Every day is an Awareness Day for me because I have to focus on my Mental Health before I feel overloaded and stressed out.

When discussing Mental Health and self-care it could be as simple as reducing stress, getting regular sleep, and putting the electronics away an hour before bedtime. It works for me, or take a nice bath with essential oils to create a nice aroma. There are so many ways we can keep our Mental Health in check. One of the most important tasks every day is to take your medication as prescribed.

Self Care Tips

When life gets busy it’s easy to forget to take care of yourself. But practicing self-care can have great benefits for your mental health.

Don’t feel guilty about taking time to care for yourself. It’s not selfish to make your health a priority. You will be better able to help others when you are your healthiest.

How to practice self-care is different for each person and can be different from day to day.  An act of self-care for one person could actually be triggering for someone else, such as visiting with family. The important part is to find a balance of activities that work for you.

Here are some ideas on ways to get started, and don’t forget that you can also combine these activities. For example, eating your favorite dessert at the park or going to the beach and reading with a friend.

Build a Healthy Foundation

Get enough sleep and do your best to keep a consistent sleep schedule

Eat a balanced diet and include fruits and vegetables

Remember to drink enough water

Avoid triggers

Take breaks from your computer, phone, or social media

Learn to say no: it’s okay to say no if you don’t want or aren’t able to do something at the moment. Taking on too many commitments can put extra pressure on yourself and cause more stress.

Many people think they don’t have time for self-care, especially men. Your body gives you what you put into taking care of. Men tend to be the worst at self-care or even the idea. Taking a break to get fresh air for 10 minutes is self-care. Your body will give you back what you put into taking care of yourself.

Melinda

References:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/04/28/a-proclamation-on-national-mental-health-awareness-month-2023/

https://ibpf.org/articles/50-ways-to-start-practicing-self-care/

Thank you for all the great feedback on the Blogger Highlight series, I’ve enjoyed meeting each blogger and sharing their site with you. This week we highlight the blog of Mental Health Struggles.

Mental Health Struggles

Hello! I am a 33-year-old woman speaking out about mental health & daily struggles to help me process things a little better.

I love how frank she is, so refreshing. Be sure to stop by. 

Melinda

Looking for the Light

Thank you for all the great feedback on the Blogger Highlight series, I’ve enjoyed meeting each blogger and sharing their site with you. This week we highlight the blog of Jennifer Pentland.

Jennifer Pentland

Welcome to my creative space!

My name is Jennifer Pentland, and I’m a self-taught artist who found solace and passion in art after experiencing the loss of a loved one. Through art therapy, I discovered an incredible love for the world of creativity.

Art has become my faithful companion on this journey of healing and self-discovery. It has provided me with a means to confront and navigate the depths of my anxiety, offering a sanctuary where my emotions can find expression and release without judgment or restraint. In the process, I have learned that art has an incredible power to heal and transform, both for the artist and those who connect with the artwork.

You will come back to her site because it’s addicting.

Melinda

Looking for the Light

If there is one thing about our lives, it’s that if we are experiencing one of the many aspects of the mental health umbrella, it’s that it forces us to retreat into our shell. Mental wellness is not something that is defined as the absence of mental illness but about learning to thrive in a mind state where you can realize your potential, cope with those everyday stresses, and make those meaningful contributions. This is why something like adventuring may seem completely anathema to the idea of self-care. But here are some. Adventure can be an amazing catalyst to improve our wellness. Let’s show you why.

Connection with Nature

While so many people instantly connect the idea of mental wellness with being out in nature, not everybody experiences that stereotypical sense of calm that is out in nature. However, if you attempt to get yourself off the beaten track and make the most of your time in nature, it instantly gives you a sense of grounding and a soothing effect that could be very therapeutic. 

Because being in nature can improve our mental well-being, we can stand to benefit not just from being surrounded by trees but actually using these approaches as a way to get as far away from the rat race as humanly possible. We can all struggle to deal with those daily pressures. This is why potentially opting for more hiking and biking can make a big difference. You can easily purchase an electric off road bike for adults or a backpack and a new pair of boots and venture into nature.

The Attention It Demands of You

This is a very important thing to remember, especially when we are consumed by anxiety. We hear so much about the benefits of mindfulness, but rather than something like a body scan meditation or sitting there trying to think of nothing, lots of people make the mistake of thinking that mindfulness is supposed to be a welcome distraction. It should be something that nourishes you, and often when we’re feeling like there is nothing to live for, no matter what we have in our lives, doing something that simultaneously nourishes us but also is challenging enough to take our attention off our thoughts for even a split second is an amazing solution. 

Something like scuba diving or rock climbing requires you to be present in the moment because it demands so much of your attention. But you can apply this to other parts of your life as well. For example, going to the gym can be as much of an adventure as doing something as stereotypical as climbing trees or flying. When we feel anxious, we ruminate. There is a reason why those adventurers feel addicted to those practices, and that’s because they’re not consumed by those thoughts that everybody has at one point or another.

Social Connection

Finding someone who is doing exactly the same thing as you, especially when it’s a very unique or left-field practice, could foster a sense of belonging. This is absolutely ideal for mental wellness. As people, it’s deeply ingrained in us that we practice socializing. Being a part of a group of people allows us to be simultaneously involved but also blend into something, and when we participate in an activity where there are only a few people, this instantly creates a sense of trust because you’re both on the same page with the same shared goal. 

This doesn’t just mean that you then achieve the goal itself, but because you’re doing something that actively nourishes you in a group of people who are thinking the same way, you instantly feel part of a team, part of a greater purpose, and this means that you will begin to feel more inclined to pursue the things that make you feel this way. It’s like an addiction but with a more positive spin.

Increased Resilience

Going on any form of adventure is, first and foremost, about taking you out of your comfort zone. We all need to push our upper limits so we are better equipped to handle the ups and downs that life throws at us. 

We can feel so much guilt that we’re alive if we’ve gone through an incredibly tough time, but we also need to remember that life is not purely about happiness, which is a major misconception, it’s about remembering those challenges can boost our resilience and remember that adversity is something that we all overcome in any different form.

If there’s one thing about life that we should all maintain, it’s a sense of curiosity. This is why going on any form of adventure is an amazing solution, not just for the sake of mental wellness, but for every aspect of our existence.

This is a collaborative post

Melinda

Thank you for all the great feedback on the Blogger Highlight series, I’ve enjoyed meeting each blogger and sharing their site with you. This week we highlight the blog of Run Away Widow.

Join me, Kristin, on my journey to adjust to the sudden death of my husband and learn to live as a young, middle-aged, remarried widow.

Mike was killed in August 2015. After the police investigation fades, details of the ‘accident’ become suspicious. When the medical examiner determines the cause of death is HOMICIDE, I hire a team of investigators and lawyers to discover what really happened that night.

I started writing my blog during the summer when I ran away to avoid my first wedding anniversary without my husband as well as the one year anniversary of his passing.  I fled around the world to Thailand.  

Her site is a joy to read.

Melinda

Looking for the Light