologist Daniel Goleman's studies show that hundreds of mind and mood altering benefits come from meditation. Maximum benefit comes from meditating for 20 minutes, 2 times per day, but even 5 minutes makes a difference. Meditation is a single-minded focus. Types of meditation to try: Mindfulness, spiritual/religious, movement (such as yoga), guided relaxation or visualization, loving-kindness or transcendental or using a mantra/positive word. Tip: If you find yourself distracted during meditation by a sound such as a ticking clock, turn your obstacle into the focus of your meditation and focus on listening for the next "tick" clearing your mind of everything else, but the clock.
Decide on what healthy habits you're going to fall back on to self-soothe when stressed or upset that make you feel better such as talking to a friend, journaling, praying, exercising etc. When you have an experience that triggers stress or upset, choose these over quick fixes like alcohol or stress-eating. Healthy fixes may take more conscious effort at first, but give longer lasting life-giving results, producing positive chemicals and strengthening positive pathways in the brain. Quick unhealthy fixes don't have the same long-term gains in comparison and damage your mental and physical health. Choose things that build you up instead of tear you down.
Cut down on your sources of stimulation to lower your stress level. A main contributor of stress that is often overlooked is stimulation in the form of noise, interactions, or media consumption. Pay attention to the noise pollution in your home and work environment or times when you are getting too inundated, even by your social media feed. Everything that asks for your attention or competes with your train of thought in the form of noise or information takes some level of energy from you to process or attempt to tune out. Tips: Have some TV free time in your home. Don't work in overcrowded or busy places such as coffee shops that will require more mental energy to focus. You may get subconsciously drained screening out noises, distractions and stimulation in your environment only to be more stressed when you get home to your spouse or kids and not know exactly why. Practice paying attention to how many sources of stimulation you're being exposed to at this moment or throughout the day. Minimize stimulation where you can.
Get It Out
Utilize a therapist. Who couldn't use a non-bias, heavily educated, accepting, third party person to weigh in on problems and beef up our coping toolbox?
Talk to a safe, healthy and supportive person regularly about life and work.
Help process your emotions with music. Turn on a song that helps express your mood or feelings and belt it out or drum it out!
Write about strong feelings in a journal, digitally or on a sheet of paper and then delete or toss it.
Cry... really, you should. We've been conditioned to repress this, but it's not good. There's a reason this is a natural occurring urge and phenomenon. Emotion is based on the Latin word emotus which means to "move out" or "move away". Your emotions need to be acknowledged, felt, and move through and out of you. Crying does this really efficiently!
Be Kind and Unwind
Relax in a warm bath or do a foot soak. Throw in essential oils or your favorite bubble bath for a little additional aromatherapy. Water has great power to shift our mood.
For a low maintenance healthy aromatherapy fix invest in some all-natural essential oil air freshener plug-ins from brands like Scent Fill or Botanica by Air Wick.
Get out in nature, even if just to eat your lunch outside. Don't forget to crack your office window on nice days!
Get in some hammock time. Add a treat such as tea or lemonade. Include an audiobook or paperback to add to the experience. Don't forget to swing in the hammock for a little bit.
Ask your partner/spouse/family member or close friend for a quick 5 minute shoulder rub or invest in a massager. Massagers never tire!
Make sure to use some of your vacation days for actual relaxation. Not the holiday bustle, not the big house project, or that game we play where we take all the kids to see as many sites as we can from morning until we drop. This true break could be a relaxing destination or a staycation at home. If taking a staycation, you can still make staycation plans such as what food you're going to order, what movies to watch, games to play, planned time in the bath or picnics etc. It's nice to feel like you don't need a vacation from your vacation.
Does a Mind Good
Drink enough water daily to support your energy levels and all the hundreds of processes in your brain and body.
Cut out or reduce your caffeine intake if you have anxiety or have an upcoming anxiety producing event or interaction on your schedule.
Try to eat as many live whole foods as you can such as fruits and vegetables, so your body and brain have needed nutrients for chemical balance.
Take essential vitamins and minerals.
Get enough good uninterrupted sleep. Few things can negatively affect our mood, increase stress, lessen our ability to retain information and focus, increase mistakes, or put us at risk for overeating like a lack of sleep.
Feeling cooped up? Go for a drive or a walk around the neighborhood. Grab takeout for an easy picnic at the park. Don't forget to invite the dog.
Go on a 30-minute walk or engage in your favorite form of exercise. You can pair this with an audiobook, podcast, music or time with a friend. Tip: It's a good idea to get exercise in, in the morning when your energy levels are higher. In the afternoon serotonin levels dip, which is one of the reasons why many people feel like they have less energy when 2pm hits. By getting exercise out of the way in the morning you're also less likely to let any unforeseen obstacles of the day get in your way.
Stretch every day or do a form of yoga. YouTube is full of free sessions!
Declutter your environment. A clear space can make you feel mentally clearer and more energetic. If overwhelmed as to where to start, start with just a side table or corner of a room and work your way to the next surface.
Listen to relaxation music while you're relaxing or completing tasks.
Get out in nature, even if just to eat your lunch outside. Don't forget to crack your office window on nice days!
Engage your skill or creativity. Play the piano, paint, sculpt, or just do some coloring.
Remember, making yourself your first priority isn't selfish, it's essential for you to be your best self for you and others. Self-care is the foundation for all you need to do, accomplish and be. We often put our self-care last, thinking it can wait and making other things or people our first priority when it's the opposite of what we need to do. So, in the midst of your busy schedule don't forget to pencil yourself in on your planner! Your wellbeing and happiness is worth the time slot.