Top 10 Tips for Mental Health Awareness Month

Be kind and compassionate to yourself and others.

You are not alone; 1 in 5 adults living in the U.S. has a mental health condition.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and if you are living with mental health challenges, I want you to know that you are not alone. I've had the privilege of coaching, teaching, and facilitating wellness sessions over the past four years, and I can say that I don't know anyone who has not been affected by mental health challenges in some way. 

If this is you, you are not alone. 1 in 5 adults living in the U.S. has a mental health condition, and those numbers have continued to rise over the past few years.

Did you know ...

• Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S.; 48 million living with anxiety

• 21 million living with major depression

• Millions live with post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and schizophrenia.

• World Health Organization has recognized burnout as a disease;  2/3 of full-time workers deal with burnout.

• Chronic periods of stress and anxiety negatively impact the immune system. 

The good news is that there are things that we can each do to take better care of ourselves, build resilience, and feel empowered to take control of our health.  

Ten things to support your mental health

1. Be kind and compassionate to yourself and others.

   We are often more unkind to ourselves than to others. Our inner dialogue can be ruthless and damaging. Practice self-awareness of your words, and choose a different, kinder thought in the moment. Also, give others grace and compassion because we do not know what they may be going through. 

   2. Get professional help 

   Seek out a mental health practitioner. Many organizations now offer these services to their employees. Take advantage of available resources or seek a referral from someone you trust.

   3. Get some sunshine to boost your mood. 

   There is a reason we feel better when we're outside. When we get proper sunlight, our bodies produce vitamin D and release more serotonin, boosting our mood and helping both anxiety and depression.  

   4. Try to get 7-9 hours of sleep each night.

   Sleeping 7 -9 hours is ideal for us, and sleep and mental health are closely tied together. When we sleep, our body rests and recovers. When we do not get enough sleep, especially REM sleep, the brain doesn't correctly consolidate positive emotional content, which is tied to mental health disorders and their severity. Sleep is now understood as both a cause and consequence of mental health problems. 

   5. Surround yourself with loving people you can talk to.

   We all need a tribe of loving and supporting people to talk to and share our concerns, especially when they're tied to our health. So seek out friends, family, or professionals to talk to. 

   6. Eat well and take care of your gut health.

   The gut is sometimes referred to as our second brain, and our gut and brain are linked through the vagus nerve, which sends signals to and from the brain. It's incredible, but the gut can influence emotional behavior in the brain, and the brain can impact the bacteria in the gut. Therefore, nourishing ourselves by eating whole foods, especially fruits, and vegetables, those rich in omega-3 fatty acids, dark leafy green vegetables, nuts, beans, and lentils, helps to boost our mental health. Also, investing in a good probiotic is essential for gut health. 

   7. Start a gratitude practice.

   Did you know that studies have shown that those who practice gratitude are happier, less stressed, less anxious, and less depressed? I love doing gratitude as part of my morning routine and in the evening before I sleep. When we acknowledge our blessings, we focus our energy on what we have, not what we lack. So try it; you may love it!

   8. Move your body daily. 

   Research shows that people who exercise regularly have lower mental illness rates and better overall mental and emotional well-being. Exercise helps release endorphins that boost our mood, help us sleep better, provide more energy, improve our confidence, and reduce stress.

   9. Reduce stress - yoga, meditation, tai chi, and breathwork.

   I can't say enough about mindfulness practices. They align our mind, body, breath, and spirit. Each of these modalities has been shown to reduce stress and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Mindfulness also trains our brains to be present in the moment and shrinks our amygdala, allowing us to be less reactive. 

   10. Get your blood tested to address deficiencies and get supplement recommendations.

   Several vitamins have been shown to support good brain health. However, asking your primary for a full panel test can reveal deficiencies in vitamins such as Vitamin D, B vitamins, and Folate, which are linked to mental health disorders.  

   Resources: 

• https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help

• https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/mental-health-resources

• https://nami.org/Home

• https://www.amenclinics.com

Leveraging the gift of time

Leveraging the gift of time

What we do with the extra hours in the day that we have been given back will be critical.

We humans like to be comfortable and we also like to feel in control.  What is happening right now in the world does not make us feel either.  There is a general feeling of uneasiness and uncertainty as a result of the pandemic and social distancing implementation.  

As we have retreated into our homes, it feels like time has slowed down.  Those who work outside the homes and have been asked to work from home have been given back hours of time they would have spent getting ready for work and commuting to and from the office.  Students at universities are attending their classes virtually, opening up their days.  Families with little children whose schools have been closed are now together 24/7.

