Nowadays, stress and anxiety are wreaking havoc on most people’s lives. From the negativity on the news to the overall declining of health, it is hard to go through a single day without feeling overwhelmed by all of it. You might feel like your mental health is out of control and there is not enough you can do about it. So I’m going to share with you a few ways to improve your mental health using the five senses.
For the audio/podcast version of this article, listen here:
You’ve heard the saying “You are what you eat.” Well, it’s also true that you are what you see, hear, taste, smell, and feel! Your five senses build your experience of life. Just as a bad diet or lifestyle is detrimental to our health, everything else that enters our experience through the five senses can make or break our health as well.
I want to talk about the importance of controlling what types of input are going into your senses. This is one of the few things we CAN control. It is also something that I have noticed goes unnoticed by most people. You have to start with mindfulness so you can be aware of the quality of the sensations you are allowing into your body.
I have made a chart so you can visually see at a glance the types of input and sensations that should be avoided along with the types that you should strive to include in your life every day.
To help you improve your mental health even more, I have a Mental Health Workbook available in my Etsy shop. There are pages designed to help you clear the clutter out of your life, monitor your thoughts, practice a present moment exercise that utilizes the five senses, and more! Click on the image below to check it out on Etsy.
I hope this information was helpful and that you can make a conscious effort to control what is entering into your experience. If you are mindful, you can easily eliminate negative sensory inputs and increase the positive ones as much as possible.
I have a related blog post about using altered states, which gives another practical solution to improving your mental health.
Bonus Tip!
Have you tried everything to improve your mental health and nothing seems to work? Many people still struggle with anxiety and depression despite their best efforts. In this case, a special type of therapy can help for 90% of people who try it. It’s called EMDR therapy.
EMDR works by allowing the brain to process traumas and stress within minutes. It sounds too good to be true, but the statistics don’t lie. You can learn more about EMDR and try it for free from the comfort of your own home by clicking the image below.
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