By There’s no doubt about it, life is stressful. Work, finances, children, relationships, it all just piles up after a while and can take a toll on your mental health. Sometimes it’s important to just pause for a moment and evaluate what you have going on in your life. Life will get stressful sometimes, but by taking care of yourself, you’ll be able to cope with it a lot better.
Switching to Green and Eco-Friendly Items
Revamping your household and going green, not only benefits the environment but can impact your mood as well. When you start switching to eco-friendly products around the home, such as a bamboo paper towel, it teaches you to be mindful and gives you a sense of purpose. Exposure to harmful chemicals daily can lead to feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, hormonal imbalance, and psychosomatic illnesses.
Try slowing down when shopping and paying more attention to the labels on the products you buy. Look for ones that have very few ingredients and that say organic or natural. You can also consider making your products from items you already have at home rather than buying them.
Exercising Daily
Exercise does a lot for your physical and mental health. Just a few benefits from daily exercise include:
- Weight reduction
- Increased mental alertness
- Better endurance
- Improved sleep
- Stress relief
- Improvement in mood
- Increased energy
Thirty minutes of moderate exercises, such as yoga, three to four times per week can make a huge difference. Making time for exercise can seem like a hassle sometimes, especially when your days are already full of things to do.
Consider what free time you do have. Can you cut back on watching television or scrolling social media sometimes to make the time? Sometimes putting your physical and mental health first in your life comes with making sacrifices, such as getting up a little early or cutting back on doing certain things to make time for what matters the most.
Step Outside More
Exercise is good for your overall health, but so is going outside. Spending time outside in nature can improve your mood, reduce your stress, and lower your blood pressure. Having an appealing place, such as a park or a trail in the woods can help to make you feel more motivated to stay moving for longer.
Going outside more can also help you reduce your screen time. Most Americans spend more than two hours a day just watching television alone. This doesn’t include social media, apps on your phone, or playing games on a computer or console. Too much screen time can cause depression, isolation, and insomnia. Think about how much time you spend on average in a day looking at various screens. Try giving your eyes a break and stepping outside to enjoy the fresh air.
Keep a Positive Mindset
When everything in your life feels like it’s going wrong, it can feel almost impossible to think positive thoughts. It’s easy to stay in a negative mindset when it seems like the world is falling apart around you and nothing is going right. Take time to practice gratitude and write or think about the things that make you happy. Think about the negative things that have been happening to you and try to determine what you’ve gained from those experiences.
Make a list of the things you are most proud of and celebrate your accomplishments. When you’re stuck feeling negative, remember how far you’ve come and how far you’ll continue to go.
Take Time to Relax
Time can feel so limited, which is why a lot of people feel overwhelmed. There never seems to be enough time to do all the things you want to do. It’s easy to overlook the most important thing; yourself.
No matter what you have going on in your life, carve some time out to do something that makes you happy. Soak in a bathtub, read a book, write, draw, or whatever else interests you. Life is hectic, but it’s necessary to take time for yourself because your mental health needs a break from all the chaos.
