This week we’re kicking Wellness Wednesday off with an article all about environmental wellness and its impact on mental health.
Environmental wellness is living in harmony with the earth in a way that benefits you as well as nature.
This means having a clean, tidy, and sustainable environment where you can grow and flourish. If the natural order of environmental wellness is out of balance it can affect both your emotional and mental health.
Environmental wellness can negatively impact:
- Mindset- feeling overwhelmed and unable to piece together tasks that need to be done.
- Focus- unable to concentrate on tasks properly.
- Attention- easily distracted by objects in your space.
- Motivation- don’t feel up to tasks and give up easily.
- Routine- can disrupt the structure of your day.
Here’s how you can balance your environmental wellness in order to have good emotional and mental health:
- Declutter- letting go of things you don’t need/use is a great way to declutter your house and your mind.
- Add nature to your surroundings- plants are great for the air (it is how we breathe after all!) and liven up any cluttered or blank space. Ones I am currently growing are alow vera and succulents.
- Make sure your food is (for the most part) organic- fewer hormones and pesticides can only help your body and the environment (although plant-based diets are better).
- Make sure your water is clean (and filtered if you can afford it)- it removes carcinogenic’s, metal, disinfection byproducts, and fluoride. For more information on filtered water click here.
- Add artwork around your spaces- colour does wonders for the brain, so choose some artwork that you like because it’ll make you feel good every day.
- Read books- knowledge is power.
- Garden- research suggests that its a good way to relax.
- Volunteer- giving back to the community is a great way to help others and feel good about yourself.
- Recycle.
- Go outside- getting 15-20 minutes of vitamin D from the sun can help improve your mood and it’s good for your body.
Try out some of these ideas and let me know how you go in the comments below!
Shae.
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P.S.S.S. If you need someone to talk to or immediate help (in Victoria, Australia) see: http://www.mentalhealthcompass.com.au/helplines