Mental- Wellness

Everyone has been touched by this Pandemic. It has been a year this the first case emerged in the United States; our lives completely changed. We work from home, most of our kids are attending school virtually, and we have to wear a mask everywhere we go. As a result, our regular routines such as going to the gym, work life/home life balance, family and friend gatherings, etc… have developed a new normal, with lots of precautions and to keep ourselves and our family safe. Furthermore, young adult’s celebrated firsts such as going away to college, attending high school, going to prom have been put on hold. These elements have added more stress to our already hectic life. According to Panchal et al (2021), 4 in 10 adults have reported feelings of anxiety and depression during this pandemic, which has increased from 1 in 10 adults in January 2019. Thus, the need to increase and maintain good self-care is importance during these hectic times. Here are some ways to take good care of yourself: The Foods That Help Your Mental-Health If you have symptoms of depression or anxiety, consider making some dietary changes. According to Rachael Schultz (2020) from Healthline, there are foods that can ease depression and anxiety such the Mediterranean Diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fatty fish such as tuna and salmon, healthy fats like olive oil and raw nuts, and sweets and wine in moderation. Another diet that has shown promising results is the DASH diet that embraces whole grain, protein from fish, chicken, and nuts, non-fat diary, and limiting sugar intake. There are women who reported that cutting out sugar or decreasing sugar intake have significantly decreased their depression symptoms. A change in diet may not eliminate all symptoms, but it can help with conjunction with therapy and/or taking medication. Get Moving The pandemic has disrupted most people’s workout routine and day to day movement. The gyms were closed for a while and all workout classes canceled. Social distancing by staying home has been a good way to prevent us from catching COVID-19. Getting exercise or any kind of physical activity is an important part of our mental-health and wellbeing. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise eases symptoms of depression, anxiety, and increases confidence by releasing feel good chemicals such as endorphins. Physical movement also prevents a number of health problems including heart issues, diabetes, and arthritic. Since we are at a new normal , establishing a new workout routine is part of a good self-care. If you were into taking classes such as Zumba or yoga, there are APPS that provide great workouts. I have been using Boho Beautiful APP for my yoga routine and mediation needs. Also, there are free workout videos on YOUTUBE and live stream classes such as Open Fit and Mirror Co if you miss the live experience. If you are not into exercising, establishing a routine where you engage in a physical activity might be a good way to get moving such as taking walks, running around the house with your kids, dancing to your favorite song in your bedroom, doing some yard work, or house work. Check with your doctor before starting a new exercise routine. Socializing With Loved Ones   We as humans, are inherently social creatures. According to Dr. Emma Seppala (2017) a medical director of The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education from Stanford Medicine, social connections improves physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Lack of social connection, on the other hand, may do just as much damage as smoking or having high blood pressure. During the pandemic, we have been social distancing from our friends and family, who are outside of our household, to prevent COVID-19 transmission and to decrease the amount of sickness and death associated with the virus. As a result, we have not been socializing as much as we were pre-COVID. Finding creative ways to continue to connect with friends and family during the Pandemic is important for our emotional wellbeing. Thankfully, we have technology that can assist us continuing to connect with our loved ones. My friends and family have found creative ways to connect with each other by having zoom parties, having coffee or a class of wine over Face Time, and checking in each other a couple of times a week. During good weather, meeting outside with masks on, while keeping 6 feet apart, is a good way to spend time together in person. Feeling connected and finding creative ways to is a healthy part of our self-care routine.   Getting Enough Sleep Joseph Crossman said once,” The bridge between despair and hope is a goodnight sleep” There is no question that lack of sleep effects our mental- health and emotional regulation. According to Eric Suni, from the Sleep Foundation, sufficient sleep, especially REM sleep, helps the brain process emotional information. An average adult should get from 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. A common cause of sleep problems is poor sleep hygiene. The following are ways to improve sleep hygiene: Having a set bedtime. Finding ways to wind-down such as reading, meditating, and doing something relaxing. Avoiding caffeinated beverages in the evening. Diming the light and putting away electronic devices an hour before bed. Getting regular exercise and sunlight during the day. Work-Life Balance Since working from home became the norm during the pandemic, work-life balance has been a challenge to maintain. We don’t have the commute to break up our day or a coffee break in the break room. We also have to balance our work load, helping our children with remote learning, and other house hold duties. As a result, the work-home boundaries start to get blurred. Here are some ways of keeping a work life balance: Keep regular work hours and stick with those hours. Create and maintain a regular morning routine. Set firm boundaries with people in your household during work hours. Take breaks throughout the day.

