Today’s daily work grind leaves you feeling wiped and anxious. A boss that expects you to check and respond to emails at all hours of the day or a large project looming that you’re not done with can wreak havoc on your mind AND your body in tiny increments that build-up, until….you’re sick. Your body stops working at peak performance and your nerves are shot. So what should you do?
The answer is simple, right? Just take care of yourself. It sounds so easy, yet it’s much harder to implement than you may think. The key to doing this begins with tiny wins.
Try to find small, simple things you can try to implement. Even just one or two a day can add up be a big help to your health and mental well-being.
Here’s a few ideas to mentally calm yourself, woman!
Mind
Try An App. Maintaining a healthy relationship with the three elements of self—Mind, Body, Spirit — can help you remember to value yourself FIRST. So let’s start with the first one, Mind.
Not your job, or your kids or your husband, YOU. Easy ways to implement this are to use one of many self-help apps around:
- Happify: The Happify app is your fast-track to a good mood. Try engaging games, gratitude prompts, and more. Train your brain as if it were a muscle, to overcome negative thoughts. IOS and Android
- Calm: Calm provides people experiencing stress and anxiety with guided meditations, sleep stories, breathing programs, and relaxing music. IOS and Android
- Headspace: Easy to use meditation tool to keep on track for beginners and experts alike. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/headspace-meditation/id493145008?mt=8 IOS & Android
- Shine: Like a daily pep talk by a good friend, Shine keeps you happy, calm, stress-free and more. IOS and Android.
Work it OUT (this benefits both your both and your mind). Get out your frustrations at your boss, your finances or your diet at the gym. We recommend weight lifting, boxing, kickboxing, running, or long/fast/uphill walks, cycling or hikes in nature if you don’t like to run. Any kind of physical exercise that “exhausts” your body has the potential to also calm your mind and build your strength. There are so many apps out there that help you work out more efficiently; we like Strava for running and cycling specifically. We also liked FitnessPoint for weight lifting, IOS and Android.
Complete a task that requires either muscle or concentration/decision-making abilities: Painting the walls, hammering/building, gardening, deep cleaning a room, or landscaping. Putting effort into something you can “see” when you’re done offers immediate rewards (and a pretty home). Plus you will mentally feel better now that the task isn’t hanging over your head.
Marie Condo the Crap Out of Your Life: Throw out the photos of the ex that make you feel bad (out of sight, out of mind), the dress you were never quite skinny enough to fit into, or the wedding platter your stepmom gave you but you hate. Clean out a closet, an office, or the kitchen, one piece at a time and donate gently used items to a women shelter, a teen LGBT shelter, or someone who could use the items for a new start in life. You’ll feel better about life in general and won’t remember the bad feelings the old items used to give you now that the items are removed from your sight.
Try A Hobby: No we aren’t joking. Your mom’s old advice when you whined there was NOTHING to do in the summer still rings true today. A friend got into reading tarot cards as a hobby and now does it for a living. Another friend began making handmade cards and selling them on Etsy. Try a dance class, learn chess, take a jewelry design class or baking class, or take up creative writing. Anything to get your mind off your stress and ENJOY your day is a worthwhile way to spend time.
