mindfulness & mental health
It seems like I’m always having this conversation with myself so I figured I’d “say it out loud” here too – slowing down is necessary. It’s easy to ignore or pay less attention to our feelings and thoughts when we keep ourselves busy. Let’s be real – facing these emotions and thoughts can be scary, uncomfortable, and inconvenient.
No one said personal growth was easy, right?
Continue reading “Slowing Down Is Hard and Necessary”
One helpful skill for coping with stress and overwhelm is learning how to be still so you can be attuned to the needs of your body. By tuning in to your physical and emotional needs, you are better able to figure out what you need in order to feel more calm and at peace. Do you need to take a walk? Do you need to take a deep breath? Do you need to talk with someone so you can relieve the pressure of the thoughts?
Continue reading “Build Your Capacity for Stillness”
A few days ago I left work with a terrible headache. I was also feeling irritable and just crabby, however I decided to get some fruit and a few other things at the store on my way home. When I got to the store, my headache intensified because there was live music (in a grocery store…I know!) and I thought the genre of music was very annoying and not pleasing to my ear. I walked around the store basically stomping my feet and throwing things into the cart and could not wait to check out. I quickly got a few more items and headed to the cashier.
Continue reading “What Made Me Cringe Made Someone Else Dance”
I’ve been focusing on the quality of my sleep a lot more these past few weeks and I thought it would be good to re-share some thoughts from a post I wrote in 2018 because I find myself resonating with these words again.
A few years ago, I attended a presentation on sleep and what lack of sleep does to your body. We got a magazine with information on sleep, a bath bomb, and a lavender roll-on! (jackpot!)
Continue reading “Let’s Talk About Sleep”
As a child, I don’t remember getting toys as a gift. If I got a toy it was something educational, so I mostly got clothes and I got books. To be honest, I never thought that anything was wrong with not getting toys. I enjoyed my gifts! One of my aunts would buy books for me (eg., Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew) and she would also read them and we would talk about them (we basically had our own book club!) I feel warm and happy when I think of the times we would lie in bed reading together. So, I always associate reading with pleasant memories. As I got older, my passion for reading remained the same. I was always excited to get a new novel and I enjoyed psychological thrillers (still do to some extent). I find myself more drawn to non-fiction and biographies, however, in the past couple years I have been stepping out of my reading comfort zone a bit more by reading fiction!
Continue reading “How Reading Helps Me Take Care of My Mental Health”
Well & Mindful 