Your mental wellbeing is important, and as the year starts to get busy, we often forget to look after our mental health. Everybody should have their own Self-Care Toolkit filled with tools that will help you reduce your stress and manage your mental health. If you are looking for some tools to add to your belt, here are a few suggestions that may help!
Exercise
Whether it is a session at the gym or a 10 minute walk, a little bit of movement is always beneficial for clearing the mind. It can increase your endorphine levels, reduce the effects of stress, and improve your mood! It is important to remember that you should exercise at a level you are comfortable with first, before increasing the intensity, duration or repetitions of your sessions.
Healthy Diet
A healthy diet is important for your mental wellbeing. Ensuring you have a balanced diet is crucial as many neurotransmitters, signalling chemicals that impact brain function, are produced by bacteria in the large intestine. Changes in our gut biome can affect neurotransmitter production, which impacts out overall mental wellbeing. If you are having difficulty with your diet, a Dietician is always the best place to go to seek advice.
Mindfulness
A great way to reduce stress is to practice mindfulness exercises such as deep breathing or meditation. Research shows that a minimum of 10 minutes of mindfulness a day can reduce stress, anxiety, depression and can also help with pain management! Mindfulness also encourages mental clarity, improved emotional intelligence and emotion regulation. Guided mindfulness sessions can be found on apps like Headspace of Smiling minds, or by following the Youtube links below;
Sometimes the best way to destress is to catch up with friends and family and talk through areas that may be causing you to worry. Your social network can also consist of medical professionals, such as Psychologists, GP's, and any other allied health professionals you see!
So use this post as a reminder to update and check whether your belt is fitted with the right tools for yourself. If you need some guidance to build your tool kit, feel free to call us on 3184 0444, or book in online!