The stress, anxiety, and overwhelm of the past couple of years have cost us a lot. But with signs that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, it’s time to begin thinking about our mental health.
More specifically, we should look for ways to reset.
4 Tips for a Mental Health Reset
Have you ever played Nintendo 64? Do you recall what you would do when a game wouldn’t load? You’d pull out the cartridge, flip it upside down, and blow on it. That always seemed to do the trick.
It can be helpful to think about a mental health reset in this way. The objective isn’t to fundamentally change or reshape your brain. The goal is simply to blow out some of the junk that doesn’t need to be there so you can think clearly and function properly on an emotional level.
Here are several proactive steps you can take:
1. Start Journaling
Did you know that journaling can help you manage mental health conditions and symptoms like stress, anxiety, and even depression and bipolar disorder? It doesn’t matter if you’re a writer (or even if you enjoy writing) – the benefits are clear. Journaling helps you process your emotions, take inventory of your thoughts, and deal with your feelings within the safe and controlled parameters of a page.
Everyone’s different, but we recommend building journaling into your daily routine. Set a timer for 20 minutes and just start writing about what’s on your mind.
“The best way to use journaling to process your thoughts and feelings is to write about what’s going on in your life that day,” Mental Health America suggests. “Discuss what’s happened to you, how you feel about things, and any worries that you have. Keep writing until your timer goes off or you feel better.”
Don’t worry about spelling, grammar, sentence construction, or even the flow of your entries. The goal is not to have a perfect entry that you can turn into an essay or the chapter of a book. The real healing comes from pushing those thoughts from your brain to your fingers to the pages of the journal.
2. Develop a Default Routine
When there’s so much uncertainty in your life, it can help to have a default routine to fall back on. This serves as a stabilizing force in a fluid environment where there isn’t much else you can control.
Ideally, this default routine will extend throughout the day. However, it’s unlikely that you can carry out a perfect routine for 24 hours a day. But you should be able to manage a morning routine.
For example, wake up, let the dog out, fix coffee, read, journal, eat breakfast, shower, and drive to work. That might seem very simple in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a routine that you can depend on.
3. Use Tuning Fork Therapy
You might think your body is solid, but it’s actually rhythmic and harmonic. This means it can easily shift out of alignment or go “out of tune.” And in order to bring your mind and body back into alignment, you need to correct these vibrational inconsistencies and stimulate your body to heal itself. Tuning fork therapy is one of the most effective and convenient options.
Tuning fork therapy, which uses tuning forks set to different frequencies, helps relax muscle tension, reduce anxiety, and open up energetic pathways that encourage the mind to reach a state of equilibrium. Consider making this a part of your routine.
4. Use the Buddy System
Researchers have found that finding a “buddy” to help you stay on track and avoid negative habits that could further compromise your mental health is highly effective. It actually increases oxytocin, which is your “tend and befriend” hormone. As a result, you’re 35 percent less likely to experience cravings for unhealthy substances or habits.
Reboot for a Better Future
No matter how tough the past couple of years have been for you, there’s always a chance to hit that reset button and put yourself in a better position – mentally, emotionally, and relationally with others.
You don’t have to do everything on this list, but start somewhere. Whether it’s journaling, tuning fork therapy, counseling, or some combination of other measures, there’s value in rebooting and refocusing.
Keep being AllDayChic!
