10 Life-Changing Tips to Boost Your Mental Health l S2E075

Welcome back to a call for love. If you're new to this podcast, listen up, because we are the top five on Listen notes, and that means that people are listening to a call for love. And I always say, how are you living? You know it's creating awareness. Are you living in stress, fear, anxiety, and if you are then that's a shift. We want to make a shift, a shift. It's a call for love. And living from a place of love, loving kindness for yourself and others is not easy, and especially this month, because October is World Mental Health Month, and that means that the emphasis is on mental health in a call for love. It's 365, days the year. However, there are times where it has to become deliberate, and through creating a month like that, that's what happens. And today, you are going to hear many ways, in fact, 10 ways that you can change your life in a day to improve your mental health. You will gain tips and tools in order for you to make those small shifts to live healthier and happier, not just in your body, but in your mind. If we don't have peace, really, nothing else matters, and that's what today's message is. So if this resonates with you, then please share it with a friend, and let's begin. So the World Health Organization, which is known as who has designated this month, as I said, as mental wellness, particularly the day is October 10. And so I decided 10 things that we're going to talk about today to improve and prioritize our mental health. Now, as you know, we're all I say this on a call for love all the time. We are living in this human experience, and so you may feel one of the lower vibrations was could be envy, insecurity, judgment, jealousy, shame, fear. You may be feeling hopeless. Maybe there's some aggression or anger or hatred. Maybe there's competition, pain, suffering, whatever these feelings and emotions that are going on within you, and they don't have to be all the time, but periodically, what happens is it shifts a state of consciousness into prolonged states of stress and anxiety. Now this can be real, like something real happens in your life, or it could be an illusion that we've created, or a past experience, or even a situational experience. And mental mental illness is, they always say it's like a silent disease, because we look perfect the fine, maybe not all the time, but on the outside, but it's inside that people can't get a glimpse into. And I have recently experienced this myself, because I've been going through perimenopause, menopause. And you know, if you take a look at me, I look perfectly healthy and fine, but I've been struggling, which influences my mental health. And so that's what I think about mental health, is that it's so much harder, not that we need other people's empathy, but people need to understand that, you know, once you take off the wrapping, what's underneath, and mental wellness is something that we all strive for, we all need and we're all around and if you follow Doctor Joe Dispenza, he says that your personality creates your personal reality. So let me say that again, your personality creates your reality, right? It's kind of like that glass is half full, glass is half empty, kind of mentality. And so when you think and act, you create your present personality. And so if you're listening or watching on YouTube, then you are creating your life in this moment. And today, we're going to talk about the 10 ways that you can live more consciously aware and mindful of how you're living. You know, if you ever feeling unease in your mental well being, know that often it comes from our lifestyle choices, habits and behaviors. They influence our mental health. It just makes sense. You know, what you're putting on your body reflects how you look. Well, what you're putting in your mind and in your body reflects how you.

