The year 2021 has tested and taught me so much about my endurance, faith, and mental wellness. With returning to work in a hybrid capacity and trying to move forward with our lives as best as we can, I was hit with an unexplainable wave of anxiety this late spring and summer. There is still so much in the air left unexplained and we can’t quite yet, safely, move forward with our lives due to the pandemic. I have had to force myself even more than ever to relish in the present and only give the best that I can with what I have at the moment. Control what’s controllable and have faith that everything else will fall into place. Anything situations outside of our control, only adds to our wisdom, lived experiences, and fortitude. As I focus on my health this latter half of the year, I have narrowed down my priorities to 5 habits that I found critical to my mental wellbeing and growth.

As a disclaimer, I want to add how personal and individual our health and mental wellbeing can be. It’s important to note that all the best habits in the world, for some, cannot make up for seeking professional help. For resources on mental health, can be found at the bottom of this post.

1. Schedule frequent video calls or planned social interactions

I have tried to schedule at least 1-3 monthly events that allow for me to connect with others on a deeper level. Some of my favorite go-to events have been coffee with friends, inviting others to join my dog-walking routine, or the good ol’ fashion phone call. My tendency to schedule some events with friends is rooted in one of my values to find community and build a sense of family around me. Each year, I create a list of relationships that I want to invest in growing. Creating this list of people who I cherish, helps in stay focused on intentionally building those relationships and prevents from me getting too distracted by day-to-day events.

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2. Focusing on my health

Very recently I started tracking my meals and daily nutrition intake. I have fallen out of touch with what makes my body feel great and what my body actually needs. Some days I feel really crappy, irritable and not up for much of anything. The beauty of focusing on our health is that it looks different for everyone. There’s no room for judgement and shame here. To start, I like to ask myself: how do I want my ideal self to feel, perform, and look like? how do I want to be present for others and for myself?

Focusing on how I want to feel and what’s important to me, help me make better decisions for my health and body. These past 6 months, I have been working on slowly building more healthy habits into my daily routine. I have incorporated running into my weekly routine and tracking my runs and yoga practice. Each month I like to tally how many times I practiced these values and assess how do I feel about my progress. Some months I feel like I took two steps back and don’t feel great but, even this, I consider this a small win since I increased my awareness on what routines make me feel great.

3. Social media detox

By now, it’s no surprise that my anxiety was getting the best of me this year. I honestly could not pinpoint where it was coming from so I decided to slowly eliminate crap and distractions. In this case, as much as social media inspires me and love building community, I started a social media detox to help refine my focus. I am about 2 months with no social media (IG, for me) and my focus and relationship-building feels like it has increased. My goal is to continue down this path until November and come up with a better system for consuming social media. Do you have any suggestions and routines for responsibly consuming media or social media? Share in the comments below- I’d love to hear your experience.

4. Sticking to my personal commitments

About 2-3 years ago, I started more aggressively writing down my goals and creating vision boards for myself. I noticed, however, certain goals or areas of my life didn’t grow at all or get accomplished. This year, I created a monthly goals check-in with my accountability buddy and bestie. In the spring, we put our money where our mouth was and bet a painful dollar amount: whoever did not accomplish their goal had to pay up. Needless to say, we grinded and made sure we accomplished our goal for that month. I love my bestie but damn, I was not about to just give her a few hundred dollars for lack of my discipline. 😅

As noted in habit #2: I started habit tracking. I wrote down everyday actions that align on my values. Many of the things I want to accomplish are not things I can complete in short sprints but are things that require gradual investments overtime. After each month’s tally for each habit, I was able to quantify if I am practicing what’s important to me each day. Seeing the numbers helps push myself to prioritize what’s important regardless of how I’m feeling that day.

5. Explore own backyard: don’t underestimate the mini adventures  

Since moving back home, I’ve had to get creative and how to rediscover my home-state but during a pandemic. I used apps like Tripadvisor see what popular places exist around me and try to schedule a few 1-2 times a month. Some weeks a mini adventure looks like driving to a local trail and walking outdoors with our dogs or changing up my running routine by running at the beach and catching a sunset. Earlier this year, me and husband splurged on the “California Explorers” State Park pass and my goal is to make the most out of this purchase by adding some new parks to our list of adventures.

Depending on what season I’m going through, my routines will need to adjust to maintain my health. Moreover, while I maybe smiling in some of my photos, some days, I honestly had to exercise strength to get outdoors and push through however I was feeling so that I can prioritize my health. Getting outdoors, scheduling time to connect with others important to me, and focusing on my habits have been steps within my control to improve my health and fuel my heart. Through small routines such as these, I have been able to feel gradual improvements in my health and wellbeing.

If you’re struggling with anxiety, depression or thoughts of suicide, please know that you’re not alone. Please reach out for help. See these resources below:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides immediate assistance to individuals in suicidal crisis by connecting them to the nearest available suicide prevention and mental health service provider through a toll-free telephone number (24 hours/day, 7 days/week): 800-273-TALK (8255)
• National Institutes of Mental Health: Learn more about depression, the signs and symptoms, factors and how to get help.
• Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: organization dedicated to providing hope, help, support, and education to improve the lives of people who have mood disorders.
• The Trevor Project. Around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.