Mental Well-being Challenge

I am going to change up my post a bit today and try something new and different. I have written many different blogs around different topics, food, pets, self-care, parenting, dealing with lockdown, friendships, learning a new language (still in the process of mastering this one), coaching, goals, and lots more. I have struggled at points to write what I thought were meaningful posts and then other times I would write three with no issues. I guess this is a part of writing and the reason I feel this happens is that what I write about are things that mean something to me and are based around supporting you to gain from them and make your life, well, ‘well’.

This week as we come closer to the end of January and the resolutions we made (if we made them) are starting to get harder to focus on, we feel like this month was a year and wonder where the holidays have gone. Depending on where you are, you may be still isolated from a lot of things, and if you have been like me wondering when we are going to get back to normal and start really living again. Like anything, we need to keep believing and having faith that we will get there and hopefully soon.

With all this in mind, no matter what your current situation is, I thought it would be good to set ourselves some mental health and well-being challenges to help keep us focused on ourselves and to also build our resilience and strength to keep firing through what is going on in the world, in our own little bubble.

Start by creating your own individual bubble, imagine a giant bubble around you, at first it is delicate and can be popped easily but we are going to help it grow over the next four weeks with the following plan.

1. Write down intentions that you have in relation to your mental health and well-being that you want to achieve over the next four weeks and place it somewhere you can see.
2. Start the day with gratitude – tell yourself something that you are grateful for going into your day.
3. Drink 8 glasses of water or more, starting with a glass in the morning before you have your coffee and breakfast. Drinking water helps to get rid of toxins that we do not need in our body, which helps us physically and mentally.
4. Eat well and regularly – like water we need food for our physical and mental self. If we have drops in our blood sugar levels from not eating, it can cause us to become more anxious and frustrated at things for little to no real reason. It can be as simple as snacking on nuts, seeds, fresh or dried fruits if you are not a big eater.
5. Take a moment each day to just pause. it can be when you wake up in the morning, just before you go to sleep or when you reach home in your car. The time or place does not matter as long as you take one minute to just be and not think about anything.
6. Practise deep breathing. Take another minute or five if you can practice belly breathing, hands on your belly to feel the air go in and out. Take a big deep breath in, hold it for a moment and then releasing it, fully. Notice how you feel after doing this.
7. Catch up with a friend or family member – even though we are more restricted and not able to socialise the way we used to, with apps like Zoom, it has helped bring us closer together even if we are further apart.
8. Get outdoors. Yes, it is winter and yes, depending on where you are in the world it is cold but even for ten minutes, wrap up and take in nature as it is.
9. Drink tea. Green tea is the best but tea any tea, in general, has a calming effect on us.
10. Do at least one session of meditation or yoga. It may not be your thing, but it is extremely beneficial and doing it once will impact your outcome at the end of the month.
11. Do something that brings you joy or at least a smile to your face.
12. De-clutter – that may be your wardrobe, your kitchen cupboards, or your mind. Spend some time cleaning out.
13. Journal – I will share a post dedicated to this next week but if you have not experienced journaling, it is something to definitely start.
14. Order a takeaway, curl up on the couch and watch a movie.
15. Exercise – this one does not have to be anything major. It can be dancing around your living room to your favourite song, a ten-minute home work out or whatever, as long as it raises your heart rate slightly.
16. Say ‘no’ to something.
17. Have a social media free evening – since the first lockdown last year and starting to post on my @living_eachmoment Instagram and Facebook accounts I have found I am spending a lot more time online than before, just scrolling through posts that have no value to me. This one I have put in specifically for myself.
18. Try a new recipe – if you are a person who can cook or not, there are simple recipes out there to try. You will feel a sense of accomplishment when you do make something, trust me.
19. Draw, doodle, or colour in – do some form of creativity with your hands.
20. Do something for someone else – you will be surprised how doing something kind for someone else can help you on your journey also
21. Be kind to yourself – think about what you say to yourself and if you would talk like this to your mother, best friend, child and so on. If not, take time to reconstruct how you talk to yourself.
22. Share a hug. If with restrictions you cannot, and you have a pet or a stuffed teddy, that can work. And if not, hug yourself, wrap yourself up in a blanket, feel the comfort and wrap your arms around yourself. Or a warm mug of something and give yourself your love.
23. Listen to well-being podcasts or relaxing music.
24. Be mindful of how you are sleeping and if you are getting enough. If not, seek ways to improve your sleep.
25. Practise eating mindfully – savour your food and take note of the different tastes, textures and feelings you get when eating.
26. End the day on a positive note – remind yourself of good things about you and things you have achieved in that day.

There is a lot on the list and be kind if you cannot manage everything in the 28 days to come. The most important thing is to introduce or do something daily; if you do one positive thing fifteen times and only manage to do five other things twice, you have still made a change and will still feel the benefits. So, take what you think you can do and need and maybe add one or two of your own also. I will share after the challenge how I have managed myself, so do share with me or tag me on Instagram @living_eachmoment and Facebook @livingeachmoment to how you are doing with your challenge. Every step we make to our mental health and well-being is always positive no matter how small it is.