Written by: Trish Mahan, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Routines are necessary components of productivity and success. When we think about our daily routines, we most commonly think about what we do in the morning before going to work or school and what we do after work or school to get ready for the next day. These patterns make up the fabric of our daily engagements.
We do not often think about how our mental health routines influence our daily moods and experiences. As the impacts of the pandemic continue to take its toll on the way we think, feel, and adapt to the world around us there’s no doubt that we are constantly adjusting to changes in our personal and social environments and making new routines based on those changes. This way of living can be exhausting and overwhelming causing us to feel disengaged in daily interactions or hyper-focused on trying to bring more consistency to our days resulting in increased feelings of burnout, avoidance and dissatisfaction with life.
Constantly modifying our habits and lifestyle based on endless information overload can make it seem like there is no ground under our feet.
How do we become more aware of our mental health patterns as we continue to emerge within
the “New Normal” (Whatever that is…?)
Before we can attend to our mental health needs and wants, we must be able to identify our current habits of thoughts, feelings, and actions and choose if we want to continue applying these patterns to our decision-making and problem-solving approaches. This can be achieved through journaling, talking with friends, a therapist or a coach. Practicing non-judgment and self-compassion while engaged in this aspect of the process is essential because we will uncover both adaptive and mal-adaptive behaviors as we explore our minds with increased openness and awareness.
Much like physical routines, mental health routines contribute to the mind~body~spirit connection. What and how we think impacts the trajectory of our thoughts, feelings, actions, and goals. Many of us do not think about incorporating mental health ‘goals’ into our daily routines, but maybe if we curiously explore what we want to think, feel, do and achieve, then we can create ways to spark self-confidence and inspiration that guides our purpose and direction.
Inspiration is the ember of our spiritual essence which is always looking to align with our highest potential. It is the awareness of a creative idea that pops in our heads out of nowhere. It is the shiver of excitement that washes over our skin and gives us goosebumps when our intuition is speaking to us. It is the connection to the internal drive that motivates ‘YOU.’
The key to creating influential mental health routines that support health and wellness lies in your desire to adapt and nurture your mindset. When your desire to change is stronger than your desire to live in the comfort of the past, living a life on purpose begins to take root.
5 Questions to Consider when Adapting your mindset:
“How can expanding your emotional vocabulary help improve your mental health?”
1. Expand your emotional vocabulary
The words and terms we use to describe our emotions are often limited within our expressive vocabulary. It can be difficult to label and discuss energies and feelings when our vocabulary bank is low in inventory. As we learn to expand our emotional vocabulary, we also learn to recognize various stages of energy associated with those labels. Our descriptive emotional language enhances our ability to self-assess our beliefs and values, self-regulate our emotional responses, communicate with others more effectively, and describe our needs and wants with clarity, and align with our personal goals and desires.
“What are your sensory needs?”
2. Anchor your senses
Awareness of our sensory health and needs is a critical component to our mental health routines. Our senses impact our perceptions of the world around us. They connect with our emotions as we engage in everyday activities and experiences. Our senses may guide (or trigger) the interpretations we make about what helps us feel attentive and engaged and what causes us to feel dysregulated or avoidant. Improving sensory awareness in a way that causes us to consciously incorporate sensory tools within our routines that help us to mindfully prepare to engage in daily activities and step outside our comfort zone.
“How would you describe your mindset when you think about overcoming a difficult situation… Are you surviving or are you thriving?”
3. Practice resilience
We are all resilient. We all have survived challenging life situations that pulled the rug out from under our feet. If you are reading this article, you have developed resiliency skills. Maybe you never put your awareness on what this means for you and how these skills have helped you to become the person you are today. However, resilience is all about flexibility…… Flexibility to go with the flow, flexibility to rise from situations feeling more skilled, more knowledgeable, more aware, and more prepared for the next situation. Resilience is also about embracing the flexibility to demonstrate self-compassion in times of self-doubt.
“How can you detach from other people’s energy?”
4. Practice objective detachment
Often, we find ourselves amid other people’s energy and drama. Whether it is at home with our family, when we are out with friends, at work with coworkers, or just out and about within the general public, sometimes it is difficult to not get wrapped up in the energy and details of other people’s situations. This sensitivity comes with a lot of judgmental self-talk. We judge the people involved, we judge the situation, and we judge ourselves in the process. When drama starts making you feel anxious or overwhelmed imagine stepping away from the stage where everyone else is acting out the script of their lives. Your role is to observe from a distance with curiosity and non-judgment rather than being a part of the play. Your perspective will widen, and emotional charges will lessen as you gain greater insight into what you can control and what you cannot control. Ask yourself,
“How can discipline help to balance your holistic health?”
5. Expand self-care activities to include self-management
Self-care strategies are often thought of as things we do to nurture or pamper ourselves. Examples may include getting a massage, taking a walk in nature, eating a healthy diet, and/or taking a nap. However, self-care without self-management can be thought of as occasional activities we engage to reward ourselves for working hard and/or activities that allow us to indulge in potentially unbalanced routines and habits of avoidance. Self-management operationalizes the self-care routines with a sense of purposeful discipline. “Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.” Incorporating self-care strategies consistently throughout our daily activities in ways that encourage us to step out of our comfort zone and nurture our confidence in the process, can help promote feelings of worthiness, esteem, and value.
I hope this article sparked some curiosity within you to think about including conscious mental health routines in your daily occupations (activities). We already have mental health routines and habits embedded within our essence, why not step into action and help shape them?
The final question is… Do you want your current mental health routines to be on automatic pilot so that you keep getting the same results in life or do you want to help shape those routines with discipline, so they reinforce healthy, adaptive changes?
Trish Mahan, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dr. Mahan merges the holistic core philosophy of Occupational Therapy and the action-oriented approaches of Core Energy Coaching in order to help her clients work through the ‘blind spots’ of their lives. She works with individuals by incorporating evidence-based tools and research-based practices that uncover challenging maladaptive habits and inspire empowering self-awareness.
Dr. Mahan brings authentic awareness to the power of ‘purpose-driven mental health and wellness.’ She has a deep appreciation for the complexity of the human experience. Passionate about all aspects of well-being she is devoted to making physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness more achievable for individuals seeking improved quality of life.
Dr. Mahan has her doctoral degree in occupational therapy, works as a Senior Pediatric Occupational Therapist, and is the owner of Youniversal Coaching. She is a progressive thought leader who has the rare ability to manage and do things right as well as lead and do the right thing. She intuitively knows how to hone in and move individuals forward and remain committed to improving outcomes for individuals and organizations. She is certified as an evidence-based health coach, professional core energy coach, and sensory integration therapist. Dr. Trish has championed multiple positions in higher education including clinical and adjunct professor, program director, and student mentor. She sits on the professional state board of occupational therapy in Albany, NY, and is a speaker and presenter at various state professional associations and universities. Topics of focus include The occupation of human potential, Spirituality and emotional regulation, Anxiety, and sensory sensitivities, and Resilience in pandemic recovery.
