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Mental Health Habits

We live in a society that seems obsessed with physical health and weight loss. A majority of people have tried one or more diets to lose weight. People join gyms, juice, and take supplements, all in an effort to optimize their physical health.

Sadly, most people don’t give their mental health a second thought.

The problem is, no matter how good you look in a bathing suit or how “ripped” you may be, or how low your cholesterol is if you aren’t mentally healthy, your life is negatively impacted.

In the age of Coronavirus, when many of us are dealing with health and financial struggles, the stress can really take a toll on our mental health. With this in mind, here are some good mental health habits to practice:

Practice Gratitude

Gratitude is like a magic bullet when it comes to mental health. Too often, when we are feeling negative emotions, we deny our full reality, that is to say, we deny all of the wonderful things that are present in our life. Be sure to take realistic stock in your life each day and feel grateful for the people, events, and things in your life that bring you joy and happiness. And be sure to share your gratitude with others!

Value Yourself

The only thing worse than dealing with grief, sadness, and stress, is doing so while devaluing your own self-worth. Be sure to treat yourself as kindly as you do your loved ones. See the good in you and practice self-care and self-compassion every day.

Lose Control

Most of us cling to the idea that we can control every single facet of our lives. It’s just not true. This desire for full control brings with it a sense of anxiety. Make this year the year you finally let go of needing to control everything.

Surround Yourself with Positive People

Toxic people are bad for our mental health. It’s time to cut ties with those who bring you down in order to make room for people who will support you.

Along with these habits, you may want to consider speaking regularly with a mental health counselor, who can help you navigate any issues you may be dealing with and provide coping techniques.

If you’d like to explore treatment options, please get in touch with me. Let’s discuss how I can help you make your mental health better!

 

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Tips To Stay Healthy During Holiday Meals & Parties

The holidays are just around the corner, and that means singing carols, giving gifts, and eating copious amounts of fat and sugar! While it can feel perfectly fine and fun to be decadent over the holidays, before you know it, January first rolls around and you’ve put on 10 extra pounds!

If you have been trying to eat right and are nervous about upcoming holiday meals with family and friends or office parties, here are some tips to help you stay on track:

Eat Before You Go

You know how you’re never supposed to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry? The same can be said for attending holiday parties and meals. 

Be sure to eat a small meal before heading out, and make sure it contains plenty of protein and healthy fats. A quick and healthy meal could be half a turkey sandwich with avocado. You’ll feel full and satiated for hours.

Stay hydrated

We often feel hungry when actually we’re dehydrated. And it can become easy to get dehydrated during the holidays when you’re running around shopping and decorating, etc. Be sure to drink enough water each day. A small to medium glass with each meal should do the trick!

Bring a Healthy Dish

If you’ve been invited to a holiday meal or party and have been asked to bring something, go ahead and bring a healthy dish. This way, if there are no other foods there that are going to help you stick to your eating plan, you can dig into your own food!

Commit To Yourself

It is very okay to have boundaries. Do not feel pressured to eat something unhealthy just because a loved one is pressuring you to “live it up.” If you find yourself in a situation where your 98-year-old grandma feels hurt that you won’t have any of her famous pecan pie, tell her you are stuffed but you’ll be happy to take a slice home, then give that slice to your significant other, or a neighbor.

Sure, traditionally the holidays have been a time to live a little and be decadent. But if you’re someone who has a hard time cheating “just a little,” then use these tips to stay on track with your health goals.

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How to Prevent Burnout

Not many people get through life without experiencing burnout at some point. Whether it’s from working more than one job, taking care of a sick loved one, or juggling family life while going back to school, burnout is real, and it negatively impacts your life and health.

Common Signs of Burnout

If you think you may be experiencing burnout but are unsure, here are some of the most common signs:

  • Physical and mental exhaustion
  • Feeling overwhelmed
  • A need to isolate
  • Fantasies of escaping
  • Irritability
  • Frequent illnesses such as colds and flues 

5 Ways to Prevent Burnout

Exercise

You know exercise is necessary for your physical health, but it is also fantastic for your mental and emotional health as well. Physical activity helps our bodies secrete feel-good hormones, which give our mood a boost. So be sure to commit to exercising at least 3-4 times a week.

Get Enough Rest

It’s essential to get enough restorative sleep each night. Sleep not only helps our bodies build and repair new tissue, but it helps us be able to feel calm and focus. 

If you have trouble getting enough ZZZZZs each night, skip caffeinated beverages past 2 pm, ban smartphones and other electronics from the bedroom, and establish a relaxing nighttime ritual like meditation, reading, or taking a bath.

Validate Your Feelings

“Keep calm and carry on.” That’s a fun saying for a throw pillow, but it’s not always the best advice. Sometimes it’s important to admit that you are struggling and that you need a break.

Remember to Play

Just because you’re an adult, that doesn’t mean you don’t need some downtime to just have fun. Whether you want to play a sport, enjoy a hobby, or go to the theater, be sure to make time each week to enjoy yourself and your life.

Ask for Help

During stressful times, it’s important to reach out to others for help. Sometimes all we need is a friendly ear to listen to what’s on our minds and hearts. Let your friends and family know you could use a little support.

If your stress levels don’t seem to go down, you may want to consider working with a counselor who can help you navigate your feelings and offer coping strategies to deal with the issues you have going on.

If you’d like to speak with someone, please reach out to me.

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What is Neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity is a concept given life back in the 1990s by an Australian sociologist named Judy Singer. The term is used to represent the different ways people think, behave, communicate, and more. 

Neurodiversity is often associated with challenges an individual may face. For instance, people with neurodiverse traits may be diagnosed with conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHA) dyslexia, or autism. But the concept turns the traditional diagnoses on their heads. Instead of thinking something is “wrong” with the person, the new science is suggesting that within the human genome, there is a diversity we’ve yet to fully grasp. Conditions aren’t necessarily faults in the brain but rather a unique expression. 

Neurodiversity and Mental Health

Extensive data points to the fact that there are greater rates of depression and anxiety co-occurring in individuals with diagnoses of autism, ADHD, and dyspraxia. Autism alone has been linked to higher rates of anxiety, eating disorders, mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and more. Much of this may stem from the fact that individuals with autism have typically been found to have low levels of dopamine, a “feel good” neurotransmitter greatly responsible for elevated moods.

But what about those individuals whose levels of dopamine are in the normal range? And for that matter, what about depression and anxiety in people who have not been diagnosed with any other cognitive condition?

For years, psychologists, psychiatrists, and neurologists have tried to understand the profound links between body, brain, and life experiences. And what we have learned is that narrow diagnostic categorization doesn’t allow us to recognize all of the diverse ways cognitive conditions express themselves in the human race. 

Neurodiversity helps solve this. It embraces the complexity of the interconnectedness of the brain, body and life to help us get better patient outcomes. As clinicians, we need to move away from crude labeling and diagnoses and begin to focus on personalized interventions and treatment plans to better serve our clients.

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alan@azupkacounseling.com