There is an old saying, “happiness is a state of mind”. Based on the current research, there is truth to this statement. Our thoughts effect our mood. We all have thoughts that create happiness, sadness, anger, irritation etc…. Furthermore, our thoughts or patterns of thinking effect our mood and behavior and our behavior effects our mood and thoughts. It is a cycle. If we can identify and change our thoughts that create unhappiness, we can shift our mood in a positive direction, increase productive behavior, and improve our wellbeing. This theory originated by Arron T Beck, a psychiatrist from University of Pennsylvania and the founder of Beck Institute. He created a therapy called, cognitive behavior therapy, where the purpose is to identify thoughts that cause us pain and replace them with more a balanced and realistic thinking. He identified distorted thoughts that create depression and anxiety. We all have these extreme thoughts. They might have been manufactured by our upbringing , trauma, or/and life experience. This article will identify some common distorted thoughts, how to challenge these thoughts, and create more balanced thoughts. All or Nothing Thinking ( Black or White Thinking) All or nothing thinking/black or white thinking is when you think things are either on one side of the extreme or the other side of the extreme, with no gray area. For example, someone is either your worst enemy or your best friend. Your day is either really great or really bad. If you don’t get a promotion you have been working towards, you are a total failure. If one bad thing happens, that means nothing good happens. This error in thinking can cause a lot of distress and anxiety. To challenge this type of thinking, we need to find a middle of the road alternative thought. For example, you have had a bad day, think about all the good days that you have had or all the good things that happened that day. If you are fighting with your bestfriend, that does not mean that your friend just became your worst enemy; it just means you and your friend are not seeing eye to eye. If you were passed up for a promotion, that does not mean that you are a total failure, and your time for that position will come in time. The reality is, that most things are in the gray area, and not everything is all or nothing. Keeping this in mind will help you find a more balanced perspective. Catastrophizing Catastrophizing is when you believe that there will be a catastrophe based on one or two events or facts. For example, if you didn’t get your dream job, you start thinking that you will never find your dream job you, will work in a job you hate for the rest of your life, and you might end up homeless on the street. The reality is if you didn’t get one particular job, there will be other jobs that might be as interesting or even more interesting than the one you did not get. Another example is if you went on a bad date and you come home upset because there are no good people out there and you will end up alone, with 10 cats, who will eat your face after you die. The reality is that just because you had one bad date, does not mean you will not be able to meet the right person in the future. Personalization Personalization is when you think that you have caused a problem that you did not cause or when someone did or said something to target you, which is not the case. For example, you may think that your friend is not texting you back because of something you said or did, when in fact, your friend has a very busy day or forgot her phone at home. Another example might be you blaming yourself for friends or family fighting among each other, over an issue that has nothing to do with you. To challenge these thoughts, consider facts or lack of facts related to your role in the situation. Negative Filtering Negative filtering is seeing the negative in situations instead of seeing both, negative and positive. You ignore any information that does not align with your negative view. For example, if you are wearing a beautiful dress and 99 people compliment you on it and 1 person criticizes the dress, you will focus on that one person. During a yearly work evaluation, you get an mostly positive feedback and 1 or 2 negative feedback, you will focus on the negative feedback, instead of seeing the whole picture. To challenge this thought, identify positive aspects of a situation or feedback, to help you have a more balanced prospective. Overgeneralization Overgeneralization is when you make a general conclusion based on one incident to all situations. For example, if you had a bad day at work; therefore it will be a bad week, bad year, etc… If your spouse had a bad day and is not in the best mood, your marriage is ruined. Look for keywords such as “never” and “always”. To challenge this thought, look at the details of the present situation and analyze it individually. We don’t know what the future might bring, so overgeneralizing negative situations might cause unnecessary distress. Mind Reading Mind reading is when you are 100% certain that you know what someone is thinking, but no facts or inconclusive bits of information to support this thought. For example, your boss is short with you because they have a bad day and you assume that they do not like you. Your boss might be having a rough day or have some personal issues that they are dealing with, which has nothing to do with you. When a coworker doesn’t say good morning, you assume that they are mad at you. Unless you have done something wrong to merit these behaviors. Looking at facts in an objective way will