Self-Care in Spring

This week at PG is Wellness Week in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month!

Recent times have been truly trying as the world adjusts to new ways of living and copes with the break in routines and normal.

A couple of weeks ago, we shared tips from Dr. Jenna Rowen to take care of your mental health, and today, our Climbers are sharing ways they take care of their own mental health!

Mental health isn't one-size-fits-all and there are so many ways to stay healthy: physically, emotionally, financially, environmentally. We hope our Climbers can give you some helpful and specific ways to take care of yourself, especially in this season of growing!

Physical

Lots of our Climbers told us they take daily walks/runs, rain or shine, to clear their heads! Some are even training for 5ks (shoutout to Stef DeStef!). There are so many benefits to running. Dr. David Linden from John Hopkins University wrote about the effects of endocannabinoids post-run to help reduce anxiety and promote feelings of calm (check out his article here)! Everyone is on their own journey, whether you run once a week or once a day--taking care of your mental health is unique to you.

Running isn't the only way our Climbers stay active. Yoga is a great way to work on your flexibility, strength, and/or meditation. There's research by the University of Utah that shows yoga can modulate the stress response and even affect pain tolerance!

Social

Typically, when we think 'social,' we probably imagine going out to dinner or seeing friends at their/our homes, right? Well, we've all had to get creative and our Climbers started Zoom happy hours with both their coworkers and friends (who hasn't?). We absolutely LOVE this idea because even if it's not in-person, you're still connecting with others via face-to-screen-face conversation.

Stanford University explained that some benefits of social connection include: a strengthened immune system, faster recovery from disease, lower levels of anxiety, higher self-esteem, and greater empathy for others!

Emotional

One thing many of our Climbers started doing are gratitude lists. During times of anxiety, taking time to write down the 10 things you're most thankful for can truly put life in perspective and reduce those anxious feelings. Gratitude can come in so many forms, even just saying "thank you" to your partner, child, or friend. Amy Morin shared on a Psychology Today blog that gratitude can open doors to more relationships, improve physical and psychological health, enhance empathy while reducing aggression, improve sleep and self-esteem, and increase mental health!

Gratitude can also be more private in the form of journaling. Journaling is also very personal, and you can write about anything from stresses in your life to funny things that happened that day. These things might not matter right now, but later, you might be able to better understand your own history and feel more grounded. Small, seemingly insignificant events now can have a huge impact in the future.

Other Ways to Take Care of Your Mental Health

Those activities above are only a small snippet of how you can improve your mental health, but they definitely pack a punch! However, our Climbers shared other ways they've helped their mental health, expressed gratitude, and decreased stress:

• Baking/cooking new recipes
• Eating out once a week to support a local business (look forward to something!)
• Working on financial health (check out the Snowball Method)
• Working with each other on a video call
• Creating a calming environment (plants, diffusers, organized work areas, etc.)
• Reading books
• Watching TV
• Sticking to a routine (morning + night)
• Spiritual meditation
• Writing lists + calendar blocking for the following day!

Whatever your method for taking care of yourself, we hope you found these tips helpful, and know that we're in this together. Taking care of your mental health is so important in quality of life, and showing yourself love and kindness can truly be beneficial for your long-term health!