The importance of the ‘basics’
I know… boring. Your sick of hearing about it and the complex brain hacks and techniques are much more interesting! but the basics are the foundation. Forget any hacks working if you haven’t got the basics down pat. Good mental health without the basics is like a cup of coffee without hot water, you must have it for it to work. So, let’s remind ourselves of the basics.
Exercise
Exercise circulates dopamine in the brain, this means it increases your capacity for joy in everyday life, and these joyous effects carry on long after you’ve finished moving. Exercise does not have to be scary, anything that involves movement, and can be progressed to be challenging is going to provide amazing satisfaction and fulfilment, this enhances our confidence and self-worth! there is little better than feeling proud of yourself, and exercise is the perfect arena to facilitate just that
I want to amplify exercise for health and the way it makes you feel, as opposed to enduring pain for aesthetic gain, as this is where the real benefits are found. (bonus points for those who exercise outside as studies have shown this to have an astounding effect on us psychologically!)
Sleep
Take sleep away from any person on this earth and they will struggle physically and mentally. Sleep is profoundly important to every aspect of our wellbeing, and it is definitely worth prioritizing to get right. some tips to improve sleep include;
taking a warm bath or shower before bed can help our body reach optimal sleep temperature.
keep a ‘worry list’ on your nightstand, this sounds funny but it is something physical that can literally remove the thoughts from your stewing mind right before bed. Move the thoughts by writing them down on the list and look at them in the morning, you might giggle and find the things you were so concerned about obsolete after a good night’s sleep.
try to get as much natural light 30 minutes after waking up, this teaches our body when we want to wake up and when we want to sleep, by balancing our circadian rhythm; which is governed by light exposure. Obviously, this also means keeping light and screen exposure minimal around bedtime, but you already knew that.
remember you can’t force sleep. try not to concentrate on sleep and instead concentrate on relaxing, restfulness and calm. your brain will do the rest.
Nutrition
There are a lot of misconceptions around food and diets that claim health. It is vitally important that we educate about what good nutrition looks like for us as individuals, it is different for everyone but whole foods are always generally a good idea and place to start. there is no strict diet that has been shown to have positive effects on mental health. There has been evidence to show that traditional Mediterranean, Japanese, Norwegian and Anglo-Saxon diets in their traditional form do have mental health benefits, including reduced risk of depression. But ultimately see what works for you, you could also consult a dietitian to help you figure it out with professional guidance.
Routine
Largely underestimated until the C 19 word happened. When we’re not feeling so great our routine can easily suffer, and it’s a slippery slope, one thing falls and then so does the other. And sometimes it can be fun to do something different and have a little adventure, but it is important to have a strong base that sets you up for success to get back to. Take the time, try different things out and experiment to build a routine that sets you up to thrive, it will be worth it, I promise.
Social Interaction
nurturing our good, healthy human connections is fundamental to an enriched life. Us humans are hardwired to connect with one another. When we withdraw and isolate ourselves, which can be so easy to do when we’re feeling low, we can very quickly add loneliness into the mix and that makes us feel worse. Social interaction can be really daunting when we want to hide from the world, so we might consider, instead of forcing ourselves to a party or other intense social event, maybe we take ourselves to the park or somewhere where we can just be there amongst people but don’t have to feel the pressure of interacting. a good old ‘people watch’ can actually have really positive backpay to our mental health, just be there around others, observe them, smile at them, share whatever conversation you can manage, and that might be none at all and that’s okay.
when we are struggling connection does really help, if we cant find safe quality connections in our family and friends, then it would be useful to turn to a professional who can hold that space for us while we create other meaningful relationships in life.
