Great ways to detox your mind

Like a poor diet impacts the body, a poor mindset impacts your mental health, and in turn your physical health.

Like resetting the diet after Christmas bingeing, our minds need a detox too. Instead of green juices to make up for the overindulging we need to implement some lifestyle changes to clear the fog and make room for forward motion. With everyday stressors and environmental noise and clutter it is easy to become overwhelmed, and that’s without a pandemic, lockdowns and home-schooling.

A stressed or overwhelmed mind can look like poor sleep, an inability to focus, forgetfulness, headaches and tension, being agitated or quick to anger, disorganisation, anxiety and depression, just to name a few. If that sounds like you, here are my top 5 tips to beat the blocked brain blues:

1. Shake it like a polaroid picture

Like the cast in Greys Anatomy do after a big day in surgery, dance it out! Moving your body will help you feel unstuck, even if its just some stretching or a few star jumps. Getting your heart rate up, even briefly will help your body release feel-good endorphins (chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers) and can be enough to get you out of a funk. Endorphins also improve the body’s ability to sleep, which in turn reduces stress. Try choosing music you find uplifting, or something a little silly and give yourself permission to “have fun” with it. As the saying goes “fake it till you make it”. You may not feel like dancing or being silly when you start but after a few minutes your energy will improve.

2. Write it out

As a writer myself this is a practice I really love. Don’t worry though, you don’t need to be the next Dan Brown for this to help. Sometimes getting your thoughts out on paper can be a great way to empty your brain out and view what’s going on for you objectively. Often the things that are most calling our attention will organically come out of the pen first, and other times it takes some emptying of the surface thoughts to really get to the crux of the problem. This can be done in a number of ways.

Firstly I always suggest pen and paper instead of a computer. Its more organic and is has it’s roots in childhood as the primary way we communicated without speaking. You can start by dumping out your to-do list purely so it no longer has to take up space in your working memory and you can tick things off once you get to them. However, beware the pitfall of the unachievable to-do list. Keep it short, sweet and actually achievable within your given time frame.

Secondly, try journaling. Just pour your thoughts out onto paper. My journal is an exact replica of my brain in it’s best and worst moments. It’s uncensored, unedited and never intended to be read by anyone. Its just an outpouring of how I’m feeling in any given moment without the need for it to even be rational…it just needs to get out of your head. Expressing yourself this way is much healthier than suppressing your emotions or letting them build up until you explode. Often once you get it out you can see for yourself what was getting you the most overwhelmed and then you can objectively tackle it without the emotional outburst that may have happened. Often you can come across thoughts you didn’t consciously realise were on repeat in the back of your mind, and once you address them you can free up room in you working memory again. I like to think of it like a search engine running with too many tabs open, all trying to download on dial-up internet. Once you close a few tabs things start to function more optimally.

3. Get out in nature

With the increase in our dependence on technology, as well as the increased amount of time people spend on devices working from home, it is little wonder many people don’t have the time to get outdoors. This is your reminder to Make The Time. We have known for a long time that nature is good for us. I think we know that intrinsically. Many people recognise in themselves a call to natures quiet places; bushland, forests, mountain tops, beaches or even just the local park. Nature is healing and helps us reset. Studies have shown an increase in peoples mental health, reduction in stress levels, improved mood, reduced blood pressure, enhanced immune function and a reduction in aggression with as little as two hours a week spent outdoors. Getting outside also means increasing your absorption of vitamin D from the sun which is vital for immune system function and calcium absorption for healthy bones. If you can pair up your time in nature with a walk you will be all the better for it. Walking can encourage your mind to flow a little more freely, increasing creativity and enhancing cognitive function.

4. Declutter

I am a firm believer that a cluttered space equates to a cluttered mind. It’s kind of like trying to cook in a kitchen full of dirty dishes and no clean pots and pans. You have to clean it all to start again. Start small so the task isn’t overwhelming. If your working from home start by tidying your desk or work space. If you have a whole house to tidy or unpack work through it one box at a time, one drawer at a time or room by room. Keep your goals small, realistic and celebrate a job well done when you have worked through each achievable task. To take it a step further try permanently decluttering. Remove anything from your home that isn’t useful or doesn’t bring you pleasure. Start a donation box in the hallway and slowly move things out as you come across items or clothes that you no longer need or want. Donating items to charity is a rewarding feeling in itself. You could even make yourself some money by posting things online to sell if you have bigger ticket items. The less environmental clutter you have the more tranquil your home will feel, and in turn your mind.

5. Mindfulness

Often when we are overwhelmed it can be very hard to get our minds out of worry or panic. They say that depression is caused by looking back into our past, while anxiety is caused by projecting too far forward into imagined worst case scenarios. Practicing mindfulness can bring some relief. Mindfulness is the practice of being in the Present. I call it a practice because we have to practice it. It can be very challenging. Often our minds wander onto the shopping list, the endless to-do’s or whatever drama we are currently experiencing. When our minds are wandering we are taking up valuable memory with these background thoughts. Being present means finding ways to let the backround noise go so we can give our full attention to whatever we need to do moment by moment. These are my top mindfulness tools:

· Come back to the breath-No matter where you are or what you are doing you always have your breath. When you catch yourself out in a mental loop stop and take a few slow, deep breaths. Notice your chest expanding and contracting and feel the air in your nose as you inhale. As you go about your day make a point of catching yourself in mental chatter and keep coming back to the breath. Over time this will become a habit that keeps you more fully present.

· Use your senses- if I’m in a bit of a panic that I can’t think my way out of I play a little game with myself. I try to use my senses to get myself out of my head. Like “I spy” I try to find : one thing I can see, one thing I can smell, One thing I can hear. This brings me straight back to the present moment and after a few minutes I feel calm enough to reassess.

· Set mindfulness reminders- like setting alarms for important deadlines, set alarms to remind yourself to stop and breathe. You can do this on your smart phone , write yourself post-it notes or even just stack it into already existing moments in your day. I like to use red traffic lights. Every time I come to a red light I pay attention to my breath and get out of my head. Not only does this help me focus, but it also prevents me driving home on autopilot and not realising how I even got there.

In the end, everybody is different but the key to detoxing your mind is finding a rhythm and an outlet that works for you and setting up some new habits. It might be going for a run or morning swim, having a cold shower to shock yourself back into the moment, blasting rock music till your ears bleed or screaming into a pillow. In the beginning you may not notice these things helping but your small incremental changes will have a cumulative effect over time and you will reap the benefits. If these strategies aren’t useful for you, you should always consider speaking with a trained councillor, psychologist or telephone helpline.