When you wake up everyday, there are so many factors that influence how you feel physically, mentally, and emotionally.
When you experience poor physical health, your mental health likely suffers too. If you struggle with your mental health, you likely feel these effects in your body as well. This might manifest as difficulty eating or sleeping, a change in your eating habits, or a lack of motivation to exercise or care for yourself. The connection between our mind, body, and emotions is so powerful- everything is closely interconnected! This is why it’s so vital to make consistent investments into the many areas of our lives that ultimately each play a part in our overall sense of well-being.
To really experience vibrant health and a greater sense of well-being, we need to take care of all parts of our whole person. Experiencing that real glow and radiance comes from the inside- and it's about much more than simply what we eat or how much we exercise (although these are important!). Many factors come into play, including our relationships, our mental, physical and emotional health, our spirituality, our sense of purpose and fulfillment, and connection to our community. We need to continually work on cultivating and maintaining strong relationships, minding our mental health, investing in our physical health, practicing regular self-care, finding our sense of purpose, learning and engaging with others, and contributing to our communities to improve our sense of well-being.
Particularly over the last ten months, you might have been prioritizing everyone and everything over yourself, and might find that you're constantly putting off your own needs. Working from home is tough, and it can become very difficult to separate work from your daily life. Some people might find it hard to disconnect and take time off in the evenings, while some people might find it difficult to even get online and get their work done at all. Juggling work or school while managing your home and family schedule, maintaining relationships and friendships, getting good sleep, AND trying to find time for exercise or fresh air (especially during the winter) can seem overwhelming. Instead, focus on investing in one or two areas of your life each day.
Here are a few things that you can do to improve your sense of well-being:
-Connection:
>Call or Facetime a friend that you haven’t heard from in a while to check in.
>Cook virtually with someone! Choose a recipe and make it together over Zoom or Facetime.
-Self-care:
>Schedule time for self-care into your day (and actually stick to it!). Choose something you’ve been wanting to do but haven’t given yourself time for.
This can be an early morning meditation, a walk or an uninterrupted workout, a bubble bath, finally starting that new book... just pick anything that will make you feel good!
-Exercise:
>Keep yourself accountable to some form of daily movement. Do what you can handle: some days might be stretching, some might be yoga or a walk outside, and some days might be a HIIT workout. Track your progress and reward yourself with something fun at the end of each week.
>Find a workout buddy, and pick some online workouts or yoga classes that you can do together virtually. Check in to keep each other motivated!
-Mental Health:
>Don’t be afraid to ask for help or support if you need it.
>If you’re struggling, speak to someone about it... don’t hold it in.
>Limit your intake of the news if it’s giving you anxiety.
>Start a journal- write down your thoughts, musings from the day, and how you’re feeling. Writing it out on a page might work for you.
>Stick to a general daily routine to give your day structure. If you’re working from home, it might help to dress in work clothes for your workday, have lunch around the same time, and sign off at the end of the workday (don’t keep working or checking your emails well into the evening).
>Limit your scrolling/intake of social media: remember, these are just snapshots of peoples' lives, and nowhere near the full story! Don't compare yourself with anyone else.
I hope you find these tips helpful, and I hope adopting some of these habits into your daily life will help improve your overall sense of well-being.
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