The Well Soul Train
Mental Marathon
The last year has been stressful for nearly everyone. Our routines were upended, our relationships scrambled, and our mental health strained. Our mental health is knotted to our physical health. Just like physical fitness requires training, mental fitness requires training. This last year has been the equivalent of a mental marathon, and it wore many of us out. Now is the time to rebuild your mental fitness.
Manage Inputs
Limit Incoming Junk
In the current Information Age, we are swamped with information, overwhelmed with the news. There is no end to the information we can take in. But we must ask, ‘Is this information building my mental health?’ So much of the information, especially online, but not only online, is junk. If we put as much junk into our bodies as we put into our brains, our bodies would be quivering blobs.
News Diet
It’s not that we want to be ignorant of what’s happening, but how much time do we need to spend on the day’s news. Outrage feels great, but righteous rage is a sugar high. It eventually crashes us lower than before. And if we constantly run on the sugar high of news outrage, we will poison ourselves. How much of last week’s news is important today? Go on a news diet. Instead, read some of the classics that have nourished generations.
Look Local
Don’t worry as much about what happens on the other side of town or the other side of the country. Spend your time focusing on your neighbourhood and your friends and family. Find out what is happening in their lives. That is something you can influence. Not many of us influence national politics, but we can make a difference in our neighbourhood. Don’t strive to change the world. Learn to love your neighbour.
Mental Structures
Set a Routine
Having a routine might sound boring. But routine is good for the body. First, get up at the same time every day. Our body is built to work on a schedule. We are not a machine that functions the same throughout the day. Our hormone levels follow a daily cycle, and so should we. Eat and sleep at the same time.
Quiet Time
Set aside 10 minutes a day for reflection, ideally in the morning. Don’t allow any voices. Sit quietly and drink your coffee, tea, or water. Ruminate over all the good things in your life. If you are a religious person, take time to pray or read a sacred text. Focus on beauty, gratitude, and the wonder of life.
Mind Break
Throughout the day, take 30-second mind breaks. Stop and check your mental state. Are you frustrated, afraid, angry, bored? If you can’t remember to do this---and who can?--- set a phone reminder for “30-second check” every 3 hours.
Daydream
Take time to dream about a great thing that would make you happy in the future. Maybe it’s an accomplishment or moving to a new place or an upcoming party. Imagine that it has already happened, and you are basking in the glory. Don’t think about what you need to do to make it happen. Just dream. Don’t try this when you’re stressed, but when you are relaxed. Take a flight of fancy.
Manage Thoughts
Put Your Behind in the Past
Things that have already happened, mistakes you’ve made, regrets you have, those are all in the past and can’t be undone. Let them go. Release things you cannot change. Whether it was something you did, or something done to you, move on. Focus on today and the great things you can do today. Every batter has to take a swing after they strikeout. Forget the past. Take another swing.
Remember the Past
Remember all those times in the past when you had success. Maybe it was at work, or maybe it was in a relationship. You’ve had some wins. Maybe you’ve suffered a few losses lately, but you, my friend, are a winner. You’re the kind of person who gets right back up again. You succeeded in the past, and you will succeed again.
Body Builds Mind
Breathe
It’s interesting to know the ancients used the same word for ‘breath’ as ‘soul’. Our breathing is connected to our mental life, to our soul. Controlled breathing can help manage stress and give us a sense of calm. Use your diaphragm for breathing, not your shoulders or chest. When you take a deep breath, don’t raise your shoulders. To relax, breath in through your nose, hold for 3 seconds, and slowly release. Do this 7 times. For more details on breathing, see ‘Summer 2019 Panacea.’
Prioritize Sleep
Our mind needs sleep every bit as much as our body. When we are short on sleep, our minds cannot function properly. We are more anxious, we are slower in reacting, and our memory is worse. In short, when we skip some sleep, we sleepwalk through our life.
Exercise
One of the best things you can do for your mind is to move your body. Simple workouts, like brisk walking, improve mood, memory, concentration, and all kinds of mental traits. Our mind is interwoven with our body. So stay active and move about.
Healthy Attitudes
Be Grateful
This is an important habit for health. Cultivating gratitude shifts our minds toward growth and sharing. Gratitude pushes out the seeds of envy, which erodes the soul. Envy makes us miserable. If we feel like we should take others down a notch, we are on the path to bitterness. If we take the time to reflect on all the things we have to be grateful for, it shifts our focus to health. That’s not to say that some of us haven’t been dealt a bad hand. Some have. Start small by being thankful for the beautiful flowers you see. Let your gratitude build.
The Honest Self
Telling the truth, especially to yourself, removes a mental burden. Don’t bury how you feel. Face it. When someone hurts you, and they will, admit to yourself that it hurt. Recognizing and accepting your feelings is an important part of mental health. Sometimes we get angry---admit it. When we are honest with ourselves about how we feel, we can begin to deal with the feelings. Feelings are not right nor wrong. They are built-in reactions. The problem starts when we nurse negative emotions like anger, fear, and disgust. These emotions need to be brought into the spotlight of our minds so we can dig through them for truth.
Be Honest with Others
Honesty is the best policy. Always has been, always will be. Your relationships will be stronger if you tell others the truth. Don’t condemn the actions of others, but be honest about how their actions made you feel. That doesn’t mean unloading on someone. Over time, share honestly how you feel, starting with small things. Being honest frees you up to be who you are. Anytime we are less than honest, we create a false self that drains mental energy. We become actors. Acting is hard. Being yourself is easy.
Take Action
Build Relationships
It is not good for us to be alone. We were meant to live and move among people. Connect with people. Use letters, text messages, phone calls, and in-person visits. In-person visits are gold. Meeting with another person aligns our mental compass. When we rely only on the thoughts in our heads, our internal compass can spin wildly. We can lose our sense of direction. Other people help us align to what is important. We can’t do it alone. Mental health is coupled to our social health.
Align
Take time to clarify what you want to do in life and what is important to you. If what you are doing is not getting you where you want to be, make a few changes. Look at where your time and money are going. That will tell you what your gut thinks is important. If you say family is important to you, does your calendar show that? If that is not where you want to be, switch a few things.
Volunteer
A great way to have purpose and contentment in your life is to help others. This can be as part of an organization where you volunteer. Even if you never see a single person you are helping, you are helping the organization help people. Volunteering is mental protein. It builds mental sturdiness.
Take a Vacation
Those who have regular vacations are healthier. Part of the rhythm of life is that we need a weekly break and a longer break each year. A 40-year study in Finland found that 3 weeks of annual vacation resulted in longer life. Other studies also show that having had a vacation in the last 12 months lowers the risk of diabetes. Vacations are one way to deal with stress. Unmanaged stress is a health killer.
Mental Health Top of Mind
Prioritize mental, spiritual, and emotional health. You can’t be healthy without it. The returns to investing in mental health are bountiful. It helps your mind, your emotions, and your body. It even helps those around you.
