Spring is the season of renewal and regeneration, the weather is getting warmer and flowers are starting to bloom. It makes us want to fling the windows open and let the fresh air in and hopefully we’ll all start to emerge from our houses again. Now is a good time to think also about ‘Spring cleaning’ your mind and body, so here are a few things you might like to try.
Overhaul diet and exercise. I’ve been practicing what I preach, with so much time at home I’ve had the opportunity to look closely at my diet and my exercise and vastly improved both. I’m now starting to reap the rewards of my efforts and feel much better. Any movement at all is good, the main thing we need to do is keep our joints mobile, so even seated stretches/shoulder rolls will help do that. Just start in a small way, not everyone is aiming to run a marathon, you just need to incorporate some movement into your daily routine, the weather is improving so how about a short walk to start with?
Book health checks such as eye/ear/dental checks and attend smear tests/breast screening etc when offered. During the pandemic these appointments may have been harder to get, or overlooked, but as the lockdown eases they are becoming available again. We need to look after our general health as well as attending lupus appointments, often problems identified early can be addressed and prevented from getting worse.
Make small diet changes. Maybe by drinking more water and eating less sugar. Studies show that even a small drop in hydration can cause increased fatigue and lack of concentration. I really love chocolate, luckily I much prefer very dark chocolate which has proven health benefits, but like many people, I had slipped into the habit of indulging in chocolate too often. So for 28 days I didn’t have any chocolate at all whilst I reset my diet. The result was much less joint swelling and pain which made me realise what too much sugar was doing to me. I will still have a little dark chocolate but too much isn’t worth the pain it was giving me.
Declutter your home. I wanted to do something positive whilst at home so much so I’ve been on a mission to organise my house and decluttered massively, selling and giving away anything I wasn’t using. I can now find anything I need really quickly, this has had the effect of making me feel much more in control and calmer. Start one drawer (or handbag) at a time, maybe that kitchen drawer full of weird random items that we all have. Like most people I had a pile of keys and I didn’t know what they were for. It only took me a few minutes to go through them all, now I only have keys for the actual doors in my house, that little job made me feel like an organisational Queen!
Declutter your mind. When the pandemic started I was watching and listening to the news constantly, with a news alert going off on my phone every few minutes. Inevitably this had a really bad effect on my mental health, so I turned off the phone alert and only watched the news once a day. At weekends I avoided the news altogether, the result was that I felt much less anxious.
Look at what/who you follow on social media/the e-mail lists you subscribe to etc and cancel those that are causing anxiety or people/groups who constantly post negative things.
Are you constantly thinking negative thoughts? These are often unfounded and blown our of proportion, especially the thoughts you have when you’re lying awake at night and become a bigger issue if we don’t address them. This article has some good ideas of how to remove those thoughts from your mind.
Try this simple brain technique from life coach Jerry Sargeant: “When you wake up sit on the edge of your bed, take 10 slow, deep breaths and sit there in silence. Observe the thoughts entering your head. Be aware of your body and energy levels”. Jerry promises if practiced regularly it will stop the “constant stream of incessant thoughts clogging your brain and controlling your life, leaving you calmer and with more energy for spring”. Basically start your day gently and mindfully.
The other things that are renowned for helping mental health are, not surprisingly, laughter and animals. So watching a funny programme or film and indulging in some time with your pets will definitely help you feel mentally better. Of course we know how great our pets are and more so than ever during the pandemic, so give yours an extra hug of appreciation today, you’ll both benefit!
Angie Davidson
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