Life has been crazy lately to say the least! First the pandemic, and now we continue the fight against social injustice. As life continues to change, it’s important that we show ourselves compassion through this process. Today on the blog we wanted to give you tips to protect your mental health during this time. Take this time to slow down, breathe, and practice gratitude.
Set healthy boundaries with yourself
Whether you’re reading the news or scrolling through social media, it can be hard to get away from negative news and information. That’s why it’s important to set healthy boundaries for ourselves. Boundaries serve an important role in our lives, especially when we are feeling anxious. Here are some ways you can set boundaries:
- Limit your consumption. If you feel the urge to stay updated, allow yourself to read the news or scroll through social post, but practice putting limits on how much you consume.
- Turn off your notifications. Does your phone constantly go-off with new headlines or alerts? Turning off your notifications can help you ease the anxiety you may experience from constant updates, notifications and changes. It will also make it easier to check the news less frequently.
- Look for sources of joy.
Set healthy boundaries with others
Knowing what we need and communicating our needs clearly can help to protect our own mental health and energy. Here are some examples of things you can say to set boundaries with those around you:
- I appreciate that you want to help me stay informed by sharing news articles and links, but I”m good for right now/ I’d prefer if you didn’t.
- I respect your opinion on this situation, and I am allowing myself to come to my own conclusions.
- I know you’re trying to be helpful and I appreciate it, but I need space to experience and process my own emotions about this.
Process your emotions
When we are experiencing a crisis or being bombarded with information, it can be difficult to process our feelings and emotions in a healthy way. Increase stress and anxiety levels may cause us to snap at those we love or leave us feeling physically mentally and emotionally exhausted. One way to process emotions in a healthy way is to practice journaling. Journaling allows us an opportunity to explore our feelings, process them and move forward.
Practice self-care
Self-care is any activity that we intentionally do to take care of our own mental, emotional and physical health. Sometimes, self-care is short term, like eating a sweet treat. Other times, self-care is more long term, like learning how to budget or getting enough sleep each night. The important thing to remember is that self-care looks different for everyone.
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