How to Boost Your Mental Health Through Leisure
Did you know that the way that you participate in leisure activities can affect your wellbeing and mental health?
Mental Health Month 2020
October is Mental Health Month and this year’s theme is ‘Tune In’ With Covid causing all kinds of issues in the world, there’s no better time to Tune In to your mental health!
How can I improve my mental health?
Tune In to Music! Did you know that music can lift your mood? Start the day with some pumping tracks. Do your chores to some energising beats. A great way to exercise during isolation is to dance!
Get out in the garden
Tune In to Gardening! Gardening is a great way for you to get you tuned into mother nature. It’s so easy to start a garden and you can do it from almost nothing. You could try making a recycled garden. Start by saving the seeds from your fruits and vegetables. Save packaging containers. You can use anything to plant seeds in, but I find toilet paper rolls work really well and can be planted directly into the garden, once the seeds have sprouted! There is just something about nurturing plants and seeing them grow that does wonders for your mental health!
Back to nature
Another way to Tune In to nature is to go for a bushwalk. When we are immersed in nature, our brains receive just the right amount of stimulation. Think about all the wonder that nature holds. We can hear birds singing and trees whispering in the breeze. When we are outdoors, we also reap the benefits of receiving vitamin D from the sunshine, which is also good for mental health. (Just don’t forget your sun safety!)
Nature is often a place where people like to explore their spirituality. Nature is humbling and spirituality could be explored through stargazing and realising the infinity of space or resting in the shadow of a 100-year-old tree.
8 mental health lifting activities for you and your family
Tune In to friends, family and community. Even during Covid restrictions, it is really important to keep connections. Luckily, in modern times, we have so much technology to assist us if we are isolated from the people that we love.
Some activities that you can do to improve your social connections, as well as other people’s, are;
- Make a phone call to elderly residents or friends. Volunteer to pick them up some groceries and deliver them. Not only will that help someone else, but it should make you feel great!
- Teach your Nanna how to Face Time and in turn, she can teach you how to knit!
- Work on that family project that you haven’t had time for. Projects are a great way to encourage family bonding.
- Get your Dad to teach you how to play the guitar or any other skill that he might be able to pass down.
- Download a mediation app and do a simple mediation with the family before bed.
- Tune In to your pets! Spend your downtime bonding with your animals.Take your dog for a walk every day or brush your cat. Try teaching your dog some new tricks or your budgie how to talk.
- Tune In to Food! How we nourish our bodies has a direct impact on our mental health. To feel good, we must eat lots of fruit and vegetables. With all the changes to public venues and eating out, it’s a really good time to start preparing and enjoying healthy food at home.
- Find some healthy recipes online and spend some family time cooking. If you have mastered gardening, maybe grow some fresh herbs to add to your salads?
More than ever, it is time to look at what we do in our spare time and make it count. It is time to Tune In to your mental health and adopt some healthy lifestyle habits.
If you would like to know more about the mental health support we provide, give us a call on 02 4934 3773 or get in touch.
Felicity Smith
Felicity is a Diversional Therapist.
Diversional therapists focus on healthy lifestyles and leisure for healthy minds and bodies.