What are some powerful, yet simple, steps you can take to improve your mental health?
We have been conditioned to turn to doctors and medical experts when we are feeling unwell. Doctors are quick to hand out prescription drugs, but can be slow to give any advice regarding things we can do on our own, when it comes to mental health. They aren’t going to pass out advice, they didn’t learn in school, or from updated science presented by pharmaceutical companies.
If you have struggled with your mental health, you know that your feelings and level of wellness can move in waves. The intensity of an emotion can eventually subside in time, but there is a faster path than sitting and waiting for drugs to mask your pain.
See the following tips as tools you can use as needed, or incorporate as a consistent practice to maintain a balanced state of mental wellness.
Here are three things that can help calm your nervous system, and bring you back to a more balanced state. Grounding, meditation and proper diet can shift you from depressed or anxious states, and bring you into a more enjoyable life experience.
Grounding
Nature is healing in ways that can’t always be scientifically explained. In this busy, me-first world we can forget we are part of a bigger picture. The Earth can shift us from any low vibrations emotions, like fear, grief and shame, by absorbing the overload of energy within us.
Everything is energy and we are magnetic beings. Our thoughts create emotional reactions, and these feelings can become stuck within us. In a state of poor mental health, we are often “in our heads.” The energy from our thoughts, as well as from the experiences we are going through in our daily lives, need to be released.
We need to return to the body, and accept it is our thoughts that are taking us away from the present moment.
Just like anything that can transmit electricity, we need grounding. With our bare feet on the Earth we are able to discharge stored energy, and bring us back into a more balanced state.
Twenty minutes is a solid amount of time to spend walking barefoot on the ground. Another option is to touch a tree, or even a plant. Ideally, barefoot and hugging a tree, with your forehead against the trunk, and let the magic work. The energy of the Earth, and what grows from it, is grounding, and can pull us out of our heads, and back into our heart.
If you’ve never had a nap on a forest floor, I recommend it I guarantee you will wake up refreshed, and feeling almost cleansed
Science can explain this process, but it doesn’t appear to be widely understood or accepted. It’s worth a try, and I’ve never met anyone who said that it didn’t have an immediate effect upon them.
Getting away from the world, and into the forest, is beneficial in itself, but intentionally taking the time to ground yourself into the Earth is a sure path to greater mental wellness.
Submerging yourself in natural bodies of water is another potential route to take, and by incorporating grounding as a daily practice, you will see your mental state of health improve.
Meditation
You could incorporate grounding techniques and meditation at the same time. The forest is for rest, and it can be incredibly healing just by stepping into it.
Meditation is simply presence – keeping your thoughts were your body is. Anxiety and depression are the two most common mental health struggles. They are something most people can relate to. Anxiety is fear of the future, while depression stems from regret and pain from the past.
The goal of meditation and mindfulness is to be fully in the present. Experiencing peace, no matter, how temporary is healing. Incorporating meditation into a daily routine is an act of self care, and can shift your mental state into something more manageable.
There is no ultimate way to meditate. It’s about preference and intent. Your mind and body will thank you for any effort towards stillness and silence. Some people get frustrated because they are unable to stop thinking, and just breathe and be.
It’s about allowing whatever thoughts that come to surface effortlessly, but observe them rather than get caught up in the thought. Allow it to pass, without becoming attached to how you feel. Mental illness is created through trauma, and there may be thoughts and memories you have been pushing away that come up during meditation.
Acknowledge these thoughts are part of the healing process, and they are demanding attention. If you aren’t familiar how to healing the wounds that create mental illness, check out my ebook: The Healing Journey: A Snapshot, The Steps and A Great Big Warning.
Your meditation practice will deepen and become easier with time. Accepting that our minds next rest throughout the day is important. Many people struggling with their mental health are overthinkers. The healing power of the present moment, with a focus upon the breath and our inner reality is crucial to sustained mental wellness.
Eat Real Food
The cleaner you eat, the better your brain will operate. It makes sense and hopefully this isn’t anything new, but the importance of it can’t be emphasized enough.
Like placing our feet upon the Earth, which brings us to more of a grounded state, eating food raised from the soil will draw us into the present moment and the body we are in. Eat vegetables – potatoes, carrots, beets, etc. I’m talking one ingredient food, with as little chemical contact as possible.
Those who struggle with the mental health for long periods, commonly struggle with employment and finances. Healthy food is expensive. It can be a vicious cycle. You need good food to feel healthy enough to work. Without working you don’t have the finances to buy healthy food.
Try just a pot of potatoes. Through the years, I have tried many techniques to balance myself, get out of my mind and live mindfully. I discovered that just by eating potatoes, or any root vegetable, my nervous system became still, and it would bring me back into balance.
Our gut is our third brain, and it’s where a lot of people physically feel their anxiety. What we put into our body affects much more than our physical body. Everything is connected, and when you nourish your body it nourishes your mind also.
Sugar is pure poison, and toxins are dominant in our diet today. It is a struggle, but do your best. Healthy food is expensive, but unhealthy food can cost us more than money. If mental wellness is a priority, then proper diet has to be at the top of the list of things you have control over.
Conclusion
It can feel like we’ve been pushed towards doctors for mental health help, but if a doctor only mentions medications, they are missing many crucial factors for mental wellness. While, medications can play an important role on your mental health journey, a holistic approach is crucial, including taking steps on your own towards healing,
Incorporating grounding, mediation and focus on gut health are three components you have control over. This is an act of taking your power back, as well as key aspect of self love and self care. We can get into dark places with mental and emotional struggles, and it may be hard to fathom how walking barefoot can actually make a difference.
Try it. Get into the forest and breathe. Hug a treat, eat some healthy food, and watch the progress. Sometimes, the goal of mental wellness is moving from a hopeless to a hopeful state of being, and seemingly little things like these three steps can create great inner change.