How a Mental Detox Can Help You Look at Life in a Positive Light

When we hear the word 'detox' what comes to mind is usually something related to diet, weight loss or reducing the amount of toxins in our life. 

A mental detox can be just what you need if you're dealing with anxiety, stress, overwhelm, fatigue or mental clutter in general!

Recently, I was experiencing some of the above which lead me to doing the kind of detox I had never done before - a detox of my mind. For so long I was holding onto unnecessary worry, crap and stress. 

Try the following steps for 1 week, and see how a mental detox can positively transform your thoughts and mind! Here are 7 steps to renew your mind:

Step 1: Get Outside

Get outside, connect with nature and start doing activities that make you feel ALIVE. Sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in a routine of work, sleep, eat and repeat, that we forget to make LIVING an actual priority. Trust me, not only will you feel happier, by making time at leat once a week to do the things that light up your soul, you will be more focused and alert when it comes to work and other everyday tasks. 

Step 2: Grab a Notepad

Grab a note pad and pen, and start writing a list of everything you are grateful for. This can include anything from the people in your life, experiences you've had or things you are grateful for having. A gratitude list can put life into perspective. This is also useful as once you start jotting it all down, you'll see just how much you truly are grateful for and blessed to have. I know this may be a simple and commonly over looked tip, but trust me on this one! :)

Step 3: Stop Comparing

Stop comparing. Say goodbye to comparison-itis. Comparing stops right here. Everyone is on a different journey, the only person you should ever compare yourself to is you! Set your own goals and work on improving your own qualities and skills. If you start to compare yourself to others on social media, do a clean-up of your feel and un-follow accounts who make you feel overwhelmed, or start bring up negative thoughts about yourself.

Step 4: Review & Set Goals

Take the time to take a step back and review your life so far. Create a vision board to help visualise your goals and where you want to be. Write down a list of every positive achievement over the last 1-5 years (whether it be big or small). This will make you realise how far you’ve come and also help to identify future goals. Start journalling a list of your top 3 goals to achieve over the next 12 months. Check-in with yourself every 3 months to see how you are tracking towards achieving these goals.

Step 5: Relationship Detox

Now it’s time to take a relationship detox. Prioritise spending more time with people who bring out the best in you. Focus on nurturing the most important relationships in your life and don't worry about the rest. You only have (about) 112 waking hours each week, make a conscious effort to spend more time on the positive relationships in your life.

Step 6: Log out of Social

Taking a social media detox is something that I’ve done regularly over the past 12 months. Although I love sharing on social, it got to a point where I felt mentally exhausted, I needed to take a step-back, refocus and reprioritise. When you make time each day to control your social media consumption, you will give yourself a mini social media detox. Start by challenging yourself to a week without social media, and work towards having a balanced approach to using social media. Make time in the evenings for ‘social media-free time’, or log-out early and spend time doing something you enjoy or quality time with your loved ones.

Step 7: Feel Inspired

Make time once a day for half an hour (or an hour!) to do something that inspires you. Not only will this get your creativity flowing, it will also boost your levels of happiness and motivation. Whether it be reading a book, listening to a positive podcast, coffee with a friend, walking in nature, reading positive quotes or making a new recipe!

I hope these tips help you to overcome mental clutter and make time to see the things that matter most. I’d love to know if you have any tips for being more mindful, feel free to leave a comment below :)

P.s Don’t be afraid to share how you are feeling with your loved ones or seek professional help if you are stuck in a mental rut, anxious or struggling with your mental health.

Bec

xx