Given the past year or so of my life, with the constant stress, health battles, high blood pressure, etc, I’ve become adamant about taking better care of myself. I’ve seen how harmful stress and lack of self-care can be on my body and I don’t want to put myself back in jeopardy like I did before.
When we sit down and start to make an internal list of what we feel is important these days, we tend to put the wrong things at the top of our lists (like our jobs). If we are truly honest with ourselves, our physical and mental health should be right up there above everything else.
Today, I’m taking about ways we should be taking care of both our mental and physical health, and why it’s more important than ever to do this.
Why You Should Make A Change Now
If you know that you should make a few changes to your lifestyle, there is no time better than now to really go for it. The world and all of the technology it offers makes things like this easier than you may know.
With the wealth of information that is available, the advances in medicine, and the detailed research that is put into diets nowadays, you’d be silly not to think that it’s time to start making a change.
Take Care Of The Body
Ok, so when it comes to taking care of the body, we know I’m an everything in moderation kind of human; do what is good for your body but you can also have a little bit of what is good for your mental health. You know, you eat well….eat your veggies…get your protein….meet your daily step goal…and then have a nice glass of wine on Friday night because your week was KILLER…..
That kind of thing.
I don’t know if it’s just a “people I know” thing, but I have a lot of friends that are into the whole Coolsculpting trend (you can watch CoolSculpting videos here) where they take some sort of laser and zap out fat cells from your body. I’ve actually had a couple of friends that have done it and love the results of it. I dunno, ya’ll know I’m a scaredy cat in most things, but you do you if you’re into this.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they want to see changes is they do too much, too fast, and the lifestyle just won’t be sustainable. Start slowly, and you will soon start to see some changes happening over a healthy timescale. I recently started limiting carbs (not fully restricting, but not not overindulging either) and increasing my protein and veggie intake and I’ve finally started seeing some results; nothing earth shattering, but that’s not the point. I’m going for lifestyle change, not crash dieting.
Look After Your Mind
It seems that lately, there is a bigger need than ever to take care of your mental health. The world is a cold place, and if we ignore certain things, we can find ourselves falling into a rather dark place. We know I literally hated about 80% of my life last year. My anxiety was at an all-time high and there was very little that brought it down.
One of the most important things to remember that you should always try to find somebody you can talk to. Having somebody, you can communicate with is an incredible way of being able to keep on top of your mental health. It can be a therapist, it can be a friend, it can be your spouse; it doesn’t matter. Everyone needs someone they can talk to and vent to. I’ve said so many times that I don’t know if I would have made it through the past year without Devon. I came home and vented almost everyday and while I say I still feel like I barely survived; it would have been so much worse without him to talk to.
If you add this to healthier food lifestyle changes and a little exercise, (which we know I’m still trying to get better at) you will start to feel less stressed…and maybe even….happier…calmer….something like that.
When it comes to mental health, it’s the small things that will always make the biggest difference. With something as simple as talking to somebody, you will notice that saying the things out loud that bother you will help you attach some clarity to them.
The point is, most of these changes are ridiculously simple. Taking care of yourself doesn’t have to be going to a spa all the time or going on vacations or spending a lot of money on things. It’s doing little things everyday to keep your body and mind healthy because while eating a box of cookies is initially delicious; if you feel sleepy and weighted down after, did it really help THAT much?
At the end of the day; please take care of yourself. It’s rare that you will find someone who will do it for you (you may have a wonderful partner who helps but you still need to be in control of it) and at the end of the day, you know what is best for you.
