Cheap and Easy Ways to Improve Well-Being
Photo by @janinedam
May is Mental Health Awareness month and I am a living, breathing, somehow functioning product of mental illness. For years, I’ve worked very hard to THRIVE even with the obstacles in my brain. Lately, I’ve been on a huge connection kick reading the book The Power of Ritual by Casper ker Tuile.
In it, he suggests creating rituals that help you connect deeper with yourself, other people, nature, and the transcendent. As a recovering Catholic, I’ve missed the rituals involved with religion, but I don’t miss the doctrine so much. Casper (we’re on a first-name basis) suggests that we can create similar sacred rituals within our own lives.
Here are some suggestions! While I make a lot of jokes (again, recovering Catholic) - I am honestly suggesting these practices as they are scientifically proven ways to hack your own brain and enhance your well-being.
CONNECT WITH YOURSELF:
Eucalyptus in your shower. My friend, Kathy, once brought me over a bunch of eucalypti (I just learned this is the plural form of eucalyptus) (wait, shouldn’t eucalyptUS be the plural form?) and I was like, “You know I’m not a Koala bear, right?” LOLOLOLOL. She did know! She was encouraging me to put it in my shower for a spa-like feel. It smells so nice and it’s cheap! Plus, I’ve got great reviews such as, “Why do you have a plant in your shower?”
Watch something nostalgic. I’ve started doing this thing on Fridays (I call them Flashback Fridays) where I eat pizza and watch childhood favorites like Boy Meets World from T.G.I.F. It has turned my usually boring Friday nights into a THING. It’s nostalgic and lovely.
Make something you're craving from scratch. I mastered the art of recreating the dining-out dish during quarantine. I really wanted this dish I used to order at the Cheesecake Factory, but I thought it would be the saddest story to read, “Girl dies after contracting Covid-19 at the Cheesecake Factory” so I made it myself. It was MUCH HEALTHIER and delicious.
Write out a list of things you’re grateful for. This is a good habit to get into. I used to start small, and write little lists every time I sat down to start work for the day. After a while, the list grew and grew and it helped me realize what mattered to me most and that maybe life wasn’t so bad. Eventually, I dropped the habit but those few weeks were good weeks.
Set a timer for 5 minutes and clean, write, do dishes, meditate, whatever you want to do - just don’t look at your phone. If you want to keep going, keep going! If not, return to normal activities and enjoy the boost of dopamine.
CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY:
Meet up with a friend for a walk. My friend Janine visits these cemetery swans and geese near my apartment every day. I met up with her recently to hear all about the swan/geese fights, and to walk around the cemetery visiting Janine’s favorite graves. What? Is that weird?
Perform an act of kindness. It gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling to hold the door for someone or pay for someone’s coffee in the drive-thru at Starbucks. But can you imagine being the LAST person in the pay-it-forward line?
“The last 50 cars have paid for the order behind them, would you like to keep it going?”
“No thanks!”
Go to a park or dog park in your neighborhood. Please do this only if you have a dog. When you don’t have a dog, it’s creepy.
Say hi to people as you walk by them. Don’t worry if they don’t respond, or look at you like you’re insane. Their response is not the point. THIS IS FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. (Scientifically speaking, this increases your oxytocin because you feel more connected to others, so it’s an easy win!)
Attend a studio fitness class and talk to the person next to you, or attend a virtual class and actually use the chat. I like to respond to the music, especially when they play TWO S Club 7 songs or “POTENTIAL BREAKUP SONG” by Aly and AJ.
CONNECT WITH NATURE:
Visit a part of your state that you’ve never visited. Not ready to travel yet? Look up places within driving distance and connect deeper with where you live! What’s near me, you ask? Oh, just a fucking lot of grave markers that say, “A British soldier is buried near here.” YOU CAN’T GET THAT VERY PRECISE SHIT OUTSIDE OF NEW ENGLAND!
Stroll in silence. Don’t listen to music or a podcast. Just take in your surroundings. Maybe you’ll learn things you never knew… you never knew. #Pocahontas #ChangedHerNameToRACHEL
Sit near the water. When I lived in the North End of Boston, the waterfront was my backyard. I’d wake up nearly every morning, get a coffee at Starbucks and just sit on a bench staring at the ocean. I’d watch the freight ships, the tall ships, and the party boats go by. It was soothing AF.
Hike in a state park. My favorite view in Los Angeles is located at the observatory on top of Griffith Park. That view made me actually like the city. Going for hikes obviously gets some movement in, but it’s also quiet in state parks and provides views of your city/state that you wouldn’t see otherwise and gives you a new appreciation for where you live.
Pick your own produce/flowers. Go to a farm stand, or a farmer’s market, or a fucking field, and pick your own food to eat and flowers to display. Apple picking is fun and all, but have you ever picked a cucumber up off the ground at Haymarket and then pickled it hoping the vinegar would erase the street rat germs? You’re missing out.
CONNECT WITH THE TRANSCENDENT
So, this one is the most “woo woo” of them all. However, the U.S. has what I would call a “thoughts and prayers” obsessed culture. We send our thoughts and prayers for so many things that they’re starting to lack authenticity. I no longer pray, because I don’t know who I am praying to. In The Power of Ritual, Caspy (we’re on a nickname basis now) says that sometimes he still uses the Lord’s Prayer, because it’s so ingrained in him, but replaces “our father” with other words/things. Some might find it blasphemous, but I kind of love it. Sometimes, when I’m really sad or lost, I do pray and still seal it with the sign of the cross. It’s a habit!
I don’t recite the Lord’s Prayer, although I know every word. Instead, I journal every night.
When I get into bed at the end of the day (around 7:00) (just kidding… like 8:30), I take out my notebook and I write out whatever is on my mind. I feel like it helps me sleep better because I empty my brain of all the thoughts. I write about things my friends are going through, too. I can’t control their lives, but since writing stuff out helps me, maybe writing it out FOR them will help them.
GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY WELLNESS. Enjoy this gorgeous memorial/grave for three young girls who died tragically.
