In my opinion, since the covid-19 pandemic, mental health has a different landscape now than it did before Covid-19. There were a lot of changes to our social structure and things that were apart of our culture that looked very different post-pandemic. For me, one of the big changes was that things became more automated and even more digital than they were before. Zoom became a runner up option instead of driving across town to meet with somebody face to face. This is just one example.
Post-pandemic, it's become easy to settle into routines that are convenient, but that are not good for our mental wellbeing. These are two different things, healthy and convenient.
So how to we keep our mental wellbeing in check? Here are a few ideas. There are lots of ways to improve your mental wellbeing, I think to sum it up, it's just switching things up a little bit and not getting too stuck in our routines.
One great way to improve our mental wellbeing is to connect with others. How often do you meet a friend for a walk or coffee? When's the last time you met up with a group of friends for a birthday or maybe a book club, or went hiking or biking? Meeting up with friends helps give us perspective to our everyday. Everybody has difficult things they are going through and when we have empthy for others we feel connection which is feeling heard and seen.
Being amongst nature is another great way to improve our mental wellbeing. I am out of town right now watching my sisters' kids while she and her husband are away on a vacation. She lives in a beautiful area in Washington State where there is beautiful water, sadndy beaches and mountains to enjoy. Fresh air is a wonderful and a little bit of wind is relaxing and renewing.
Finding ways to be creative and learn new things also helps support mental wellbeing. As hygienists, we are sometimes pretty science based people, and learning how to use the other side of our brain can be an outlet for us that brings relaxation and variety. Do you like to paint? Or are you into flower/vegetable gardening, quilting, cooking, crocheting, scrapbooking, etc? All of these things serve a purpose, they are not a waste of our time. When we use our artistic and creative abilities, it allows us to make choices that are fun as opposed to the serious life choices we an get bogged down by. Being creative takes the seriousness out of life and lightens things up.
Improving our sleep is maybe easier said than done, but always looking for ways to get closer to a rejuvenating sleep is important. Our bodies change constantly over time and coming back around to try things again or tweak things just a little to improve our sleep can make a big difference. Always working to get a better nights sleep is worthy of our time. One of the things I've tried most recently while trying to improve my sleep is to not wear sunglasses all the time like I usually do. Letting the natural light into my eyes during the day has improved my sleep. Chamomile tea, a warm bath, turning off electronics, not eating too late...these are all things that can help improve our sleep. If you've tried them before, try them again and maybe it'll be different this time around!
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