Starting your day off focused on things you enjoy, and what you want to achieve, can reduce the stress that can sometimes occur first thing. Aim to spend a few moments each morning focused on what you want your day to look like. Imagining a positive outcome can assist in this actually occurring. So aim to start your day considering what you are looking forward to and practicing self-care first thing.

We all experience around 6000 thoughts per day. That’s a lot of thinking within one waking period! That being said, sometimes these thoughts get stuck in your mind, almost as if they are a song with an error that keeps playing the same five seconds of the song, or a television show that’s frozen on one particular scene. Often the thoughts that tend to get stuck and cycle like this, are associated with negative emotions such as worry about various topics such as completing tasks, perceptions others may have of us, or something we are worried we may have forgotten.

As the pandemic has raged on, various communities have experienced struggles in our country and others, political tension has risen, and other nations have experienced hardships, the uncertainty and unpredictability of things can lead to feeling many symptoms of anxiety.

While many have established strategies to cope with some of the above factors, like wearing masks, the emotional toll these events have taken on us is large. The way we handle the difficult emotions that have developed as a result of this time period is important, as they can continue to negatively impact ourselves and others.

Losses of loved ones, losses of jobs, relationships ending, lack of being able to see our loved ones, and more, all have a significant impact on us. When experiencing a loss of any kind it’s normal to experience a variety of emotions including guilt, anger, fear, and shock. There are coping strategies to care for yourself as you process loss and feelings of grief, in addition to seeking support from friends, family, and maybe even a therapist. Seeking some strategies to assist in coping with the process of grief as we transition to a new period, here are a few:

The benefits of getting enough sleep HUGE! Increased energy and concentration, improved mood, and cognitive impairments are among some of the emotional wellness benefits. Additionally, there are many physical health benefits, including boosting your immunity, maintaining physical health such as a healthy weight, and reducing risk of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes. With May being Better Sleep Month, we wanted to give you a few tips on maximizing your sleep, to ensure you’re benefiting both your physical and mental health.

How do we develop compassion? There are a few ways. Try to schedule time to implement self-compassion each week. Once a day, every few days, tailor a schedule that works best for you and dedicate a few moments to note these stressors and diligently preclude self-admonishment with self-kindness. Then increase the time periods in your compassion calendar to include these measures of mindfulness.

Most of us are familiar with the groans that accompany waking up for that 6 AM workout or hustling to get in some cardio on a lunch break. Not necessarily the rush (of endorphins) we’re seeking, right? Nevertheless, we all know that exercise is beneficial towards physical and emotional well-being, and the research backs it up. Mammen and Faulkner (2013) found that there is a relationship between consistently exercising and overall improvements in mental health functioning. They discussed that when you exercise, the neurotransmitters released boost your mood. So, even when feeling down, a workout can help lift you up!

Coping with anger can be stressful and upsetting. However, there are several coping strategies

We hear a lot about the importance of forgiving those who have harmed us, but what about forgiving ourselves? Is that important as well? Absolutely. When we hurt others, we experience regret and apologize, hoping to make amends. However, we often beat ourselves up for mistakes and develop negative thoughts about ourselves because of it. Within these experiences come feelings of shame and guilt; while these feelings are similar and can occur in tandem with one another, they are slightly different. Self-forgiveness is one way to reduce feelings of guilt and shame; we’ll be discussing strategies you can use to engage in self-forgiveness.

Self-compassion is thought of as giving yourself the same compassion you’d give others. That means that self-compassion involves comforting and taking care of yourself. Self-compassion includes skills like mindful awareness, self-acceptance, living your values, and loving-kindness. When we have self-compassion, we can identify when we fail to meet our standards or live our values, but we don’t judge ourselves so much. That’s why self-compassion may help us increase feelings of happiness and well-being.