Spring Cleaning

As we enter the final days of winter thinking of the ways Spring impacts our mental health is helpful. Spring is a season about transformations and new beginnings. For many, spring cleaning is an activity that is done every year. Spring cleaning applies to both physical and emotional environments.

Through the years you may have mastered the tasks of spring cleaning your home environment. This year let's include your mental/emotional environment.

Here are some tasks you can do for mental health spring cleaning:

Journal: Just like when cleaning your home you focus on going through all the clutter to determine what to keep and what to get rid of, you will do the same with your mind. A way to declutter your mind is to journal. For some journaling doesn’t come easily or they find themselves resisting writing their thoughts down. Journaling can be done in any form, if writing is not your thing, then do voice recordings, or videos. The purpose of journaling is to dump all of the thoughts and feelings from your head to a safe space.

Heal past trauma: Everyone has past experiences that are impacting their lives today in a negative way. Now is the perfect time to start working on it. Find a professional that works with trauma. Some therapeutic specialties that help heal trauma are Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Brain Spotting, Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Somatic Experiencing (SE), and Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM).

Let go of a grudge: Holding on to the anger, sadness, or hurt you have experienced in the past creates an emotional blockage that doesn’t allow you to be fully engaged in the present. Forgive the person or yourself so you can focus on the positive things in your life.

Complete projects you have postponed: There are tasks and responsibilities that have been put off for various reasons. Now is the time to get a handle on the things that may have gotten out of control. Make a list of the things you have put off and start to schedule appointments. This could be home repairs, medical appointments, or car repairs.

Prioritize gratitude: Take time to identify and focus on the things you are grateful for. You can do this by making a list adding to it daily, mentally going over your blessings. Not only does this lift your spirits, it draws your attention to what is working instead of the problems and challenges.

Check your priorities: Identify where you want to prioritize your time by asking and answering the question “What’s most important to me?” Once you have your answer that will help you with where you are spending your time.

Focus on your physical health: Physical health plays a vital role on your mental health so find a way to focus on sleep, what you are putting in your body, as well as how you are moving your body. Find ways to incorporate good quality sleep, healthy eating, and some movement daily.

These are a few ways to jump start your mental health spring cleaning. Start with the thing that resonates with you and gradually add other things from the list when you are ready. You want to be challenged but not overwhelmed. Trust your instincts. Happy Spring Cleaning!