How to keep your mental health in check? As a part of sustainable living, taking care of your mental health is essential. Here are some tips on how I keep my mental state at bay:
LIVE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT
The Power of Now changed my life. I read it the first time in 2011 when I was going through a divorce. In fact, the book found me. I was in New York with a girlfriend and ended up going to a bookstore. I was aimlessly walking around until I stopped in front of a stand with this book. One glance, and I knew I had to get it.
Reading The Power of Now and The New Earth helped me heal from an eating disorder. I suffered from bulimia on and off for 20 years. When I was going through a difficult time in a relationship (before I met my current husband), these books helped me stay present and not delve in muddy waters.
Now you can find Eckhart Tolle everwhere. You can listen to him on YouTube, on a Podcast, or read his books on Kindle. Out of all the spiritual teachers I met in my life (in person or virtually), he is the one who always helps me to shift the way I think and feel. He helps me find balance, see my Ego, and stay present.
LIMIT YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONSUMPTION
Spending time on Instagram exhausts me. And I don’t know why. If I have to describe this feeling, it makes me feel as if something sucks out my energy. I don’t enjoy being on this platform anymore.
When I started as a fashion blogger seven years ago, I loved browsing through Instagram and discovering new people. But as the years pass by, I realized that after I spent time on this app, I felt competitive and not good enough.
I took several breaks from Instagram, and stopped following the accounts that made me feel this way. Limiting the time I spent on Instagram to 30 minutes helped as well. But as I got older, my priorities have changed:
- my daughter is growing up, she has just started going to school and needs more attention,
- I also need to spend quality time with my husband if I want my marriage to last. You can’t believe that once you’re married, you can sit back and twirl your fingers.
I keep thinking about the irrelevance of social media in real life. How important is your social media stardom if you don’t have REAL friends that you can rely on? Or if you fall seriously sick? What will my daughter become if I spend my free time on this app instead of with her?
Bloggers, creatives, PR companies, and brands will make you believe that you’re nothing without social media. I realized that it is all just a lie. These apps are just making us less connected and more lonely in real-time. So put your phone down and concentrate on the person who is talking to you.
REGULAR EXERCISE AND HEALTHY EATING
You may have heard it before but regular exercise and healthy eating are good for your mental health. Firstly, when you exercise, your body releases endorphins which improve your mood. Secondly, I personally feel better in my skin when I exercise regularly.
I am not on a diet. I eat what I can (avoiding food containing lactose since I am lactose-intolerant) and focus on eating when I am hungry. Not when I am bored, sad, or angry. I am lucky because I love vegetables. My morning smoothie contains either spinach or Spirulina – I love the taste.
Since I started following a strict lactose-free diet, my belly bloating practically diminished. And what is even better, I rarely suffer from stomach cramps. It is hard as I loved eating cream cakes in our local pâtisserie. That is over. On the other hand, I discovered places thag make lactose-free cakes. Our supermarket runs a lactose-free range of food so, in the end, it is not so bad. I should not complain.
Now, I would love to hear from you. How do you keep your mental health in check?