And can feel and so mental health is a product of your habits, a product of your personality, a product of your mindset, and that's where we're going to begin here today. Okay, so the first one, as James clear says he's the author of atomic habits. Just keep in mind that in order to make any change, you have to make a change, and a change doesn't have to be big or huge. It just has to be enough to do something differently, and that is through awareness. I'm going to share these 10 items and just take stock. How are you in these ways of living? What awareness do you have of this? For instance, the first one I always think is so important. My mom always says, Well, you're not going to die from a bad night's sleep, but the quality of our sleep, if it's uninterrupted, if we go to bed early enough, has a huge impact on our life and our cognitive functioning, because I know when I don't get a good night's sleep, I I'm just not as bright the next day. It I feel like a little bit of brain fog, the first step to mental wellness that I'm sharing. These are the things that I am mindful of each day. Is my sleep. Now I could go to bed. They always say, have the saying that go to bed the same day you woke up, right? So if you go to bed past midnight, you're not going to bed the same day that you woke up, and so if I go to bed closer to midnight or even past midnight, it doesn't matter if I have eight hours of sleep, I do not feel rested the next day. I suggest the first thing that we can do for our mental health is to really dive deep into noticing our sleep. Do we need to get blackout curtains? Do we need to go to bed earlier? Do we need to have less clutter in our room? What are you placing in your mind? If I read or study before bed, my mind is very active, so I try to find something very soothing and non cognitive, so much to read before I go to sleep, and then I meditate, and if my meditation leads me into sleep, that's okay, because I meditate other times of the day. Be mindful of your sleeping habits, because the earlier that you can get to bed, if possible, and the better quality of sleep you experience, the easier hopefully, it will be for you to get up in the morning bright eyed and bushy tailed, as they say. So the first one is just being mindful of your sleep the next, and we're starting from the basics, and we're going to advance slowly. Number two, your body, you know, keeping it clean, keeping it feeling looking fresh. And I always say, put on what makes you joyful. I know that if it's a rainy, miserable day out, I wear brighter colors, it just depends. But really take care of your body. You might say, oh, Linda, that is so simple, but it's really something to pay attention to, getting your sleep number one, and taking care of your body. Those are basic needs, but just like in the chakra system, they're the lower chakras. There's your sense of security and stability where you can build right you can build on those. Now, number three, I've really been diving deeper into this. And guess what? As you know, you may know, but are you following it? Think of food as medicine. I'm

going to say that again, think of food as medicine. I used to think of food as just energy to give me energy and to please my taste buds, but now I'm really shifting my mindset to think of food as medicine. Medicine to fuel my body for what it needs, especially as every seven years our whole body is physically changing, but even more so, to nurture and nourish my mind, body and spirit, and so I'm going to just take a little bit of time here to go with what your plate should look like in a day. Of course, everyone is following different diets, and I don't mean diets by a regimented plan, but more like restrictions what they'll. Eat, what they won't eat, what they can eat, what they cannot eat, but this is a general guideline that my friend Jodi Pappas had shared with me. We hosted this fantastic retreat on the weekend, and she was talking about food as a nutritionist, she was sharing that about half your plate, about half the plate is vegetables with some fruit. So maybe three quarters of that half as vegetables. And vegetables can be the non starchy type, like leafy greens, cauliflower and berries, or the starchy ones, like carrots, sweet potatoes and bananas. So you're going to have half your plate as plant based food. Makes sense. Lot of people are plant based now, and the other half of your plate is going to be divided into two quarters, the other one being grains. I really have embraced, been embracing grains, actually. Lately I've been including steel cut oats into my diet, just for the fiber, especially. And I hear that it is good for cholesterol, for helping to reduce, not eliminate, but reduce your cholesterol. So I'm giving it a try. In any case, some of those grains can be brown rice or red rice or wild rice, some pasta, it could be gluten free, or could be any kind of flour that resonates with you, quinoa and whole grain breads. And also you can use these because they help to balance your blood sugar and give you more energy. And the other quarter contains protein we really, really need to contain more protein or add more protein into our diet, such as, it depends if you're vegan or not, but maybe fish, maybe poultry, but beans and nuts and always thinking of food, thinking of The fats, the