#33: Taking Care of Your Mental Health

Hey Friends,

This week we’re going to talk about the importance of mental heatlh.

I feel that I talk about the physical components of health like diet and exercise more often, so I wanted to give some well-deserved attention to our mental health.

Weekly Action Point

🚶 Let’s put some focus towards how many steps we are getting each day this week and aim for 7,000/day. 🚶 

If you’re anything like me, getting steps in during the winter is tough. If I dont make a conscious effort to get some steps in, I sit the entire day and end up with 3,000 steps in total.

So let this week’s action point be a reminder to make an effort to get some general activity throughout the day.

I personally have a 20 degree threshold for walking outside. Any colder than that and I just simply don’t do it. I actually just purchased a walking pad that can slide under my desk. The one I got was only $110, so maybe you could go that route.

Otherwise, walking inside malls or a treadmill at the gym are also options. Also, a great way to sneak some extra steps in: intentionally park far away wherever you go. For me, I don’t mind walking outside in the cold as much if I have a destination (like the grocery store), so it’s a good way to add in a couple steps here and there.

Are you taking care of your mental health?

Here we are in the middle of Febuary. For many of my Minnesota readers, Febuary is the worst month of the year.

Most people are familiar with the concept of seasonal depression. Well, Febuary actually has the highest rates of seasonal depression for people in Minnesota.

It’s been cold, dark, and gray pretty much since Halloween, so we’re starting to get sick of winter. But, much to our dismay, it's still freezing. And we know that we probably have at least a good month until things begin warming up.

Put in that context, it’s easy to see why rates of seasonal depression sky rocket in Febuary.

So, I wanted to provide some simple tips that might help with that 🙂 

I feel that most people understand that if they don’t make a conscious effort for their physical health, they probably won’t look/feel the way they want to.

It’s common knowledge that if you never exercise and eat a bunch of garbage, you probably aren’t going to be in great shape.

However, I feel like that same line of thinking is often missed with mental health.

Sometimes people think of their mental state as just the way it is. Either they have great mental health or they don’t.

I believe that just like exercising for your physical health, there are intentional choices you can be making for your mental well being as well.

For starters, exercising regularly and eating healthy foods have been shown to improve mood and decrease depressive symptoms. So doing things for your physical health consistently will also benefit your mental health.

But what are some other things you can be doing to improve your mental health?

Here’s a couple of ideas for you:

1. Pay attention to your screen time

   I firmly believe that mindless scrolling on social media is one of the worst things you can do for your mental wellbeing.
   
   Take a look at the screen time section in the settings of your phone. What is your daily average? Are there ways you could cut down how often you are on your phone?
   
   You can actually set screen time limits in the settings of your phone if you wanted to. There are also apps that will lock you out after a certain amount of time if you feel you aren’t able to control it on your own.
   
   Whatever you gotta do, but in my opinion cutting down screen time will improve your mental health.

2. Read more often

   Building off the last tip, reading is a great way to fill your time if you are cutting down on screen time.
   
   Reading can reduce stress, boost mood, promote relaxation, and all sorts of other things that contribute positively to your mental wellbeing.

3. Focus on your sleep

   Sleep has a huge impact on every aspect of your life, but especially your mental health.
   
   Aim for being in bed, lights out/phone off eight and a half hours before your alarm will go off. Then accounting for time it takes to fall asleep, you set yourself up for success to get eight hours of sleep each night.
   
   It’s so common for people to stay up way later than necessary - often times caused by excessive screen time. People stay up in bed watching Netflix or scrolling on their phone. Reducing your screen time will also help improve your sleep.

4. Reduce (or cut out completely) alcohol or THC use

   Put simply, using anything that impairs sobriety impacts how your brain functions. Substances like THC or alcohol can put your neurotransmitters (like dopamine and serotonin) on a rollercoaster.
   
   The highs and lows that come with this rollercoaster have an impact on your mental health and increase rates of depression and anxiety.
   
   I’m not saying you have to cut it out completely. But if you are struggling with mental health, reducing your use of these substances will definitely work in your favor.

5. Put yourself in more social situations

   This one is sometimes tougher for those of you that consider yourself introverts, however social engagement is a great way to boost mood and reduce depression.
   
   Seek out things like getting coffee or dinner with a friend or spending time with your family.
   
   Surrounding yourself with people you care about will do wonders for your mental wellbeing.

6. Do something for another person

   Maybe you could volunteer somewhere or just do something nice for a friend.
   
   Generally speaking, going out of your way to do something for another person will boost your mood and help you feel better about yourself.
   
   You can do something for another person with the goal of benefiting yourself - a weird way to think about it, but I don’t see that as selfish.

7. Set aside some self care time

   There are all sorts of things you can do for self care, but the key here is actually setting aside a day or time to do it.
   
   If you don’t, you’ll tell yourself you’ll do some self care and then end up scrolling on your phone or getting busy with something else.
   
   A couple of self care things that I enjoy: Yoga, sauna/cold plunge, taking myself out on a solo date night, getting a massage.
   
   All sorts of things like these can have fantastic benefits on your mental health. Pick whatever works for you, and then actually schedule it.

If you want to have bigger arms, a flatter stomach, or better mobility you have to do things that help you reach those goals.

You aren’t going to get bigger arms if you never lift weights. It would be silly to think “I want more defined biceps” and then avoid doing any bicep curls or pulling movements that work your biceps.

We should be thinking about our mental health the same way. You aren’t magically just going to improve your mental health without trying.

If you want to reduce anxiety and depression, improve happiness, and boost your mood, you need to be making intentional choices to get there.

Ben’s Best

I’ve shared this recipe before, but sharing again because it’s one of my favorites. This is a recipe that I have been coming back to and making for over a year. You don’t always have to be reinventing the wheel. I like to find some simple meals that I enjoy eating and keep them in a regular rotation

olivia.adriance

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🎙️ Podcasts I loved

I listened to a ton of awesome podcasts this week, so if you are a podcast person, definitely check these ones out:

• The Peter Attia Drive: The science of resistance training, building muscle, and anabolic steroid use in bodybuilding | Mike Israetel, Ph.D.

• Mind Pump 2534: The Top 5 Ways to Break Through a Training Plateau & More

• Mind Pump 2532: STOP Trying to Go From 30% to 10% Body Fat... Do This Instead

• Mind Pump 2530: Why All Women Should Take Creatine

  • Going to be doing a full newsletter on this one in the near future

Yes I put in three mind pump podcasts this week… but they were all amazing info. I’ve said it before: but everyone with health and fitness goals should be listening to them.

Have an amazing week everyone, remember to love yourself a little extra :)

Ben