PUNCTUATE YOUR DAY WITH WELLNESS.

Taking care of yourself can feel like a chore, especially when we’re dealing with mental health concerns. Over the years I’ve developed an approach that works well for me and takes what I once saw as an unthinkable accomplishment and makes it well… a lot more bite sized. 

First things first - What is the keystone you are moving through the world with in mind. Is it productivity, acceptance, self-care, wellness, connection and community? This doesn’t have to be the same all the time but it is something that’s useful to keep in mind. It helps us to check in on our internal world, reflect on why we are thinking and feeling the way that we are. Most importantly it builds in a bit of accountability. Ask yourself; Where is this coming from? Is it in line with my keystone? If not – take pause, adapt, and move on. 

Now that we’ve got the foundation laid we can get into the whole concept of punctuating your day with wellness. It’s simple really – make it your goal each day to do one wellness focused activity at the start and end of the day. They don’t have to be big activities and they don’t all have to go according to plan, however, they do need to have the intention of wellness attached to them. There are so many options with regards to what these activities can be, for the sake of simplicity I’ve broken them down into a few categories. 

Movement: Sweet sweet movement based wellness activity can be anything from morning stretching, an eventing run, attending a yoga class pre or post work, etc. This can be used to get the blood flowing in the morning or to settle into your body for the night. Don’t overthink it just move your body in any way that feels right for you in that moment.

Nutrition: Nutrition based wellness activities can be incredibly simple. For this activity category I like to think of the things we can add rather than the things we can restrict. Something as simple as remembering to take your multivitamin before bed, or waking up in time to make yourself a nutritious breakfast that you don’t scarf down while biking to the train station.

Nature: Something I’ve noticed about myself and recognized in other people is that spending time in nature is for whatever reason generally a calming and regenerative activity. I personally prefer a walk in a nearby forest, sometimes accompanied by a great playlist or a podcast, bonus points if I go sans headphones and really try to connect with the world around me. Not living near a forest or park, no problem. Get a few house plants – water them, care for them, spend time around them. Sometimes we’ve got to work with what we’ve got, you can always bring nature to you. 

Mindfulness: Mindfulness means different things to different people. Try and find what works for you and in the meantime experiment. Journaling is a great place to start, setting a intention for the day (can be done before even leaving bed!), yoga, meditation, it all fits under this category. 

General Self-care: Although self-care is in a way part of each of the above categories there are a lot of other activities that are wellness based that needed a place to exist. So here they are; Technology free time with yourself, or others,  gardening, drawing, writing, walking the dog, visiting a museum, hot showers/long baths, booking yourself a massage, clean out your junk drawer, do a puzzle, create a gratitude list, call a friend to say hi, read a bit of a book, do a little dance.  Like I said earlier these activities are countless all that truly matters is the intention behind them.

Its important to keep in mind that this will work differently for everyone based on their current situation and most importantly their goals. Through implementing this concept into your day to day life you will at the very least be doing a few things a day that are geared towards wellness. Everything that happens in between is simply a bonus.

How to talk about mental health at work.

To disclose or not to disclose. Our mental health can seem like a 24/7 job and unfortunately that can feel like it’s getting in the way of our 9-5. It’s important to be able to advocate for our wellbeing in our work places whether that’s taking some time away from work to regroup or making changes to your schedule, or even making alterations to the working environment itself. Here are some things to consider before entering into this dialogue with your employer: 

1.    Professional Support – The support of a mental healthcare provider can be critical to identifying the concerns and the appropriate treatment or management of the concerns you are presenting. Additionally, they will be key in providing you with documentation should your employer request this. 

2.    Identify the who of it all –  Prior to having this conversation at your work place it’s important to identify the appropriate people to have this conversation with. It varies from work place to work place, it might be an owner, a manager, or in larger companies someone from the HR department. 

3.    Have a Game Plan – Spend some time thinking about what would make it easier for you to do your job. What hurdles are you facing due to your mental health concerns. Do you need altered working hours? Would working from home 1 day a week help? Do you need a quieter space? Having this mapped out beforehand will be massively beneficial (That mental healthcare provider we mentioned earlier can also be really helpful during this step). There is no guaranteeing your employer will be able to meet all of your suggestions but it will go a long way in opening the dialogue about mental health at work and how we can better support not only ourselves but the entire workforce.

It’s important to remember this is a choice we have to make for ourselves. Accommodations can’t be made unless we start having conversations about how we can best be supported in our working environments. We can’t get what we want and need if we don’t ask for it.