Mental Health No-Go's

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! So for the next few weeks we’re going to take a deeper look at how mental health plays a role in all our lives and what we can do to make sure we are taking care of ours properly. 

That being said, maintaining your mental health is not a one-and-done sort of process; which is why it’s crucial to keep track of all those small, unconscious habits that we do everyday that we might not even know are negatively impacting our mental well-being. Not sure where to start? We’re here to remind you of 3 simple practices to leave behind moving forward into the rest of 2023:

Technology Use (especially at night) 

We have the world at our fingertips, information at the touch of a button; and while that’s helpful at times, it also has the potential to disrupt our mental and emotional well-being. With most people looking at their devices all the way up until bedtime - it’s not only the amount of information that we’re taking in that can keep our brain overstimulated but the actual nature of the information that can cause problems too, especially when it comes to trying to fall and stay asleep. 

Emotional Suppressing 

Think about how many times you’ve attempted to push away a painful feeling by distracting yourself with something else. In a world full of distractions, we’ve been taught to ignore, deny and avoid our emotions but when we do this, it comes with an extremely high cost: our health. By simply acknowledging our emotions, we reduce the intensity of them, making them significantly easier to manage; while treating ourselves and our feelings with kindness and self-compassion can directly trigger the release of oxytocin resulting in decreased levels of anxiety and stress. 

Not Getting Enough Vitamin D 

Better known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D plays a major role in everything from our bone, muscle and immune health to even more surprisingly our mental health and well-being. Research suggests that a prolonged deficiency in the essential vitamin can have a direct impact on both our cognitive and emotional states, including putting those with lower levels of vitamin D at a higher risk of a number of related disorders such as depression, anxiety and even dementia and Parkinson’s. No wonder it’s one of the most crucial vitamins for us as human-beings to be getting on a regular and daily basis! 

When searching for ways to support your mental health, make sure that these habits aren’t sabotaging your growth and progress. And while they may sound simple, their effects on your emotional well-being can be more profound than you even know. 

Team Sudor