Detoxify Your Lifestyle In Five Steps
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Japanese Tea Garden (San Francisco, California)
Don’t worry, you won’t have to cancel EVERYTHING, but here are some suggestions that could help you gain a sense of peace and positivity.
1.
Spend at least one hour with yourself, by yourself, for yourself.
Let's get the obvious over with. Theoretically, I am a proponent of self-care, but realistically, this just doesn't happen. After work, all I want to do is come home, get in my bed, FaceTime all of my friends or watch Netflix. Rarely do I spend time with myself and my own thoughts.
Spending time with yourself and doing something that you love can help to alleviate many of the mental anguishes that we go through daily. Meditation and reading are thought to be the most popular options, self care exceeds beyond those two options. Although meditating does not always work for me, I find peace in doing other things like praying, blogging or practicing my photography. I have also been pleasantly surprised at my ability to take power naps that do not turn into 3 hour slumbers.
Many are under the impression that self care practices should take place at the end of the day, but in reality the time of day is irrelevant, In fact, sometimes my "me" time is on the train during my 45 minute commute to work where I either read the daily express, play a game of Soduku or listen to music. Yes, I play Soduku. At other times, "me" time is in my room during the evening where I will turn on my Christmas lights, light my candles, turn on my Himalayan salt lamp and nestle into my bed with my computer.
Although, meditation and reading are thought to be the most popular options, self care exceeds beyond those two options. Honestly, making time to do anything that makes you happy and helps you to regain your vim is what true self care looks like.
2.
Disconnect with Social Media.
I am addicted to my phone and to all things social media. Instagram is like my drug, seriously; and let's be honest, the best way to avoid the abyss of the black hole of instantaneous scrolling and self loathing is to throw it all away. However, in our world, we need our devices... it is fact. It is our gateway to news, entertainment and relationships. You do not need to stay away forever, but try taking at least a couple of weeks off. Ok, maybe a week.
So if you don't think that you can successfully survive a hiatus from double tapping strangers' pictures, then the next thing to try would be to unfollow those who fill your spirit with the utmost negativity when you scroll past their photo. Just do it-- no if and or buts. So what if they have a "who unfollowed me app" that is their problem, not yours. Just saying, you aren't going to like their photos anyway. Regardless, do what is right for your sanity. Wow, what a world it would be to scroll down your newsfeed to like posts from people who you actually admire. I did it, and although it didn't resolve my issues, I had one less stress on my plate.
3.
Neutralize Your Thoughts
This is the most difficult step because negative thoughts can be our biggest hindrances to enjoying life. I am really trying to learn to transform my inner dialogue by changing the tone of my inner voice in order to neutralize my negative thoughts. It is actually quite funny that I am not yet an expert at this since my father continuously drilled this into my life growing up-- there is probably unpacking that needs to be done there. Regardless, positivity is one of the things that I have recently been struggling with the most.
I, too, dislike when people think that the answer to everything is "positive thinking", but there is real truth behind teaching your brain to think positively. I believe that we attract things into our lives and if we think negative thoughts we attract, what we perceive to be, negative things and vice versa. So I am trying to neutralize my thoughts by having an equal and opposite thought to combat it.
4.
Allow yourself to feel your emotions, and journal
Speaking of positive thoughts...Humans are, well, human and we have emotions. Pain, sadness, anger and frustration are all natural and healthy parts of the human experience.
It all starts when we are kids and are told "not to cry" or that "there is nothing to be sad about". Sometimes we tend to suppress our emotions and that alone can cause great anxieties in our lives. Society bullies us into acting strong even when we may not feel that way. Although, there is science to back up the positive thought train, it is also fact that numbing your sadness can numb your happiness. Suppressing your pain can lead to an impulse for addictive behaviors that allow you to, temporarily, escape your pain.
So I have started to allow myself to actually feel the emotions I am having and to own it. When I am angry, I am angry. When I am sad, Gahdang, I am sad. I may cry, scream, yell, but I own it because they are my feelings. Allow yourself to feel your emotions because only then can you be made aware of the exact problem or "negative" thought that you need to fix. THEN, you can go ahead and think all the positive thoughts you what because you know exactly what needs to be mended.
truly Experiencing your emotions and being vulnerable with people that you trust is a sign of true strength and is ultimately the way to true healing.
So all of this being said, write it in a journal!! Journaling used to be very difficult for me because I was focusing on perfecting my every word and thought, but bullet points work to. Write down a simple sentence of the emotion you are feeling, why you are feeling this emotion, if it can be changed and if so, how? Also try to pay attention to any red flag words that make your problem feel bigger than it actually is. For example, words like always, anytime, all the time, etc. that make the issue bigger and more intangible than it rally is.
If you need help with finding ways to safely experience your emotions, I've written a post on how to practice EFT Tapping Therapy, a therapy which helps to rewire and desensitize your brain from stress.
5.
Be Active
I'd be Teyana Taylor right now, if I was in the gym for even half the time that I worry about things that I can not change. Truthfully, if I work out more than I stress, I wouldn't be stressing, and that is a fact.
According to Psychologists, being active relieves anxiety and depression in as little as a 10 minute walk. I actually can attest to how difficult it is to stay active when you have a 9am to 5pm desk job, but a short walk after work or during lunch never hurt anyone. Temporary pain for long term gain!
Hope these tips helped! Let me know what you do to detox in the comments below.
