Category: Stress Management

CREATE Mental Health Week – Healthy Garden, Healthy Food, Healthy People

This is a guest post in the series CREATE Mental Health.  All week we will be exploring how different people use creativity to create and maintain mental health.  Today’s post is by Dr. Kaycie Rosen.  Dr. Rosen is a Naturopathic Doctor and also the owner of Golden Naturopathic Clinic in Golden, CO.  Welcome Dr. Rosen!

Dr. Kaycie Rosen with a bowl full of delicious tomatoes. Good for the body and the soul!

It’s springtime again and my yearly obsession is in full swing: tomatoes!  Every year for the past 10 years sometime in the middle of February I notice a warm breeze in the air and start dreaming. I dream of ripe, warm, luscious, juicy tomatoes picked right off the vine, sliced, drizzled with some good olive oil and a touch of sea salt.  My alternate dream is of fresh, toasted sourdough bread, crunchy thick-cut bacon, a light smear of mayo, a fresh lettuce leaf, and thick juicy slices of a giant tomato from my backyard.

The sprouts emerge!

This year the process is particularly special.  We just rebuilt our backyard and put in several new garden beds; we have been watching workmen transform a bit of the open mountain behind our house into a home for all our delicious dreams.  We’re putting in fruits, vegetables and herbs, hopefully enough to substitute for the farm share we used to get weekly.  Right now our garden is all anticipation, and for me is the fruition of many years of “halfway” gardening in various combinations of limited space, poor soil, pots only, unfavorable climates, or limited time.  This year, we are fully committed.

Gardening for me is an invaluable asset to my mental health for several reasons.  First and foremost, I love good food.  Fresh, flavorful produce is one of my greatest passions in life, and the best way to get it is to grow it myself.  I love to cook and to feed healthy, delicious meals to my family, and gardening helps me do just that.  Secondly, I love plants.  As a Naturopathic doctor and herbalist, I use plants as medicine, but even more than that, there is something amazing about getting to know the intricacies of how mother nature works.  Each plant has its own ideal soil conditions, watering needs, and interactions with other living beings from soil microbes to the animals who consume it.  For me to learn about and understand plants helps me feel more connected to the planet and to my spirit because it helps me understand how interconnected every living being on the planet is.  Finally, gardening gets me outside, breathing fresh air, moving my body and getting my mind off of things.  Somehow, fiddling around with the vegetables helps me lose track of time and lets the stress melt away.

Getting ready to be transplanted!

But back to February.  One of the most satisfying parts of gardening is that if you follow the process, you reap great rewards at the end.  In February, I buy my seeds and starting medium, resurrect the seedling trays from the garage, and start counting down the days to planting.  Mid-March, seeds go in, trays go under the grow light, and the watering and watching begins.  5 or 6 days later, we have sprouts, a couple weeks after that I transplant sprouts, a few weeks later transplant again, and a couple weeks after that we start hardening off so our baby tomatoes get used to living in the outdoors. Mid-May my tomatoes finally get to go to their home in the ground, and from there it’s just pruning, watering, and finally in August my BLT dreams come true!  I’m excited about all the food we’re growing, but there’s just something about tomatoes that feeds the soul.

 

CREATE Mental Health Week – Making a Greeting Card

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This is a guest post in the series CREATE Mental Health.  All week we will be exploring how different people use creativity to create and maintain mental health.  Today’s post is by Jessica Taylor, of the blog Ink It Up! with Jessica.  Welcome, Jessica!

Making your own cards does not require an entire afternoon and a room full of craft supplies.  Here’s how to make a quick and easy card that will have you feeling crafty when you’re done:
Begin by gathering your supplies.  Paper, rubber stamps, ink, punches, adhesive… whatever you have on hand.
Patterned paper gives your card a quick, fun design.  Cut a piece to fit on the front of your card and tape it into place.  (No patterned paper?  Try wrapping paper!)
Use a rubber stamp and ink to stamp a greeting.  (No stamp and ink?  Print out a greeting from your computer.)
Punch out your greeting and a piece of coordinating paper to layer behind it.
Tape the greeting to the front of your card and you’re done!
“Making cards always lifts my spirits and gives me a sense of accomplishment.  Plus, I know that sending a card to someone will make their day too!”

