3 Tips For Supporting Your Mental Health in 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of us in some way. The prevalence of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues have increased significantly. Thousands of people lost employment, and even more lives have been lost due to COVID-19 or COVID-19 related complications. Many parents are feeling the pressure of balancing working from home while simultaneously managing their children’s remote learning. Social isolation has resulted in chronic loneliness and boredom which can be detrimental to our mental health and wellbeing. People are also struggling to connect more than ever. The sudden cataclysmic events have brought to light the frightening realization that spending time alone was not something we were prepared for. Below are just a few ways to support your mental health this year: 

Source: Gunshow Comic

1. Start a Hobby

Staying productive and starting a new hobby can have a positive effect on your mood. Hobbies come in all shapes and sizes and budgets! The benefits of engaging in a new hobby are numerous. Having a hobby can help get you out of work mode and take you out of your everyday routine. Some hobbies such as online video games, require a social element which can help ease feelings of loneliness. What’s most important is to find a hobby that brings you pleasure.

Source: Buzzfeed 

2. Find Meaning in Each Day

At the beginning of the pandemic, people were panic-buying supplies out of a fear of scarcity. The need to feel safe, secure, and find some sense of purpose when isolated helped many sustain some semblance of normalcy. Viktor Emil Frankl, a Austrian psychiatrist and psychotherapist said, “life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.” When it is impossible to change your surroundings, you are challenged to change yourself and your cognitions. Frankl reiterated that you can find meaning by expressing yourself creatively, interacting authentically with your surroundings, and changing your attitude about a situation. 

3. Make Self Care a Priority

According to the International Journal of Nursing Studies, having a self care routine contributes positively to mental health and can lead to a longer life. The World Health Organization defines self care as the ability to promote, prevent, and maintain your health with or without the support of a healthcare provider. Self care can look differently for everyone -- it is generally best to experiment to discover what works best for you. 

Some examples of self care include:

• Moving your body. This could look like engaging in some gentle stretching, going for a walk, or dancing around your home. Research shows that engaging in aerobic exercise can boost self esteem and promote mental wellbeing. 

• Getting quality sleep. Giving yourself the opportunity to rest and recharge is essential for your mental health.

• Taking a break from screens. Excessive screen time has been shown to have negative effects on mental health. 

• Meditating. Incorporating meditation or mindfulness meditation into your day can improve cognitive function and feelings of overall well being. 

• Taking in natural sunlight. Your circadian rhythm signals your body when to sleep, and when to be active. Controlling your exposure to sunlight or bright lights can help you sleep better at night and wake up refreshed. 

• Baking a new recipe. Baking is a great way to express creativity and practice mindfulness which can reduce stress.

• Tending to your garden or house plants. Snake plants can survive with minimal amounts of care and they help filter the air. Even better, fill your home with cacti, as long as they get some light they don’t care if you forget about them for a while. According to Jennifer Scriven, a Business Development Manager at Axcess Merchant Services, having cacti on your desk can increase productivity and reduce stress. 

Whatever you decide to do, be compassionate with yourself through this process until you find what works best for your needs. Reducing your stress and focusing on improving your mental health will benefit not only you, but those around you. Gradually incorporate these changes to prioritize your mental health and stay motivated. 

Stress Cycles: What they Are and How to Break Them

Do you feel as if you are in a constant state of stress? Well, you may be. Stressors can be found all around us, especially now. Did you know that many people who experience stress do not complete their stress cycles? According to Psych Central, stress isn’t a one-time event with a single cause and reaction; it is a cycle with many phases. We complete a stress cycle when our bodies learn that we are safe after facing danger.

Drs. Emily & Amelia Nagoski emphasize the importance of completing the stress cycle in their book, Burnout: The Secret to Solving the Stress Cycle. According to Burnout, when we do not confront our stress, we continue the stress cycle and our bodies are in constant activation with increased blood pressure, increased chance of heart disease, and issues with digestion. Thus, completing the stress cycle is imperative for our health. 

According to an article on Psych Central, there are five main stages of the stress cycle. These stages are, in order, the external stressor, internal appraisal, physiological response, internalization, and coping. 

Stage One: The external stressor, or simply, the triggering event, is the only aspect of stress that your mind and body do not play a direct role in. 

Stage Two: Internal appraisal happens just before, during, or after the actual trigger occurs. At this stage, your senses are taking in information that something has gone awry, sending a signal to your amygdala (the part of your brain that is responsible for processing emotions such as fear and rage). Once the amygdala is activated, a signal is sent to the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland, which are responsible for maintaining homeostasis (balance in the body).

Stage Three: Physiological responses occur once the amygdala is activated. Once the hypothalamus and the pituitary glands are signaled by the amygdala, the sympathetic nervous system becomes activated, thus launching your body into the fight or flight response. This response stimulates the cardiovascular system while accelerating your heart rate. At the same time, your parasympathetic nervous system is suppressed, causing your immune and digestive systems to shut down.

Stage Four: Internalization is when you begin to become aware of the stress. In this stage, you could experience physical reactions such as increased heart rate, upset stomach, or body aches which become more noticeable than in stage four. These physical reactions may cause you to worry about how well you are handling the stress, thus causing you to feel worry, anxiety, and dread. 

