5 tips for mental spring cleaning
Enter the season with a clear mind
Spring is here!
And we couldn’t be more excited! Goodbye winter blues, and hello to open windows, blooming trees, and… spring cleaning! Every year we hear how cathartic and rejuvenating it is to clean our homes to kick of the season, but what about some emotional cleansing too? Keep reading to find out 5 helpful tips for mental health spring cleaning.
1. Restructure your time
With more daylight comes more time. Try to structure your day around what you value rather than your productivity level. How do you want to feel? When throughout your days do you feel like this? Walking in the morning, cooking a meal, meditating, whatever it may be, focus on prioritizing the parts of your day that bring you closer to your truth. Create more time do do these things.
While you’re restructuring your time, make sure that your sleep schedule is attended to too. Move your body, take shorter naps, and be aware of your internal clock. Symptoms of a disrupted circadian rhythm include irritability, insomnia, and a weaker immune system.
2. Start a ritual
Choose a ritual or activity that will positively impact your mental health. This can include so many things! Now more than ever, it’s important for us all to put our energy into activities that benefit our collective consciousness. Finding comfort in a ritual reduces stress, keeps us calm and keeps us grounded in the present. Practice yoga, grab your old magazines and make a collage, write, or take up sewing! A ritual will help you to maintain a structured form of positivity that’s right for you and your life.
Try to do your activity at or around the same time every day so that you know that this time is designated for this specific ritual and nothing else.
3. Stop complaining
Easier said than done of course, but this step is so important in maintaining true growth and happiness. Complaining can feel good sometimes, it can feel validating to vent about a bad day or whatever has you irritated. In most cases though, complaining only puts our negative energy out into the world rather than making any positive mental health progress. Don’t give your problems or daily stressors any more control over you and your emotions. Allow yourself the space to see these negative emotions but ultimately, know that you have the power to let them go and reclaim your headspace
4. PRACTICE GRATITUDE
Appreciating the good in life is a mental health tool that should never go overlooked. There is such power and comfort in thanking the good in our lives. Start a gratitude journal or just list a few things that you’re grateful for each day. Read them over when you’re feeling low. If you want to, you can even try saying “Thank you” out loud or in your head when positivity comes your way or when you become aware of the already existing positivity around you.
Even on our worst days we can surprise ourselves with how much there is to be grateful for all around us. Blooming trees, a warm bed, another day sober. Whatever you’re thankful for, practice gratitude in a way that feels best to you. By being aware and thankful for the good in our lives, we can be better aligned with what we value which in turn will lead us to a more satisfying life.
Click here to download our FREE 15 Day Gratitude Journal Challenge for daily gratitude practice.
5. Let go of perfection
Let go of your expectations for perfection. Spring can be a sign for many of us to get our act together before summer. This can mean cleaning out our closets or pushing to lose five pounds. Whatever perfection you find yourself striving for this season, know that you are safe and valid as you are right now.
Mistakes are natural and inevitable. Aim to be your best self but give yourself the space to stumble sometimes. Be gentle with yourself and try thinking about how you would speak to a child about a mistake they made. Try speaking to yourself this way. This might put into perspective how you speak to yourself in times like these. Without our mistakes there is no room for self growth.
Curious about your perfectionistic tendencies? Click below to take our Am I A Perfectionist Quiz.