CREATE Mental Health Week begins!

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Welcome to CREATE Mental Health Week! I am so excited to be starting the blog party this week – it has been a long time in coming!  This week I will be featuring guest bloggers from all over the country who are going to be writing about how creating helps them maintain their mental health.  They will also be sharing secrets of their craft with us.  I am so excited to learn and create along with these awesome ladies!  Check back often as there will be lots of ideas shared this week!

Want to promote CREATE Mental Health Week?  Grab the button on the right side of page.

The first guest post will go up in a couple of hours, so come back soon!

Want to read more about how creativity and mental health go together?  Read my posts:

Craft Time and Mental Health

Stress Management: The Importance of Hobbies

CREATE Mental Health Week starts May 2nd!

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CREATE Mental Health Week is coming!

Next week Dr Stephanie will be hosting crafters, artists, and other creative folks from around the country! Check back for simple, creative tutorials as well as information about how CREATING helps maintain mental health.

Want to promote the event on your blog or site? Thanks! Feel free to grab the button on the right! Thanks and look forward to seeing you next week!

Spring Cleaning for Mental Health

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Many of us think about our health around the first of the year when we make resolutions: lose 10 pounds, start working out, quit smoking.  But by April, many of us have not only given up our New Year’s resolutions, but have also stopped thinking about our health altogether.  Instead of focusing your spring cleaning solely on your home, why not do some spring cleaning in the area of mental health too?  Some areas that might need tidying:

Money. Money can be a significant source of stress this time of year.  Taxes are due and summer vacation balances need to be paid.  Take an honest look at your budget.  Are you spending within your means?  Is your money being spent on things that are important to you?

Time. I like to think of time as a commodity just like money.  If your first priority is your family, does your “time budget” reflect that?  If not, you may be experiencing strain and stress.  Find yourself not being able to enjoy relationships, work, and hobbies because of lack of time?  It might be time to re-think your schedule.

Friends. Healthy relationships are essential to mental health.  I encourage folks to be mindful of who they are spending their precious time with, and how those folks affect their mood.  Feel drained after spending time with the neighbor down the street?  Might be time to re-think the friendship.

Work. Many of us spend a huge percentage of our waking hours at work.  It then becomes critical to our mental health that we do everything we can to make those hours positive.  How is work going?  Are you still happy in your position?  Even if you can’t (or don’t want to) change jobs, there are plenty of things you can do to feel more fulfilled in your current position.  Set new priorities and goals, alter how you interact with your co-workers and boss, set a “no work-talk” zone at home as a way to separate work and home life.

Good luck tidying up your mental health this spring.  With just a little extra attention and effort this might be your most psychologically healthy spring and summer yet.

This article also appears in this month’s Golden Holistic Medicine News.

Tax Weekend – Are You Stressed?

3 more days and counting until Tax Day!  How is your stress level?  I contributed to an article written on LiveScience that came out today on tax day stress relief.  I thought I would write a bit more about my comments here.

I think there are a couple of main points about managing Tax Day Stress (and most kinds of stress for that matter):

Keep on Keeping on. Most of us already have at least one good coping skill on board already: walking, deep breathing, weekly book club, watching Days of Our Lives.  Whatever it is – keep doing it this weekend.  Resist the urge to try another, unhealthy way to cope (drinking too much, pick up cigarette smoking, go on a shopping spree).

Ask for help. Trouble figuring out the tax forms?  Reading your W-2?  Turning on Turbo Tax?  Don’t hesitate to ask for help.  Whether it’s your mom or your accountant, there’s no shame in getting assistance – this is tough stuff.

Want more ideas? Read the American Psychological Association’s tip sheet on managing Tax Day stress.

