Emotional wellness month

 LAST week, I ran a short presentation in my local village hall, 'an introduction to wellness.'

A few came, considering it was a free event I would have thought that people would be leaping at the chance to find out how to be well, naturally, but sadly, as I have found out, people don't really want to know, because that would mean a little more effort, a little less of doing the bad things, and changing habits, and we know how much people fear change.

THE presentation started with a general talk about what wellness really is, and why we should strive for it. But today, because it's emotional wellness month, that's the focus.

BOTH our physical and mental health affect each other, when your mind is poorly, your body deteriorates, and the same goes for poor health in your body, it affects us, lowers our mood, causes anxiety and depression, so we do have to focus on both, all of the time, but here are some tips on keeping your mind healthy.

HERE is something that I suggest doing daily, once a day, first thing, or maybe after your morning hot drink, take time out for some self-analysis. Take a gentle look at yourself and get to know what your emotional needs are that day. Note how you are feeling, maybe mark on a scale of 1-10 how you are. Which leads me on to another daily activity that ties in with self-analysis. Keep a diary, or a log of how you are feeling. If you don't like writing, keep a voice note, blog, vlog, whatever it is, just so that you can start to see patterns in your mood, if they exist. For instance, women may have noticeable shifts of mood on a 28 day cycle, based around their hormones, maybe you are even affected by the lunar shifts. This will become obvious if you note things down.

BE sociable! Meet with friends, family, join a club, be active in hobbies with others. Loneliness leads to anxiety, depression and a feeling of worthlessness, so spend more time with more people. The longest living communities in the world generally live in family groups, many generations in the same house, and those groups have faith, they go to church or practice faith in groups in other ways. It's a constant social buzz for them, so they are not isolated, alone just with their own thoughts.

PRACTICE mindfulness! Easier said than done I think for most of us. I do this now through yoga practice, so in a way it's a sort of active mindfulness, I also take time for this when I'm running, even more active mindfulness, but it works for me. Don't think you have to just sit there on a yoga cushion and the magic of mindfulness will happen, it takes time and practice, so you need to find out a way that works best for you. But find a way to just empty your head of stress and worry, kick out all thoughts and start a-fresh each day that you do this, and every day would be better for you if you can manage it, even just for five minutes.

PLAN your day, week, month, use a diary or calendar, write lists, make notes, be organised, because then all your daily, boring stresses and ties are noted down, not to be forgotten, being organised takes the edge off stress. You know exactly what you are doing and when, you have targets, goals to work for, and if your mind is organised, you have space in your mind to relax.

TAKE time for hobbies, make sure that you make room for doing the things you enjoy. Working, doing things for others all the time is admirable, but this life is your life, not theirs, make time to live a little and enjoy your time. Hobbies make you happy, that's a fact, and if you are part of a group or club doing them, that's even better. I like to exercise (of course) play music, paint, knit, skateboard, climb, I have loads of hobbies and not enough time for all of them, but I make time for some. And if you plan your week, as I have already said, that organisation allows you time for yourself.

MAKE sure that your job fits your emotional needs too. If you get up every day, dreading your work, feeling stressed about it, then change it. Do something that you will love, I know, easier said than done, but if you really want a happy life, you have to change, you have to take these big steps and move on forward without fear. I love the phrase, 'you make your choices, you pay your prices.' That is so true, don't complain about your job, when you, and only you, hold the power to change, get a new job and be happy.

BEFORE I waffle on too long, this last thing is more important than a lot of the other things for your mental wellbeing. Make sure that you get enough good quality sleep, I know, you may not sleep because of stress and anxiety, so then make the other steps happen first, and then when you get to start sleeping better, you will improve more and more. 

SLEEP doesn't just recharge your body, it re-sets your mind too. 

AND lastly!

TALK about your life, your problems, what worries and stresses you, don't keep it all to yourself. And is you find it hard to talk to your friends and family, remeber there are organisations out there that can help you, charities that are there just for this purpose, don't keep things to yourself, and remember, you are never alone.

TAKE good care of your emotional self.