004- Cut out toxins & Improve Mental Health
Thank you for joining us for our 4th episode of I Get it! We are officially crossing over the one month mark of surviving quarantine during the corona virus pandemic. With that, taking care of our mental health is important for everyone!
In this episode, I give easy ways to cut out toxins from your life Today. Like, right now. They are easy, effective, and anyone can do them.
Click below to watch or listen.
This weeks episode starts off talking about the importance of cortisol and how it is meant to help our immune system fight infection. BUT it it can’t tell the difference between a physical pain or emotional. So, when we have outside stressors, our body is sending cortisol to “fix” it which leaves our immune system weaker.
And we all know, right now is NOT the time for a weak immune system.
There are basic things we can do right now to cut out unnecessary stressors in our lives. Here are the three areas you can take control of right now!
1. Social Media
We have that awkward moment in this episode where Wes reveals the amount of time I spent on social media in the first 4 hours of this day. It is awkward because… well, that number isn’t small.
We are all spending more time on social media right now in hopes it will give us the opporunity to feel both connected and disconnect. Ironic, huh?
We are looking for interactions with humans while also wanting to be mindless.
But often times, things we are looking at make us feel like poop.
So, I challenge you to look at your feed. How does it make you feel? Are you following people who are lifting you up, inspiring you, bringing you joy? They anyone consistently has you feeling down, time to unfollow or mute.
Yes, you can unmute Aunt Barb on facebook and she will never know AND Thanksgiving won’t be awkward.
Stop following 35 news outlets.There is a difference in educating yourself and feeling bombarded every time you log on.
You control your narrative.
2. Entertain yourself as a detox, not a thing you need to detox from.
The summer of 2014 was one of the most stressful summers of my life. For one reason- Breaking Bad. My cortisol levels were through the roof because I was binge watching a show that left my heart beating out of my chest every other minute.
Now is not the time for that. haha. Right now, our minds have so many other stressors pulling at them, we need to be putting things into them that will help them relax and feel uplifted.
I truly believe our music, books, and TV affect our mental state.
I have started each day with worship and have noticed a huge difference in my mood. And the other night when an intense rock song started playing on my 90s playlist as I cooked dinner, I immediately noticed my patience disappear.
I am not saying there isn’t a time for music to pump you up… when I am working out, I need something that makes me run. But… first thing in the morning while I am waking up and trying to cook hungry kids breakfast, yea, they need me calm & happy. It is all about being intentional with a time and a place!
3. Now is the time to create permanent social distancing.
I am a firm believer you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. I will go into more detail about this in a future podcast. BUT if there is someone right now that is constantly bringing you into a negative space, this is a great opportunity to set up boundaries and distance yourself in a healthy way without that awkward falling out.
So, now that you have cut out toxins, replace them with things that fire you up!
Make a list (yes, an actual list on paper) of 25 things that fire you up. Once it is written out, think about how you can incorporate these things into your daily activities.
Here is snippet of my list & how I am using it:
Elephants - There are never enough of them. I am obsessed. Look at photos of baby elephants, watching Disney Nature, dreaming of the day I work with them full time.
Wes Wages- Doing a weekly marriage class with an amazing couples counselor & learning some amazing things together.
My family- talk with my mom & sister every day.
Michael Scott- I am sending at least one office gif every single day. They make me so happy.
My girlfriends- Hello Marco Polo! YES!
90s music- every night at dinner… Alexa play “Easy listening 90s on spotify.”
The Bachelor- Anyone else watching “Listen to your heart”
Vintage Clothes- following all the vintage shopping hashtags.
A hot shower- making this a priority at least 4 times a week.
Clean house- Wes calls it “stomping through this house” I do a 15 minute rush clean every night so I can wake up to an fresh house. It just feels good!
These are simple things but they fuel my soul and give me opportunities to smile. And we need all of the reasons to smile right now! Make your list. I would love to know a few of your favorite things. Post them and tag me on instagram. It will make me smile!
Here are a few things making me smile right now!
I have peed on myself watching this before.
Best end of day detox.
It always comes back to the Office.
Humans of NY is an instagram favorite and this post had me in tears… the good kind.
Life is a little crazy, and there are days you feel a little crazy... but you aren't alone... I get it.
Be Happy and Love each other. -T