Photo by: RudeCactus

 

 

 

Budgeting for Your Marriage

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What’s in your family’s budget?

  • mortgage/rent
  • groceries
  • cell phone/internet
  • car payment

The important stuff, right?

As I was going through my own budget the other day I realized I was missing an important category.  One that is arguably more important than any of the others: a marriage maintenance budget.

We all know that keeping a marriage/partnership alive and healthy is tough work.  Many of us would also admit that we don’t prioritize our relationships in the way we should.  So I am proposing a solution: make marriage maintenance a line item in your budget. If we set aside money at the beginning of the each year or each month the effect would be two-fold.  One, it would prompt us to take actually spend quality time with our significant other (and not just say we know we should).  Two, it would keep the health of our marriage a top priority in our lives (at least as important as paying the mortgage/rent on time).

What could you do with the money in your marriage maintenance budget?

  • Go to a movie
  • Hire a babysitter
  • Buy tickets to a baseball game
  • Enroll in tennis lessons (together, of course)
  • Buy a steak for a romantic Tuesday night dinner after the kids are in bed

The possibilities are endless  – but will only happen if we plan ahead and make our most important relationships a priority when deciding how to spend our time and money.  Lawyers will assure you, spending a little extra maintaining your marriage each month is a whole lot cheaper than a divorce!

 

Making the Most of Fear

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Let’s get one thing straight: I am the anti-daredevil.  I loathe adrenaline-inducing activities.

Signs like this scare me

I prefer slow cars, flat terrain, and sturdy ground.  Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I also am part of a family where speed, heights, and other scary things are thought of as the ultimate in cool.

Recently I was in the mountains and my family decided to go snow-tubing down an ENORMOUS mountain.  I was scared.  Super scared.  My heart was pounding and I started to sweat despite the single-digit temperatures.  Normally I would have stayed back and opted to be the official photographer of the event rather than actually participate.  But this time I decided that I wanted to give my fears a run for their money, if for no other reason that to teach my kids (and it turns out, myself) an important lesson.

Making the Most of Fear

1.  Say it out loud. Instead of suffering in silence, let the good folks around you know how scared you are.  Let them know your fears (what if this snowtube never stops or I go flying off the mountain?) and listen to their responses (you can put your feet down to stop yourself, you’re wearing a helmet, and the edge of the mountain is nowhere in sight).

2.  Have a set goal. When facing a scary situation, give yourself a goal or a limit so that you can experience success once it’s reached.  For example, my goal was to go down the mountain one time.   If my goal would have been too big (“I have to snowtube all day”) or not set at all, I might not have been as apt to go for it.

3.  Do what you have to do. I used a lot of anxiety management techniques to get through my fear.  I took deep breaths (think blowing out birthday candles), visualized myself safely and happily at the bottom of the mountain, and said to myself “I’l be fine, I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine.”  Some other ideas for getting through scary moments:

  • use the buddy system  – taking a friend along can help ease the fear
  • distraction can be good a good thing – take your favorite trashy magazines on the plane, cue up the funniest parts of your favorite movie when going over the bridge, play doodlejump just before your big talk – whatever you can do to (safely) distract you from the task at hand
  • Remember the good lessons you are teaching your kids when they see you conquering your fears

4.  Remember your success. I often see folks forget the successes they’ve had in the past.  No only is this just a bummer, but it also causes them to miss out on potentially confidence-boosting situations.  What can you do to remember your successes?  Take pictures, write it down, tell people about it – but whatever you do don’t let yourself forget – it will make the next time a whole lot easier!

This is me remembering the conquering of my fears of snowtubing, speed, and sharp drops in altitude.

 

 

Learning New Things and Mental Health

Click on the picture to find out how to make this cute skirt - made for twirling and having fun!

Trying new things can be scary.

