Tag: hobbies

Taking Care of Yourself

I wanted to write this because I am feeling quite stressed right now. Stress isn’t good for anyone. If you have chronic conditions, mental or physical health ones, it can trigger those conditions. For example me, I have t1 diabetes, where stress makes my blood sugars worse. I also have hypothyroidism, which makes my ability to handle short term stress worse. I easily get problems with blood pressure and heart rate because hypothyroidism is closely linked with adrenals. I am also taking glucocorticoids (the other steroids), which suppress my body’s ability to make cortisol. For someone else with mental health conditions, it can cause anxiety or depression. You don’t have to have a chronic condition for these to help you, though!

The other big thing with stress and health conditions is preventing short-term stress from becoming chronic stress. Someone who already has chronic health problems, they already have some stress from their condition. We are more likely to get more mental health problems as well.

That is the background, so what can you do? The answer is quite a bit, actually. For short term stress, breathing exercises are amazing. They activate the vagus nerve, which is in charge of our relaxation. It forces the body out of stress mode. I prefer box breathing when I am outside and 478 when trying to fall asleep. The box breathing is when you breathe in 4 seconds, hold 4 seconds, breath out for 4 seconds and hold for another 4 and start over. You can find these in breathing apps or YouTube. You can even find them in Alexa apps. This is short term relief, and it’s effective, in my opinion!

If you experience more long term stress, there are things for that too! This is toted so much, but it works. It’s mindfulness. It doesn’t need to be just lying down and focusing on your body. I hate it. I like the one where you can just make yourself a cup of tea. You just completely focus on the task at hand. Other things include taking a slow walk. It doesn’t need to be agonisingly slow, just something where you can easily talk to someone without getting out of breath.

Hobbies are amazing. I highly recommend anything that takes your head away from everything else. It can be anything. I have found this is a few things. One of them was gym! I loved going to the gym. When I focused on movement and counting, I didn’t think anything else. The other is painting. It’s why the picture for this is orks. I have a small ork army that I have been enjoying painting. Some people enjoy their evening cleaning routine to destress. The hobby should also be something that doesn’t hurt anyone. If you feel like hurting yourself, please contact a help number. A text number for the US is 741741, and one for the UK is you can text “SHOUT” to 85258.

The best way is to incorporate these into your daily life even when you are not stressed. Knowing how to use these will help most when you are stressed, and they help prevent long-lasting effects of stress.

by Categories: PersonalTags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

My Mental Health Routine

Lately, I have been relying more on my mental health routines. I feel like I have been under a lot of stress, with Christmas, covid, my studies, and more recently, my father passed away. I feel like the main reason why I have been surviving reasonably well is my coping mechanism.

So firstly, I don’t think coping mechanisms are inherently bad. I believe there are good and bad ones. I have some bad ones. They mainly relate to chocolate… But I do have good ones as well. I have a selection of good habits where I choose what I need. Here is a list of some of them

  • Breathing techniques
  • Self-care
  • Relaxation exercises
  • Hobbies
  • Exercise

This isn’t an exhaustive list because, as someone with ADHD, I don’t remember everything writing like this.

My breathing technique is mainly 478 breathing, as I think it helps me more than the box breathing one. It helps reset the vagus nerve and allows our body to go from flight or fight to eat and digest. It naturally lowers heart rate and blood pressure. I highly recommend trying different techniques before settling into a preferred one. 478 might be too much for some, especially in the middle of a panic attack.

Self-care depends on the person. For me, it’s certain routines, like skin and hair masks, my normal skincare routine. I prefer using things that feel and smell nice without being doused in fragrance. I get to have a moment to myself, just focus on taking mental note of how I feel and what I need.

I have taken a liking to mindfulness and relaxation exercises. If I feel really stressed out, I will sit down in a calm place and put on a progressive relaxation video off YouTube. As a pet owner, I do take a moment with my cats. I just focus on how their fur feels, on their purring. It can be anything, as long as you focus on it completely. It could be just making tea or coffee and then drinking it.

This is one of my cats insisting on a belly scritch

Hobbies can be powerful too. It takes our minds off what is happening and allows the brain to relax a little. I do a lot of crafts. I can do loads of different ones without thinking much, but every once in a while, I choose a new technique so I can focus more on what I am doing. I am now painting an ork army from Warhammer 40k. I find it really relaxing figuring out what colour goes where and actually painting it. And, yes, I know, I’m a bit of a geek.

Exercise is an excellent way to reduce stress as well. It often gives small accomplishments which boost your self-esteem. If you suffer from chronic stress or chronic fatigue, like I do, lower heart rate exercises are often better to start with. I like walking and pilates.

I urge you to try different things to figure out what works for you. There are free mindfulness programs that help to start with it. I believe hobbies are good to start with. There are plenty that don’t cost too much, and you can find videos on YouTube. It’s how I have learnt a lot.

by Categories: PersonalTags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment