Self-care is the conscious effort of nurturing your own well-being by intentionally engaging in activities that promote your physical, mental, and emotional health. This is important to manage stress, boost self-esteem, and prevent burnout, which are all critical facets in staying happy and healthy while navigating life’s challenges.
There are a number of factors that can contribute to the degradation of good mental health, including seasonal changes, life transitions, and everyday stress. By understanding stressors and the importance of self-care, you can take some easy steps to enhance your productivity, improve your relationships, and increase your quality of life.
Chasing Away The Winter Blues
While it is technically already spring, some people are still affected by the weather, especially when temperatures are still colder than normal and when it’s cloudy, windy, and/or raining. This is generally known as the Winter Blues, which can also be associated with holiday stress, especially in November and December.
However, there is a lingering condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) which can induce long-lasting feelings of fatigue, low energy, losing interest in activities, changes in appetite (especially cravings for carbohydrates), sleep disturbances, and/or mood changes, especially depression. According to the Mayo Clinic, SAD is most often associated with fall and winter, but there is also a spring/summer variety.
While the causes of SAD are not fully understood, it is believed that it is linked to differences in the brain’s response to changes in the amount of sunlight during a given timeframe, which can affect the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle and mood regulation.
The National Institute of Mental Health suggests that fall/winter treatments can include light therapy where the patient sits in front of a bright light box for 30-45 minutes per day. Talk therapy or counseling has been shown to be effective in learning how to challenge and change unwanted behaviors, whether they are based on thoughts about the darkness of winter or the heat of the summer.
Adapting To Change
Sometimes life throws us a curveball, with unexpected life transitions that cause excessive stress. Some of these transitions can include job changes (new job, job loss, career transitions), relocation (moving to a new area or home), parenthood (adjusting to a new routine, postpartum challenges), loss of a loved one, including pets (grief and coping strategies), relationship changes (breakups, marriage issues), and health concerns (chronic illness, injury, or caregiving responsibilities for another person).
Change, while often perceived to be negative, can sometimes be beneficial because it fosters growth, adaptability, and opens doors to new opportunities, experiences, and perspectives, which all can ultimately lead to a more fulfilling and dynamic life. However, as WebMD suggests, change can be either positive or negative. The more important issue is how you react to each change. Keeping a good mindset and remaining flexible can help, as can talking with others who understand what you are going through. This can either be a friend or acquaintance, but it can also be achieved through group therapy or individual counseling.
Mental Health Awareness
In addition to dealing with life changes, there are a number of stressors that can impact good mental health, including work-life balance challenges, financial strain, family responsibilities, and social isolation. The Mental Health Foundation asserts that stress may make you feel anxious, afraid, angry, aggressive, sad, irritable, frustrated, or depressed. These feelings can affect your physical health that may manifest as headaches, nausea, indigestion, digestive issues, shallow breathing or hyperventilating, sweating, heart palpitations, or unexplained body aches and pains.
If you feel that stress is impacting you negatively, there are several things you can try to help alleviate it. Is the stress coming from taking on too much at once? Look for a way to offload some of that burden. Do you have others you can talk with that can provide a friendly ear and perhaps some tips that they previously found helpful? Talking through your troubles with others is an effective way to get them out in the open so they can be confronted.
There are other basic things you can do to counteract the stress in your life. Eat a healthy diet; cut down on smoking, consuming alcohol, and watch your caffeine intake (if applicable); get some exercise, even if that means just taking a walk around the block; use yoga or meditation to give yourself mindful moments; get plenty of sleep. Finally, be kind to yourself and look for positive things in your life that can help refocus your energy.
Help Is Available
Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) offers several different programs to help manage your stress and good mental health. In addition to counseling and group-based programs for adults and children, we offer programs that help individuals and families on their well-being journey, such as Homelessness & Housing programs, Child & Family Well-Being services, The Multicultural Center, the Hunger Resource Center, and Workforce Development to help with career training and job skills support.
Don’t let stress and life’s challenges keep you down. Follow some of the tips above to practice self-care and if you need extra help, reach out to someone. It is healthy to prioritize yourself first. Just remember the popular saying, “you can’t pour from an empty cup.” In order to be able to meet life’s challenges effectively and efficiently, whether at home or at work, you need to fill yourself up with good fuel regularly.