Whether it’s in a classroom, with a small group of friends, or even by ourselves, many of us cringe at the thought of trying something new and (eeek!) possibly failing.  But the thing is, learning a new skills can be great for our mental health.  Researchers tell us that one of the best things we can do to protect ourselves from certain types of dementia is flexing our mental muscles. This includes using our brain in new ways and continually challenging ourselves to learn new things.

But I believe the mental health benefits of learning new skills go beyond the neuropsychological benefits, and include aspects of psychological/emotional health as well.

  • Stress. A new hobby can be a great stress reliever.  Why? Because it helps us break out of our normal patterns of behavior.  And even better it gives our brains something to think about other than the same old same old worries (lack of money, annoying boss, unruly children).  My latest stress-busting hobby? Sewing!  Seriously, it has given me a new outlook on life.  And managing my sewing-machine phobia was super easy with sites like this.
  • Fun. I wrote a post earlier in the week about cheap and easy de-stressors.  One of the tips was to have fun.  Sounds simple enough, but in fact, many of us adults (and moms in particular) forget what fun is somewhere between managing chores, meals, and running kids around to soccer practice.  Learning a new skill can be a way to incorporate fun back into your life.  Skiing, cooking, race-walking – what’s going to get your heart pounding with joy again?
  • Social. Connecting with others is a fantastic way to reduce stress and improve your mental health.  Venting about a rough day, connecting over a shared experience, and being a support for others are all important.  What better way to beef up your social life than to pick up a new hobby and share it with other people?  Sites like Meet-up can be a great way to meet other people with your interests – from sewing to archery.

What new skill are you going to tackle?

Simple Strategies for Improving Sexual Health

Earlier this week I sponsored and participated in a conference for women.  It’s an event we have held in our little Colorado town for several years as a free service to the women in our community.  This year the focus was on sex.  As you can imagine, it was very well-attended, and it was a lot of fun!  Dr. Gloria Oberbeck, a physician whose office is just a block from mine, gave the keynote address.  She spoke to the crowd of women (the vast majority of whom were over 45) about sex.  Namely, why a healthy sex life is important in overall health, how to improve sex drive (libido), and how to improve the quality of the sex you’re having.

Dr. Gloria did an awesome job in her hour-long talk.  And I thought my readers might enjoy reading some of the highlights.

  • Get enough sleep. Dr. Gloria cited lack of sleep as one of the major culprits in a low libido.  She suggested taking a good look at the amount and quality of your sleep when evaluating your sexual health.
  • Manage your stress. Worries about work, family, and household duties can be a real mood killer.  Dr. Gloria explained that women’s sexual arousal can’t be optimized if we are worried and stressed.  Try some new stress management techniques and get the anxiety under control.  The cool thing is that sex can also be a good stress reliever, so once you start doing it regularly, you may notice your stress level decrease even further.
  • Connect with your partner. Whether it’s carving out time to have regular date nights, looking into each other’s eyes for 5 minutes/day (something she swears works miracles in relationships), or communicating your sexual pleasures – a solid connection with your mate does nothing but help your sex life.  And by the way, couples that have more sex report higher levels of satisfaction in their relationships all the way around.
  • Breathe. Dr. Gloria taught us a breathing technique in which we were to 1) take slow, deep breaths and visualize an image that helped us put aside the worries of the day (she suggested a flower). 2) Imagine a ball of energy just below the belly button that slowly moves to the pelvis. 3) Take this ball of energy and imagine it turning into flames. 4) Use deep breaths to breathe the flames up your spinal cord and out of your nose/mouth. 5) Breathe the flames in again and back down your spine to the energy center in the pelvis.  She suggested practicing this technique daily – it can even be used before and during sexual activity as a way to enhance the experience.
  • Give yourself a break. One of my favorite things that Dr. Gloria spoke about was giving ourselves a break.  She noted that women are often so critical of themselves (I’m so fat/skinny/saggy/wrinkled”) that they can’t let go and enjoy their sexual side of themselves.  She encouraged all women to cut themselves some slack, realize that sexuality is an important part of overall health, and get themselves into the bedroom and enjoy.  It was quite an event!