healthy fats, like olive oil, avocados nuts, and then flax seeds and pumpkin seeds and all those great healthy oils. So think of what you're putting into your body as medicine. Number four, monitor your energy level. I said in a past podcast that I had been seeing a naturopath, and she says, you know, think of your energy as a bank underspend. And this is so important because we have been taught to go on the hamster reel right, really pushing ourselves, but energy, think of it as a bank account and underspend, and that's what I've been doing. And I I find that I'm making better choices with my time, and I'm using my energy where it's serving me most, where it's better, fitting myself and others better, and so really noticing where you're placing your energy, and if you have trouble with this, I am a soulful life coach. I could assist you, or you talk to a friend, or here's another way you could write it down if you if this was the last week of your life, what? Would you be investing your time and energy in? What could you eliminate, especially if you're stressed or your mental health is suffering, take something off take something off your list to reduce the stress, to reduce the anxiety of, how am I going to get everything done? And number five, reduce your screen and news time? I can't say this enough. I've been talking to many people lately, and they're like, Yeah, you know, I'm just not scrolling through social media as much now, especially not in the morning. It's not a great way to start your day, because as the human experience, we tend to compare and judge ourselves, and that's not how you want to wake up in the morning. But really monitor how much time you are spending on your screen. I have an Apple watch, and it'll give me a statistic at the end of the week, and I'm like, I can't believe I've been on my screen as much as it says. Not going to tell my husband, because he says, I bought it too much. However, if you could block off times to reduce your screen and make some rules, that would be really great. I keep my phone in our ensuite bathroom when I go to bed, so that it does not disturb me. But this actually also relates to news. If your mental health suffers because you experience anxiety, especially with what's going on in the world. Yes, you want to stay informed, but maybe keep it to a news hour that is earlier in. A day and not so close to your bedtime, and if it gets you really anxious, then do some other healing modalities to help you release that anxiety, which I will discuss as we move through the list. So reducing your screen time is always a good thing when we're talking about mental health. Now, number six, I have said this on other podcasts. I believe it was worry versus wisdom podcasts, especially. But I love this line. It still resonates so much with me. Don't believe everything you think just because you think it doesn't mean it's true. One of the most powerful insights in managing anxiety is remembering that just because you think something doesn't mean it's reality. And I have said also this again in previous podcasts, but Byron Katie's approach of the work, I love how she says this. She says four things, is it true? Is it really true? What you're thinking? Can you absolutely know for sure that it's true? And how do you react, or what happens when you believe that thought? And who would you be without that thought? I've had this happen to me so many times. Oh, you know, they haven't responded to my texts. They're upset with me, or something's happened like it really twists your mind. It twins, twists your mental well being. And all these, these illusions, these stories get made up in I'm going to speak for me in my mind, and I have to say, Whoa, just slow down. There you are, catastrophizing, right? Thinking the worst.

I give it some time, and then I reach out to the person or I clarify, and basically, every time I am correct, it was a misinterpretation or something like that. That is a very simple example. But the point is, don't believe everything you think nine over about a 90% of our mind is coming from the unconscious mind, the past programming. And the past can be so distorted that in the present moment, which is the only moment we have, is it true? Are you certain it's true? And if it is true, whatever the thought is going on, then there are ways to move through it so that it doesn't become more mentally draining and stressful for you, right? That could mean moving on to the next one is talking or connecting with people who can support and love you who bring you joy. It could be a professional, somebody that you seek for counseling. It could be a friend, a partner, a child, whoever it is, connect and talk with somebody. I was talking to my sister this morning, who is one of my greatest support systems, and she says, You know, I just, I just reach out to somebody and that they're not available. I reach out to somebody else and they're not available. I just reach out to somebody else because everyone is busy and everyone's living their life, but make that connection. Now I would like to add here that our fur babies, our animals, are very, very important. As you know, we have a lot of senses, meridians and senses on the palms of our hands. So when you pet an animal, it is very relaxing and soothing, not just for your nervous system, but