The world we live in presents a lot of stress and pressure. Whether these challenges are from work or our personal lives, they can feel overwhelming. The good news is that you’re far from powerless.
Mindful living involves adopting a lifestyle that holistically supports your mental wellness. This doesn’t make issues disappear, and you won’t be ignoring your challenges. Rather, it’s about recognizing the difficulties so that the changes you implement are more tailored and impactful. So, let’s explore a few of the ways to move forward.’
Seek Guidance from Professionals
While mindful living can empower you to make good decisions for your mental wellness, it’s not about taking it entirely on your shoulders. You’re likely to have a more positive outcome by recognizing that holistic mental wellness combines your practices and collaborations with health professionals when you need them.
Depending on your needs, a therapist or psychiatrist may be an appropriate professional collaborator. Both of these give you opportunities to discuss your challenges and gain a little regular catharsis from expressing your feelings. Most importantly, they can work with you to adopt mentally healthy behaviors and techniques into your daily routine. For instance, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may help you adjust how you think about and respond to difficult situations.
If you’re seeing a clinical psychiatrist, you may find that they prescribe you medication to help you manage symptoms. Planning a medication schedule involves having discussions with them about what the medication does and what you can do in your day-to-day life to better leverage these pharmacological tools.
For instance, it’s essential to discuss what dietary adjustments might be required to mitigate side effects as well as boost your overall nutritional and psychological well-being. If natural supplements and remedies are already part of your routine, talking about these with your psychiatrist can help them prescribe the most appropriate medications or provide advice about potential interactions. As a result, you can make informed choices.
Create a Supportive Environment
Your everyday surroundings impact your mental well-being. When you’re outside, there may be stresses and stimuli that put pressure on your psychological and emotional wellness. This makes it particularly important to be mindful of how the atmospheric elements of your home can bring you some peace, allowing you to develop an environment that supports your ongoing wellness.
Some aspects you can control that may make a difference here include:
- Noise: Excessive noise can cause discomfort and mental strain for a lot of people. It’s wise to get to know what your triggers are and be mindful of environmental changes that can mitigate this. On a temporary level, you might move to a room that has less noise and perhaps play some gentle music. For more permanent fixes, you might consider implementing soundproofing measures. These might include thicker window panes, dense insulation, or even dedicating a room of your house as a quiet zone by installing thick rugs and drapes that absorb noise.
- Humidity: if you live in a particularly humid area, you might experience discomfort that can make you feel more stressed or anxious. Indeed, unless you take steps to effectively control indoor humidity, moisture contributes to mold growth while damaging your living space. There are some relatively simple measures, such as drying clothes on low heat to reduce the build-up of internal moisture and using exhaust vents or fans when taking showers.
No action or adjustment is too small. Even the fabric of your clothing, blankets, and linens can make a difference for your mental health.
It’s also worth considering a few ways to adapt your workplace environment to better your mental health. Having some houseplants around you may help lift your mood in an excessively corporate space. If, like many people, your psychological and cognitive processes are disrupted by noise at work, you might consider some noise-canceling headphones that help you to focus and remove the stimulus that causes you stress.
Adopt Mindful Activities
Another key to mindful living is incorporating mentally healthy activities into your everyday life. These are purposeful measures that are aligned with your specific needs, but they also tend to be enjoyable and enriching.
One of the common and accessible ways to perform mentally healthy activities is to spend time outdoors. Studies into associations between nature and health have found that being outdoors regularly can help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Many hobbies pair well with the outside, such as painting, photography, and even drone flying. Even something as simple as hiking or reading in the park can make a difference and give you a break from the strains of the world.
Exercise, too, is an invaluable part of staying holistically well. Time spent working out on gym equipment can enhance your mental health by allowing you to focus on the present rather than ruminate on stressful or negative thoughts. Getting a gym membership is an option, but it’s not the only approach.
If you have the space, consider turning your garage into a gym. Doing so can offer you convenient access to a workout space that aligns with your specific needs. This requires some decluttering to maximize your space, followed by making floor plans for how to use the area to suit the apparatus you need. Even personalizing the space with posters and decor that keeps you in a positive headspace can motivate you to exercise.
Conclusion
Mindful living involves being aware of the challenges in your life and adopting holistic measures to support your mental wellness. There are various approaches to this, including working closely with clinicians and adapting your environment. Getting the combination of measures right can take a little time, though. Regularly assess what you’re doing, being mindful of how it’s affecting you. From here, you can adjust your strategies to suit your wellness best.
