Its fair to say that the past few years have dramatically changed the way we think about how we live our lives. Not only have we changed our behaviours, but we have also navigated some difficult challenges which has resulted in building resilience in a forever changing landscape.
Some of us have settled into this new routine quite easily but some of us are feeling the impacts of the change impacted with increases in energy prices, food and fuel influencing our mental health and wellbeing.
According to a study released by the World Health Organization, anxiety and depression increased by 25% in the first year of the pandemic and who knows what the stats will say for year 2, so here are some really easy resources that can help you to a happier self.
• Movement helps create a more positive mindset. Our minds are inherently created with a ‘Negativity Bias,’ which means our minds naturally look for threats. This can ultimately impact us to be fearful and overly critical of ourselves. Research shows that to have a neutral view of the world a person would need to notice three positive moments for every negative one and five positive moments for every negative one to create a positive mindset. All being said, movement/yoga/walking/dancing/cycling can be a positive contributing factor for us tipping that biased scale into a happier lens of viewing ourselves and the world around us.
• The mind also struggles to differentiate between reality and imaginary. Mindset is everything and is a powerful tool. This explains why our thoughts can run away from us creating intense feelings as if the thought is real whether they are or aren't. Writing down or journaling helps balance out thoughts from facts.
• Exercise is a method to process emotions/thoughts/feelings, without having to verbalise. For some of us, it can difficult to articulate or find the right words to express how we feel or why we feel the way we do. Not everyone has the language or can find the right words to express what’s going on inside. Movement can be an excellent alternative form of expression. This can be in shape of game of tennis, a game of football, walking, running, skipping, dancing, yoga – there are so many ways of movement.
• The reward to our movement is the dopamine release helping us feel as if we have accomplished something. A basic need of ours is to contribute making us feel like we have achieved something. Movement is one way to feel as though you have succeeded at something. Set some time aside to complete something good for yourself to create a sense of personal achievement and activate the reward centre of your brain.
• Mindfulness is a topic that has become front and centre for creating wellness as it helps practice a more intentional way of living and focus on what’s important to us rather than giving into the chitter chatter of the mind. Emotion has the word motion in it, so to feel, we got to move.