It’s easy to lose ourselves in busy work and family lives. Read our 4 easy tips to maintain a healthy mind and mental clarity here.
Winter brings holiday cheer for many, but for others, it brings Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. Up to 1 in 5 people in the United States suffer from SAD, which means they’re likely to feel hopeless, irritable, and tired.
While that’s bad news, the good news is that a healthy mind is still possible, even if you live in Alaska in the dead of winter.
Keep reading for four happy mind tips.
Move Your Body for a Healthy Mind
Sure, staying on the couch and watching Netflix is fun sometimes, but if you do that every day you’re going to feel like a sad, useless lump. Turn off The Haunting of Hill House and put on your walking shoes.
Some people decide to start new exercise routines in the winter, but if you’re feeling low, it’s better to start small rather than go big and overwhelm yourself. Start by walking one mile. Then, a day or two later, go two miles.
Exercising creates happy feelings in your brain, and those feelings give you a much-needed sense of hope.
See Friends
We tend to isolate ourselves when we’re unhappy. It’s common to think, “Well, I don’t like myself very much, so why would my friends want to see my face right now?”
Before you know it, you’ve gone a week without talking to any of your closest pals. Fix that by texting them and saying you need to get out of your house and talk.
Meeting up with friends reminds you that other people care about you, and remembering that is a one-way ticket to a healthy mentality.
Online dating can also be a positive way to get out of your comfort zone. You may find that opening your mind first will help you open your heart a bit later.
Visit a Doctor
Are you self-medicating with alcohol, drugs, or other unhealthy substances to distract yourself from the winter blues? if so, then you may need to talk to your doctor about dual diagnosis treatment centers.
Such centers treat people who are dealing with addiction as well as an underlying mental health issue. For instance, someone depressed may drink a lot, but alcohol is a depressant. What may feel good in the short-term is only going to make things worse in the long run.
You can’t know how to have a healthy mind if you aren’t willing to see a medical professional occasionally.
Plan Something
It’s easy to feel hopeless when the days are short, dark, and cold. Combat that by planning something for yourself when the weather is warmer and the sun returns.
It doesn’t have to be a week-long trip to the Caribbean, but it should be something that perks you up and reminds you to keep going. It can be a weekend getaway to the next state over or a local party to welcome back spring.
More Advice for Healthy Minds
Healthy minds come easier to some people than others. If you’re not naturally peppy and cheerful, that doesn’t mean you’re broken, but it does mean you have to work a little bit harder to achieve the healthy mind you deserve.
For more lifestyle tips that will keep your mind happy, check out our blog.
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