Time is, and has always been one, of our most precious gifts.  We’ve used the excuse “I don’t have the time” to postpone our dreams, to become healthy, and even work on relationships.  What we do with the extra hours in the day that we have been given back will be critical.  Will we waste the time by distracting ourselves, or will we see time as a blessing and finally do things we’ve delayed? 

Here are some options to start today:

• Start a regular exercise routine in your home or go for walks outside (while practicing physical distancing).

• Implement a self-care practice of gratitude, meditation and journaling to promote mindfulness and guard our mind against worry, stress and overwhelm. 

• Promote your personal growth and development by listening to podcasts, reading books and even watching documentaries on topics of interest.

• Cook and eat meals together with your family at home.

• Re-connect or stay connected with family and friends outside your home by calling or leveraging FaceTime or Zoom.

• Learn a new language by leveraging online resources and apps. 

• Get the sleep you need by taking power naps and getting the 7-9 hours of sleep that we all need.

• Think strategically and creatively by blocking out distractions and solving critical business or personal challenges that you’ve postponed focusing on. 

• Start or re-engage with a hobby or interest.  Begin writing your best-selling book, paint again, pick up that guitar or sit down at the piano, experiment cooking new meals with items in your pantry and refrigerator, write your business plan, finally do a vision board, etc. 

• Get organized by cleaning out your closet and donating “stuff” that you don’t need, organizing your pantry and discovering how much food you already, getting your finances in order by creating a budget. 

This list is not meant to be exhaustive.  We each have things that have been placed on our hearts.  What will you be doing with the extra time that you’ve been given? 

Hope, Renewal and Growth

I love Spring - it’s a season of hope, renewal and growth. The snow has thawed and melted, the grass is green, the flowers are budding, and the animals and humans are outside again. The potential for change in our environment and ourselves is exhilarating.  Yet, if we don’t pay attention, the changes seem to happen overnight, and we can miss them.  

Last year, in my need to bring more balance back to my life, and perform a bit of self-care, I’d started practicing yoga and meditation daily.  I have been practicing yoga for over 20 years, but inconsistently, and focusing more on it as exercise rather than medicine for my life.  Yoga is a practice in self-reflection. Meeting ourselves on the mat means learning to breathe through all of the thoughts, emotions and memories that arise when we move through our poses. The urge to run away can be very strong, but the only way to get to the other side is to completely surrender and breathe.

The Yamas and Niyamas are two limbs of yoga on the path towards self-reflection, and a guide for our life’s journey.  While studying the history and philosophy of yoga in my teacher training, I started to notice areas of my life where I was not practicing love, where I was grasping, where I wasn’t content, or where I was overly rigid.  I recognized when I was ruled by the ego and not the Spirit.

Running so fast, and for so long, allowed me (required me) to keep my mind, body and spirit separate. I had somehow disassociated from the core of who I was as a whole.  Yoga and meditation became the mirror that reflected my life back to me.  And, it wasn’t the soft lighting mirror - it was the other one that you’re scared to look at because its bright light magnifies every line and every blemish. Once you look, you can’t un-see what you saw. It was time to slow down and make some changes in my life.

My yoga instructors have taught me that the pose itself is not the goal; it’s the movement between the poses that matter more.  Injuries happen often moving from pose to pose when we’re not paying attention, rushing or pushing through despite pain.  Focusing on the breath, on proper alignment, being present in the movement and releasing the ego are critical in yoga.  I’ve come to realize how important these things are in life, too.

I know slowing down is not easy.  It forces us to deal with things that are unresolved. By making small adjustments, we can de-program ourselves from old patterns, thoughts and attitudes.  The changes won’t happen overnight, but they will come. 

Here are a few small changes you can implement:

1. Starting a daily meditation, affirmation and gratitude practice allows you to quiet the mind, practice being kinder to yourself, and recognize your blessings.

2. Schedule time on your calendar for alone time to take a walk, read, take a bath, enjoy a glass of wine, journal - whatever your version of a guiltless pleasure is.

3. Begin to de-clutter your home, closets, and drawers, and make room for new beginnings and changes.

4. Simplify your life to create room for things that bring you true joy.

5. Focus less on the destination and more on the journey. 

Revel in stillness and your breath.  Instead of racing from one destination to the next,  choose to live more fully in the space between the moments.

I am not “cured” of my controlling and high-intensity tendencies, but I am more self-aware and have the desire to change. Instead of beating myself up with unkind words or thoughts about my short-comings, I am practicing self-love and care. By finally slowing down, I feel peace, love and joy. And, you can, too.

Namaste

 “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”

― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist