Embrace Your Funk!
Sometime you must retreat to recharge.
1. Embrace your funk.
Doing nothing is doing something! Give yourself permission to shut it down. Take a few hours or a full mental health day to refuse to think about your to do list. Disconnect. Feel your funk, vent and express it, bask in it for goodness sake. Cut yourself some slack. If this simply isn’t possible with all of your responsibilities, schedule in at least one hour during a day to do this. Let others know you are unavailable and unreachable during this time. It will pay off in the long run in your mental health and how you manage your responsibilities.
2. Bake your way out of the funk!
Following a recipe and paying attention to detail distracts and calms your mind. Baking is an exact science and keeps you engaged and focused keeping you in the present helping you let go of past and future worries. Baking calls on all our senses - smell, taste, touch, kitchen sounds, and finally seeing the delicious looking end result, which also brings you a feeling of accomplishment. After all, the word stressed spelled backwards is desserts!
3. Go for some mindless enjoyment -
Watch an old favorite movie, comedy, or binge watch a series. Read fiction, play with clay or crayons. Kill time like a kid again.
4. Take a stroll through things you love -
Nature, an antique store, candy store, gourmet food market, bookstore, sports memorabilia shop, by the ocean, visit a cute downtown area, flower shop, makeup store, gift shop or bakery. A change of scenery can change you!
5. Treat yourself to a gift –
Flowers, cigars, your favorite pie, candles or a scratch off game. It will feel good.
6. Take a nap.
Aim for the sweet spot between 10-30 minutes. Let go of the guilt. Studies show naps boost memory, improve performance, lifts spirits, ease stress, increase alertness, help you think on your feet better and improve recall!
7. Soak away the funk -
Take a footbath! Yes a footbath! Reflexology studies show that your entire body is connected to your feet. One foot soak in a warm bucket of water or hydrotherapy footbath found easily on-line can increase your sense of well being, relieve mental and muscle tension, boost your immune system, and even help you get a better nights sleep!
8. Escape in a Hobby!
Research shows hobbies prevent burnout, help people recover from stress faster, and bring a sense of fun and freedom into your life. Simple pleasures provide relaxation, help you find flow in the moment and induce feelings of joy in life. Getting lost in a leisure activity for as little as 20 minutes helps battle fatigue, lowers blood pressure, and decreases the stress hormone cortisol. Hobbies give you something to look forward to, fight boredom, get you inspired and prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.
This Week’s Calmfidence® CalmTail:
Calming Breeze Spritzer
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp. of Lavender ( Or lavender tea bag)
- 2 tbsp. of Chamomile ( or tea bag)
- 10 drops of Elderflower Single Extract or syrup
- 2 cups of honey water (1 cup honey :1 cup water)
- 4 dark cherries
- Soda water
Directions:
- Place loose lavender and chamomile into a tea ball or steep bags in large cup of hot water.
- Add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of honey to a separate pot and heat.
- Mix lavender & chamomile tea water with hot honey water for 5 minutes then place in fridge to cool.
- Cut up cherries and lightly mush up in a glass or small bowl.
- Once cooled add soda water and cherries.
- Once liquid is carbonated pour into cocktail glass and mix in Elderflower. Enjoy!