Stage Five: The final stage of the cycle is coping, a.k.a., doing something that alleviates the discomfort. While some coping mechanisms decrease stress, others can increase it. This is called maladaptive coping. When people engage in maladaptive coping, their strategies may work in the short-term but not in the long term. Some of these mechanisms include consuming psychoactive drugs, alcohol, constantly checking your phone, mindless media, and throwing yourself into work. These coping mechanisms actually further activate the physiological stress responses in your body, causing you to stay in a hyper-aroused state, thus leading to more stress. 

In an interview on Brene Brown’s podcast, Unlocking Us, the Nagoski sisters spoke about the burnout phenomenon in relation to stress cycles. They emphasize how emotions and stress can impact your entire nervous system. In order to create balance in your nervous system, you have to complete the stress cycle. Emily Nagoski debunks the idea that if we fix the issue that caused the stress, we have dealt with the stress itself. In reality, when we do this, we stay in a chronically elevated state of stress. 

In order to complete the stress cycle, we must reduce the stress we are experiencing. There is no one surefire way to reduce stress, but the Nagoski sisters do offer some helpful suggestions. Moving, breathing, laughing, speaking with your loved ones, crying, or doing something creative can have a profound impact on reducing stress.

Let’s Break These Down

Moving can include any physical activity such as running, yoga, stretching, walking, or biking. According to the Nagoski sisters, any activity that moves the body is helpful.

Breathing regulates your nervous system by increasing the amount of oxygen in your bloodstream. In fact, a study published in the Breathe, a journal published by the European Respiratory society, there appears to be potential for controlled slow breathing methods to optimize physiological health. The Nagoskis recommend taking a slow breath in and a slow, long breath out when you are feeling stressed. This is called paced breathing, and apps such as Insight Timer, Calm, and Headspace can help you practice this method. Breathing will engage the parasympathetic nervous system, therefore regulating the central nervous system. You may notice that you are unable to stay focused on one thought when you are breathing in this way, and that is normal. In fact, that’s the point. If your thoughts are more steady, that is okay too.

Any positive social interaction can help reduce stress. When you have a positive social interaction, your body feels as if it is at home. This interaction could be super brief such as saying hello to a cashier, or complimenting a neighbor or passerby, or talking to your best friend.

According to Nagoski and Nagoski (2019), laughter will help alleviate stress, but only if it is authentic. In their podcast interview, Dr. Amelia Nagoski shared, “it has to be the slightly embarrassing, mouth hanging open, belly jiggling, uncontrolled, ridiculous laughter that really takes over your body, you can’t stop laughing. That laughter will take you all the way through the end of a stress cycle.”

The next suggestion is to engage in affection. This can include speaking to a loved one or hugging (safely). According to an article in the Harvard Health newsletter, hugging for 20 seconds can increase your oxytocin levels. Higher oxytocin levels have been correlated with lower blood pressure and heart rates. Therefore, there is a possible link between hugging and lower blood pressure.

Crying will not solve the problem, but it can help allow physical tension to leave your body.

Creative expression can mean whatever you want it to mean, including painting, knitting, sketching, writing, singing, baking, or anything else that is an act of creation.

While none of these stress-reduction methods are the end-all-be-all, they can help you to complete the stress cycle. The most important thing is that you make it through the stress cycle, to protect your physical and mental health.

What You Need to Know Before Your First Telehealth Therapy Appointment

Many people around the world have become social-distancing pros in the past few months, working remotely and interacting with loved ones digitally. The practice of individual and relationship psychotherapy has followed suit, as many providers have transitioned to offering sessions via Telehealth. But, what if you’ve never been to a tele-therapy appointment before? Don’t fret, we’re here to help with some tips for beginning tele-therapy during the pandemic.

Clear Your Schedule

Pretend like you are in a therapist's office for the entire hour. Tell your coworkers, roommates, neighbors you are unavailable or block your calendar for that hour. You’ll want to dedicate the entire time toward focusing on the session. Put your phone on “Do Not Disturb” or turn it off completely. If you live with someone else and your walls are thin, ask them to wear headphones during that session, so you can speak freely without feeling like your privacy is being compromised. Imagine you are in the therapist’s office and direct your entire focus to the therapy appointment (we realize for some, this is easier said than done).

Set Up Your Virtual Therapy Office

If you’re going to be talking a lot, you’ll probably want a glass of water on hand. Emotions tend to arise during therapy, so make sure tissues are available and a trash can to dispose of them. Keep a notepad to take notes, if that’s your thing. You’re going to be occupied for an hour, so it’s best to use the toilet before your session to avoid interruptions. If you feel more focused when wearing trousers instead of sweats, plan accordingly before your session. The more present you are, the more you’ll likely get out of your session!

Ease Into It

Give yourself five minutes before to settle in and really think about what you want to accomplish during this session. Prioritize which topics are most important and what you have been working on. It can be helpful to make a written or mental itinerary for how you want to organize the session. When finished, give yourself another 5 minutes to process before you transition to what you have going on during the remainder of your day.

Limit Distractions

We know it’s hard, but try to avoid inviting your pets to therapy, especially if you’ll be tempted not to keep your eyes off of them. While they may provide emotional support, you’ll want to stay focused on what is happening in your session. Take the same approach with children, if possible. Ask a co-parent or caregiver to watch your children during your session to help you stay focused. Refrain from eating or consuming alcohol during your session. A good rule of thumb to follow: If you would not do it in a therapist's office, do not do it during your teletherapy appointment.

Teletherapy has never been more accessible than it is now, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Take advantage of these new opportunities and make an appointment today with us (hello Illinois residents) or some of the other qualified clinicians in your area!