I’ve been contemplating what would be a helpful blog post in this confusing quarantine time. As a therapist, I get a little jaded with suggestions to better your mental health. These suggestions/tips/advice are so ingrained in my work, friendships, relationships, self-care that I just assume everyone knows and uses the same methods as I do.
But then I remember, that I don’t know jack shit about the covid19, or dentistry, or welding, or marketing, or zookeeping, or flying an airplane…so the general population PROBABLY doesn’t know what I know about mental health. Because…duh… I went to, like a lot, of school for this. And spent literal thousands of hours honing in on this stuff.
So I’m hoping this can give you a little insight into my brain and things that I really do actually use on the regular to help myself because, good lord trust me, I don’t have it all together either. These are simple, easy, and things you probably already do- but try doing them everyday and you’ll see improvements.
1. Go Outside. Fresh air, sunlight, nature. It is grounding; it brings us back into our bodies and not so in our heads. Get outside for, at the bare minimum, 30 minutes every day.
2. Fuel Yourself With Goodness. Drink lots of water, eat well, exercise; but also allow yourself to have that cupcake. Fuel your body regularly with critical ingredients. Fuel your mind with a treat.
Trying to block what you eat, to an extreme, provides stress, guilt, and anxiety. Its okay to eat the snack, just also do the other important stuff. As in- go drink a glass of water.
3. Communicate. Talk to your loved ones. Friends, family, lovers, pets. I don’t care who it is, but communicate with the important people (or animals) in your life. This is critical to keeping your mental health high. Send a text, make a facetime call, sit down for dinner, snuggle and chat, go on a walk with them. Reconnect with ones who you’ve distanced from. Loved ones make life better and don’t take that for granted.
4. Slow down. Give yourself moments each day where you take a break. Look outside at the pretty flowers. Do 5 deep breaths. Watch a tv show. Paint. Play fetch with your dogs. Learn to slow each day down and allow for empty space in your life. Little moments of calm allow space for revelation.
5. Listen to music. Music is fucking good for the soul. No way around it. Spend time during the day listening, intentionally listening, to music. Get lost in it.
6. Meditate. If you’ve read any of my other blog posts, you probably knew this was coming. But, man, it freaking works. Take time to breathe, listen to a guided meditation, or just be. Listen to a meditation before bed or in the bath. It will provide a new found serene that you will come to identify as peace. Check out the app ‘insight timer’. My favorite teacher is Sarah Blondin and a great one to start with is her “Practicing Gentle Kindness Towards Ourself”. Let me know how it goes.
7. Limit tech and social media time. I won’t tell you that social media doesn’t have a beautiful place in this world, but geeeez man tone it down. If you EVER are on social and start to recognize feelings of comparison, sadness, less than… get off it. It doesn’t do us any good to live through the judgement of others. Take that time and put it towards something else (maybe every suggestion on this list 😉 ).
8. Laugh. Be weird. Be goofy. Make yourself laugh. Watch a funny youtube video. Dance. It might be damn cheesy, but laughter reallllllly is the best medicine. We don’t know how long we will be here, so take life a little less seriously and laugh.
BONUS TIP: Get a plant, but really. There are so many benefits to having plants, google it and you’ll find them all. I recently filled my house with plants and it really makes me smile.
Rachel Cohen, LCSW is the owner and therapist at Seaside Counseling Center in Jacksonville Beach, FL. Rachel works with lonely, frustrated, and overwhelmed teens and 20 something’s online and in-person.