TIPS AND TECHNIQUES TO UPLIFT YOUR MOOD AND FIGHT DEPRESSION
With Mental Health Awareness Week now in full swing here at ilapothecary HQ we’ve come up with a few tips and techniques aimed at promoting your mental health and general wellbeing.
Our lives at the moment can feel as if each day is just fused into the next, what’s happening around the world can feel overwhelming, it’s easy to lose yourself and find you’ve been swept away. Our advice would be to plan small and savoured moments of joy to differentiate and highlight each day in a positive way.
Every one of us has been affected by this pandemic – some in small ways, others in much larger ways. It is normal to feel worried, to spend time missing what we do not have and that which we no longer have access to. Gratitude reverses our priorities to help us appreciate what we do have. Through the power of gratitude, you can rewire your brain to be optimistic and compassionate – the more you look, the more you can find things to be grateful for.
Therefore, our first tip for you is to invest time into Training Your Mind Towards Joy.
Do you have a running collection of things that feed your spirit? If not, then this is the perfect time to start! Joy and happiness can feel like an afterthought when there is so much worry in the world especially with the current situation however, it is essential for our mental health. Just one conscious moment of joy per day, could turn your entire day around. So, our challenge to you is this:
- Write a list of 40 things, which bring you joy and are possible to do at this time (your list can be longer if you like! And you can keep adding to it as you go).
- Every day, when you wake up, look at your Joy list and choose one thing to add into your day.
- When you are doing the activity, be conscious of its value and be grateful for the experience.
- Any activity you do every day for a period of 40 days, turns into a habit. By choosing and consciously appreciating moments of joy every day for 40 days, we can begin to differentiate and experience everyday differently; gaining a positive habit to take with you into life after lockdown.
Add a Gong Bathing session to your joy list! Gong Bathing uses vibrational sound and frequency to help reduce stress, alter consciousness, and create a deep sense of peace and wellbeing for better health. This is an effective therapy for anxiety and depression, self-control, opening and healing the heart, fatigue, boosting energy levels and the immune system, increasing vitality, processing difficult emotions, focussing on self-love and care. Come enjoy a new experience, book your spot today!
Looking to enhance your Joy list experience even further? Our Feminine Happy Oil and Beat The Blues Range are both sure-fire ways to balance your mood, enable great feelings of peace and joy. Find them both on our website www.ilapothercary.com
Seeing as this years’ theme for Mental Health Awareness week is that of kindness, we thought it fitting to share with you another activity having to do with just that.
Being kind to yourself is a big challenge when you live with a mental health condition. Taking small steps to nurture yourself everyday can have a significant, positive impact.
Start being kind to yourself to boost your mental health by:
- Trying not to hold yourself to painfully high standards – especially at the moment, get through each day and congratulate yourself on small victories. These include; getting some sun, meditating, getting out of bed, phoning a friend, etc.
- Be gentle with yourself – treat yourself kindly, as you would a child – make sure you are eating nourishing food, drinking enough water, moving around, stretching your body and getting enough sleep. Tell yourself that it is okay to rest and not feel guilty about it.
- Pick and regularly do one self-care activity, scheduling time to look after yourself – scrubbing your body with a salt scrub, taking the time to soak in a warm bath or massaging yourself with a body balm. These activities tell your body that it is worthy of comfort, love and kindness.
For this specific activity, we recommend our Quiet Start Body Scrub and the Magnesium and Amethyst Deep Relax Bath Soak along with our SOS Body Balm all of which can be found on our online shop.
– Choose a short physical activity to do daily, even if you don’t think you have the energy, the movement helps the body by expending excess energy, it will help you sleep better and activity naturally boosts serotonin levels in the brain.
– Start a list of things you are proud of about yourself, even if you write just one per day.
– Be kind to your mind – do things for yourself that help relieve anxiety by listening to calming music, going for a walk, practicing deep breathing, writing it all out in a journal, painting, losing yourself in a good book.
Support yourself with our effective SOS Pearl Drops or our Beat the Blues Drops of Gold, choose according to your personal needs.
When on a healing journey, feelings of shame for taking care of anything besides your physical needs are quite common. Notwithstanding, caring for your mental health is just as important as your physical health. There is no hierarchy of health needs and taking the time to invest in and heal your emotional, mental, and spiritual health will ultimately lead you to higher states of wellness.
Know that there is no one right way to deal with the feelings that the current state of the world is causing in you, know that there is nothing wrong with you and know that you are not alone.
Love,
The ilāpothecary team
