Let’s face it, our mental health could use a little TLC. It doesn’t help to compare times as being more stressful or less stressful than times in the past. These days, stress seems to come with the territory. Period.
But there are things we can do to help ourselves out.
Here are 5 things to try:
- Recognize that listening to the news, reading about it or seeing it impacts your thinking and nervous system. Take a 24-hour ‘news break’ at least two days a week. The longer the break the better.
- Know that your breath has a VIP relationship with your nervous system. Your mind and body prioritize the calming effect of deep exhales when you are exposed to upsetting news. If you’re upset about something you just heard or something going on, make sure you take regular deep belly breaths with a longer exhale than inhale. One exercise is to breathe in for the count of 4, hold it for 4 and breathe out for 8.
- Realize the positives that are going on each and every day. This won’t come via the main news outlets. If news is important to you, find sources that cover all the positive things going on in the world too and balance out the information you’re receiving.
- Find a Loving-Kindness Guided Meditation on youtube and practice it daily. This meditation empowers us to use our energy for serious good and can be done anywhere and anytime.
- Remind yourself of the quote from Theodore Parker used by Dr. Martin Luther King, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
What are some ways you give yourself some TLC?