also for your mind. It brings up very pleasant feelings and sensations, which is great. We need that, but we actually also need the connection of verbally dialoguing with somebody who can love and support us through loving kindness, which I also always say on a call for love. It's about living from the deep source of love within yourself and for others, right? Self love is self care. It helps nourish not only ourselves, but all our relationships. And so if you have going back to the previous number, which was number six, if you are believing a thought that is not serving you, and you're you need somebody to talk to. Those are two really great sequels to help you create a mindset, a deeper awareness of your mental state and how you can make a shift so. So that you can think more reasonably Correct. Is that how you feel? You have to ask yourself, Does this resonate with you? Does it resonate how many times and really, when something triggers you or really sets you off? Take a moment to say, is this the truth? Does it really matter if I'm five minutes late or I'm on time? Do you know this to be true? Now I always say that meditation as a meditation. I've taken David G's, 285 masters of wisdom and meditation teacher training. I believe that meditation is one of the most profound and powerful practices that we can do to create a healthier mental state, because when we slow down and turn inwards, we can cultivate inner peace, and that is because when we let go of all the external, let's say unnecessary, stuff that's around us, It's like Michelangelo's quote I chipped away the marble until the angel revealed itself within. And so what we do is we chip away all the stuff that is often superficial in order to return home to ourselves. Meditation is about befriending yourself. Meditation is important because it gets you out of your thinking mind and into your body. Because once again, our mind can create all these illusions. So if we can separate them by connecting with a focus, which is our breath or a mantra, then we can get out of that cycle of ruminating thoughts and really find the silence and stillness within even talking about it, I feel my whole nervous system relaxing. It's so interesting, because there is scientifically, it's been proven how beneficial meditation could be. And if you freak out about the word meditation, just think of it as silence and stillness. If you do not meditate, start with a minute. Start with three minutes. Just find a little bit of quiet. I always say in your bed is a very good way to begin if you do not have a solid practice, because it's a natural time that you want to slow down. I just place my hand on my heart. I feel my chest rise on the inhale and soften On the exhale, and I just noticed that for a couple minutes that alone will take you off that derail of ruminating thoughts that could be just taking you down, as my friend and neighbor says, down to the dark side, And for a mental wellness, it helps regulate our emotions. It helps bring us back into control, often also because our breath is slowing down, and when our breath slows down, we become more balanced. We shift from that fight and flight into that rest and digest. Number nine, how could I leave out move your body? And you might say, well, you know, I do move my body. This is part of my healthy mindset regime. But I just want to share with you again, I very active, but I'm even shifting how I move my body. So let's just talk for a moment about why moving your body is so important. First, it releases endorphins, those feel good hormones, which helps definitely alleviate symptoms of anxiety, stress or any mental unwellness, it reduces the stress hormones, such as lowering your adrenaline and cortisol, those hormones that are responsible for your sympathetic nervous response, fight and flight you don't want those circulate perpetually in your body. Just leads to hyper hypertension, and it enhances neurotransmitters, so increases neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which are crucial for your mood regulations for feeling better. And these higher levels really help stimulate feelings of. More peace, possibly joy, and reduce feelings of sadness. Now you may ask, I'm all you may say, I'm already very active. Okay, let's see if we can find another way to move your body, just to create that shift, you know, the atomic habits, just to create that small shift. Try something new for your mental health, if you are always on the couch, walk, if you are walking, maybe add a weighted vest. If you do that, maybe add a little jog. If it's part of your cardiovascular working out regime, you could run, you could cycle, you could swim, you know, play a great song and dance to it, let your heart just sing. It really boosts your mood and reduces your anxiety. I practice yoga a lot, which is so important for reducing stress and just for your emotional well being, I always say yoga is flexibility, agility and mobility, and it's a great way to be mindful and have somatic healing within you. And if you're doing a lot of those kind of movements, maybe even tai chi or maybe even Qigong. Those are great. So why not try strength training? You know, let's lift weights. As we age, we lose our muscle mass, so it's really important to lift weights. You can start nice and low and slowly increase.

