We know that there are times that you will just want to get off Zoom because everything is done through the platform. So, here is some information on the links between mental health and lifestyle that were highlighted during our workshop last week.
Improving Mental Health
It’s important to remember that when improving anything, the journey is always not as linear as we would like it to be. But that is natural; there will be times that we struggle or even ‘fall of the wagon’. That doesn’t mean you failed, it simply means that there are topics or habits that you must go back on and review again. And that’s okay because soon, seemingly out of no where, it will seem like things are clicking and suddenly make sense.
Ways to Improve Your Mental Health
Physical Activity
Now, physical activity does not mean hours spent in the gym or crazy and intense workouts. Physical activity is anything you do that gets the body outside of its resting states. There are many reasons as to why this works; increasing one’s self-esteem, lessening stress and tension, decreasing anger, frustration, and fatigue. Not only that, but physical activity in any form shows that it is just as effective as anti-depressants and is a recommendation for any mental health plan.
Similarly, physical activity has been shown to help increase concentration and focus, feel like one has a higher sense of achievement and motivation. This is great for study sessions and exam season, so schedule yourself regular physical activity breaks.
Dealing with acute and chronic pain is also important, because if it is not, mental health can quickly decrease. If you are noticing new pains, take a moment to determine their cause and how to remedy it. For those with chronic pain, creating an action plan for when you have different types of pain days, especially for the days that you have high pain, is incredibly important. Having something planned in advance can be incredibly helpful for you to know your own expectations on how you are going to tackle the day so you do not cause yourself any mental distress in terms of self-doubt and distressing thoughts.
Nutrition
Many don’t know this, but 90% of serotonin is produced in your digestive system. But what is serotonin? It’s that fun hormone that regulates mood, learning, and memory. If there are issues with your digestive system that are caused by your nutrition, like eating foods you are intolerant to or in general having a poor nutrition plan, you will produce lower amounts of serotonin that you could. It is recommended by research to adapt a vegetarian/vegan/plant-based diet to help with this.
It’s not only serotonin we have to think about. Different foods effect people differently. Some people feel lethargic after eating bread while others may experience extreme digestive discomfort after eating broccoli or cauliflower. Either way or something similar, these reactions to food can cause sleep problems and effect your mental health. So, eat what makes you feel good.
But there is an exception to sugar-laden or highly processed foods. They are made to make you want to keep eating them, but they are can serious brain fog. Similarly, they are made to be burned through quickly, which can cause you wanting more of that food or more food in general.
Effective Self Care Toolkits
It’s important to note what self-care is not. As many popular media and social media platforms may have you believe, it is not spending increasingly amounts of money on expensive classes or things that you are doing to thinking ‘I am going to make myself better’. Effective self-care toolkits are practices that you consciously think about doing when you have the time, things that allow you to nurture life experiences that you have. These practices have flexibility instead of intense structure, so you can start and stop when you need to. It is also not numbing experiences and feelings with things like eating, drinking, and social media use.
It is important that the practices that are in your toolkit allow you to come back to your center scale. You should provide yourself a list of practices that you can go to that bring you down to center when you are too stimulated or bring you up when you are not stimulated enough.
When creating your self-care toolkit, think about things that will help you in three different categories. What can you do that will help your body? What can you do that will help your thoughts, emotions, and feelings? What can you do that will help you create a community group? Having a few items in each category that will bring you to the center of your stimulation category is a great way to start. Sometimes, you will need to try a few practices to find the ones that work best but you also may need to update your practices as you go through your journey.
Resources For Counselling
Students: If you are looking for a same-day consultation or participate in short-term therapy, please contact: 416-736-5297
Hours of operation: 9 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday
Bi-weekly support groups are available for students who identify as LGBTQ+ and/or Racialized Students.
LGBTQ+ Help Group: contact counselling@glendon.yorku.ca
Racialized Student Help Group: contact Tara Pouyat tpouyat@yorku.ca or Sawan Sengupta sawans@yorku.ca
Good2Talk – service specifically for Ontario post-secondary students where you can received information, referrals and more. Open 24/7
Phone: 1-866-925-5454
TEXT: GOOD2TALKON to 686868
Community Members: York University Psychology Clinic can make appointments or schedule assessments at yupc@yorku.ca
Have ideas for workshop topics? Contact Alicia Koebel at koebela@yorku.ca
Resources used in the seminar: