I first heard about the bliss menu technique from Kate Northrup a few years ago. A bliss menu is a list of things we love to do. It can be a great tool to use to change our mood when we’re having a bad day. Is there something on our bliss menu we can do to lift our spirits? If not, can we plan something? Sometimes even just thinking about those things can have a positive impact, especially when it evokes uplifting memories.
Some of the things on my list can easily be achieved by taking just five minutes out of your day. While you might feel overwhelmed and that you don’t even have five minutes, I bet you’ll feel better for taking the time, and you’ll probably be more productive!
Helen Sherwood from Helen Sherwood Wellbeing. Photo credit – Laura Minter-Goodchild (@_photosbylau on insta)
Guest blog post written by Helen Sherwood of Helen Sherwood Wellbeing
Understanding the Mind-Body-Spirit Connection is vitally important when we are trying to take care of our general wellbeing. Our mind deals with thoughts, feelings and beliefs and what goes on in our mind can affect how our body feels. How we treat our body, such as our eating habits, exercise, and sleep, can impact our mental and spiritual states. And our spirit is like our inner essence, linked to our consciousness. Taking care of our health means building a strong mind-body-spirit connection and to do that, means nurturing all three parts.
Understanding that these three things are connected, enables us to look at our health in a complete or holistic way, deepening our understanding of ourselves and our needs. Instead of concentrating on just one aspect, we are able to consider how our mind and spirit can affect our body and vice versa. For example, I know that when I take the dog out for a walk in the woods or by the sea, I’m doing for his health and happiness of course, but mine too. And I’m doing it as much as for my body as my mind.
I also know that from time to time, I get a soreness in my neck, and it almost always coincides with when I’m stressed or when I have things on my mind. I also know that when I am feeling relaxed and at ease, its much easier for me to be compassionate, understanding and more grateful.
Welcome to the self-care challenge. Your mission – should you choose to accept it – is to do something for yourself every day for the next five days. Take part in our challenge and win a self-care package. We’re giving away a prize every month.
If you’re having a bad day, this blog post can help you to turn it around. It will help you to “turn that frown upside down”, in the words of fellow ICR presenter Jeremy Frost. Here are my tips to help you cope when you’re having a bad day:
Sam in the Green Room at Radio Suffolk waiting to be interviewed about mental health.
On Tuesday evening I had the privilege of being interviewed on Radio Suffolk’s Tuesday Night Takeover show about mental health with Jon Wright and Suffolk User Forum. I spoke of how my spiritual and Buddhist practices have helped me to overcome depression. Katie Mottram from Emerging Proud and author of Mend the Gap talked about the link between spirituality and mental health. Listen now. You can hear Katie at about 1 hour and 17 minutes and I’m on after that at about 1 hour and 40 minutes, along with Linda talking about Mindfulness.
Yesterday I left work early as I felt tired and tearful. I went to bed at 9 pm, determined to wake up feeling better and raring to go. Inspired by my ex-flatmate Lottie, I’ve been challenging myself to do Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning (more about that in a later post) over the last couple of days. I set my alarm for 6.30 am, determined to have a successful day three.
I have found Mindfulness to be a particularly helpful tool to overcome negativity and depression. It’s easy to go down a negative path. When I catch myself doing this there are three things I do to stop myself heading into a harmful spiral of self-destruction.
It turns out there is light at the end of the tunnel. For a while there I thought there was no hope. I must admit, since I came off my anti-depressants it has been a struggle and yet from what I read, I’ve had it easy compared to others in the same boat.
It’s easy to forget the importance of forgiveness. We forgive others, not to benefit them, but to benefit ourselves. Holding onto anger, bitterness and blame eats away at us and stops us from achieving peace of mind. It can be tricky to forgive, especially when we’ve been deeply hurt.
Where shall I start? Well, since coming off my medication it has been a rocky ride. I’ve had a few knock backs and sometimes it feels as if everything is going wrong at the same time. I feel as though I keep getting knocked down, get back up, dust myself down, only to get knocked down again. I still keep getting up though.
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