New Perspectives: My Mental Health Routine
🏄♀️🌊🏰 A shot from a recent session shooting surf shots from the cliff walk, this time looking back towards the castle as a surfer carved their way across the line.
How are you feeling?
I'll admit it feels like an overused & at times redundant question. However, it remains an important question. Important in terms of reaching out to others & in engaging with our own feelings. How are you feeling?
I find I'm coping. I feel differently depending on the day. Happy. Sad. Concerned. Disappointed. Annoyed. Angry. Exhausted. I've felt a great many feelings over the last year. Y'know what? That's okay. Feeling all these feelings in a global pandemic where you can't see or hug many of those you love is a normal reaction. The circumstances are not normal, and by proxy these feelings are normal to feel. What's important — at least for me — is building a healthy framework around these feelings. To focus on building a daily routine that helps me spot & cope with each feeling to ensure it doesn't contribute to anxiety levels. "Cope" being the keyword.
Five Core Pillars
Over the last 3 months in particular I've built out a mental health routine made up of 5 core pillars: CBT, journalling, movement/exercise, mindful breathing, & empathy.
CBT focuses on challenging and changing unhelpful cognitive distortions and behaviors, improving emotional regulation, and the development of personal coping strategies that target solving current problems. That may sound complicated, but in practice it's not. It helps you approach the thoughts & experiences you have in a more constructive & empathetic way.
Journalling for me involves spending 10-15 minutes getting the thoughts in my mind out onto a page, 2-3 times a day. I do this with pen & paper; you could do it on a computer if you prefer.
Movement & exercise involves walking/jogging/doing at-home workouts. These are good for my physical health, and improve my quality of sleep alongside releasing positive chemicals in such as dopamine.
Mindful breathing involves taking time throughout my day to stop & breathe mindfully. This might take the form of a guided meditation (via Headspace - brilliant app) or spending time focusing on the sounds of nature, or sitting and enjoying a cup of tea or coffee away from my phone/tech.
Empathy is core to this entire process. I have to afford myself the patience & kindness I'd afford my friends & family. Doing this enables me to spot the feelings as they arrive & allows me to afford myself the time & space needed to cope with and process more challenging thoughts.
Through all these steps, I have found a balance. A balance that allows me to cope. To get through. To feel what I'm feeling & to process it. I urge you to engage with what you're feeling by writing them down. To seek supports. To look at options like CBT. To get out into nature for a while each day. To be empathetic to your situation. I hope this brings you a hint of value or positivity. We're all in this together, and there's more positive days ahead of us. Reach out to your friends & family. Ask for help if you need it.
Samaritans: ☎️116 123
Chat Supports 50808: 💬 50808
Age Action: 🤙1890 369369
Jigsaw: 📱 1800 544 729
Pieta House: 📱 1800 247 247
Women's Aid: ☎️1800 341 900
DISCLAIMER:
I am not a mental health professional nor an expert on anything mental health related. This is not mental health advice. This is my mental health routine — a routine which works for me. If you need support with your mental health please avail of supports from services like those listed above.
