Jordan
Maintaining a stable sense of mental health is a challenging task when you’re in the midst of a global pandemic. From scary speculations to transitioning to the work from home lifestyle, there are seemingly endless stressors coming your way. But we have some good news!
In this post, you’ll find 5 ways you can approach mental health holistically, in the current climate and beyond. Try them out and share with family and friends who need a little extra support, too.
1. Prioritize fitness
There are so many incredible health benefits to getting regular exercise. From enhancing your immune system to toning and shaping up your figure, we really can’t stress its importance enough. But what many people don’t realize is that fitness is an important component to your emotional wellness, too. How?
When your body is physically active, your brain releases mood-boosting and energizing chemicals that can sustain your emotional health for long periods of time. What’s more, exercise allows you to channel and release feelings of stress and anxiety which are resurfacing for many people during this difficult time.
We know that stay at home orders have complicated your regularly instated fitness routine, but that shouldn’t stop you from breaking a sweat! In fact, there are tons of workouts you can do right in your living room, bedroom, or backyard!
- Practice lifting weights using home weights, or cans and bottles if you don’t have any.
- Use a resistance band or your own bodyweight to build strength doing squats, leg lifts, lunges.
- Follow along with an online pilates, yoga, or Zumba class.
- Buy a jump rope to squeeze in some cardio while you binge-watch reality TV.
2. Find some time to unplug
While social media is a great tool to bring us together, it can also be very isolating and sometimes stressful when you feel like you have to “keep up” with followers or maintain your own personal image. If you want to destress and reprioritize your mental health, try unplugging more often. By reducing your time spent online by a few hours, you can find clarity as you’ve never felt before.
To take it a step further, try giving up your social media accounts for a weekend, week, or even a month. It will be hard at first, but the reward will be well worth it. To keep you from scrolling, try out these alternative activities:
- Read or listen to an audiobook
- Color a coloring book
- Create your own sketch
- Cook a good meal
- Write a letter to a friend
- Plant a garden
3. Give botanical remedies a try
If you need some extra help cooling down, you might want to give the magic of CBD a try. CBD is derived from the cannabis plant but without the THC. This means you can reap the benefits of the healing properties—pain and stress relief, mood-enhancing—without feeling the psychoactive effects. There are many ways you can take advantage of CBD including tinctures, vaporizers, and high-quality CBD pills.
In addition to the calming qualities cannabis provides, there are several other herbal remedies you might give a try:
- Diffuse lavender, tea tree or eucalyptus essential oils.
- Sip a cup of chamomile tea.
- Up your intake of magnesium.
4. Eat foods that make you feel good
Just like exercise is an essential component to good health, so is eating a healthy diet. Good foods like blueberries, salmon, avocado, nuts, citrus, and yogurt are healthy choices and they can help alleviate symptoms of stress and anxiety.
5. Reach out for help
The truth is, all of us need a helping hand once in a while whether the world is going through tough times or not. Whether you want to talk about what’s going on in the global climate, stress at work, or something else, there are plenty of resources to go to, including online counseling services.
What’s great about online counseling is that you can get help wherever you are, and many offer both video and phone chats, some even offer text and email exchanges for added convenience.
Final notes
Times are tough right now, but with these simple health tips, you can reset and find your sense of self once again! What are your insider wellness tips? Open up the conversation in the comment section!