I have often carried weights when I've gone for my walk, just in my hands, as opposed to a weighted vest. But also you want to increase your strength training by lifting heavier weights, always at the advice of somebody who is more knowledgeable, like a trainer, and of course, getting outside, there's nothing like being outside, walking in nature or outdoor sports, especially if you are, for instance, in a group like a hockey group or Hockey team or soccer team or beach volleyball or pickleball, whatever it may be, not only are you outdoors, but also you are socializing with others, which is a real great way to enhance your mental well being, and always maybe movement practices, like slower movement practices, especially if you're not feeling well, or it's before bed, it could be a gentle yoga restorative or Yin, just a gentle practice. So if you're doing a movement practice in your in your life, and it's been really working for you still create shifts. Because just as I said at the beginning of this podcast, Dr Joe Dispenza says, you know, your habits create your lifestyle, which is, is responsible for your personality, because and if we can make those small shifts, and we can change those habits and routines, then it will have it a positive impact on our personality. We can become more positive and more mentally well, which is the goal number 10, as we are moving along the spectrum. This one is a little deeper, and it is to create a vital life force, energy shift, or spiritual shift, I say all the time. We are living this human experience, but we are not just our bodies. We are so much more. We are the energy beneath us. And maybe you have a spiritual practice. Maybe you are religious. I'm not religious per se, but I'm very spiritual, and I really have my go to sources for relieving mental stress and anxiety to come back into balance, to come back into who I am. You know, I said before that meditation is so, so crucial to me. And I have a whole meditation list on a call for love that you can find the link in. I will put it in the show notes, but there are bonus episodes on a call for love that practice brings me back to who I really am and who I really am is energy being when I connect with who I truly am. A lot of the other things that society has created or I've created in my mind do not define me. I become more ground. In the essence of the higher vibrations of love and joy. And when you have a spiritual practice, you can gain that well being. I have met so many people that said if they didn't have a spiritual practice, they could not have really dug deep to get through the hardships that they have gone through. And I find that when you take the time to ask whoever your source of strength is, I love this analogy. What if somebody says to you, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, mom, hey, hey, dad, hey, hey, brother, Hey, sister, whoever you are, hey, hey, hey, hey, what are you going to do? You're going to turn around and you're going to look at them and you're going to say, yes, what? What can I do for you? It's kind of the same with the universe. This is how I think of it. I need support, mental support, mental, you know, resilience, comfort, love. When I ask whoever that source is, they listen. They actually come to you, because that's how it it. It works. When you call somebody, they answer they you have been given free will. And if you believe in the spiritual realm, they can't just come in, out of nowhere and intervene. You need to ask. You need to be conscious and aware enough to know how you're feeling, to want to feel better, and then to ask how to feel better. And that could mean by calming your emotions, but it could also be meaning like provide me a resource for my mental well being to help me get through Duda, I'm a sound Reiki healer, and that means I do believe in the shift of energy. I will be on the podcast with Eleanor Hayward soon about Reiki energy, actually, and Reiki energy is is healing through the energy body. And it's not that the person heals, but they are conduits. They the channel for healing through the Reiki symbols. And I will go through this in the next episode of a call for love. But there are many ways for us to become mentally well by digging deep into our spiritual essence, by noticing our energy body and then making shifts that help support you in your mental well being. And so these are my 10 daily tips for helping to improve my mental wellness. I wonder how many of these resonate with you? Which ones you do, which ones you do mindlessly, and if you can do them more mindfully, and then send this to a friend, share this episode with somebody who you think could benefit from some of these mental wellness tips. Because I tell you a secret, I had a friend, and it was covid, and he came to me and he says, You know, I am so depressed. I'm so depressed, I went to the doctor, and he prescribed me anti anxiety medication, and I said, Listen, if you really need it, that's one thing. But can you try a couple of other things before you go? Because I tell you what covid For many people, it was a situation. I call it a situational experience. And a lot of people were depressed. So now you have two problems. You're depressed and you're going to go on medication to come off the medication is not always so easy. And so take stock, decide if it's a situation, if it's something that is just a past pain that is ruminating in your mind, making an energy shift, or speaking to somebody, or reaching out, doing any of these things. Maybe it's getting enough sleep. Maybe it's moving your body in a new way. Whatever the tips are, give these a try. Add more protein. If you're not getting enough protein, you need that make those small shifts to see if your mental wellness gets any better, and then re examine you. Uh, that's why World Mental Health Day is October 10, but it's the whole month, because it's something that we notice slowly, and it creates an intention so that we become more aware not only how we're living, but those who are around us are living and we want to be a support, not just to ourselves, but to all those around us. It's a call for love. It's a call for living a better life, being a better person and doing better in any way that you can, always wishing you deep peace and love from my heart to yours. Namaste.