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Now that it’s been a year, have you felt like you’ve hit your pandemic wall? Are you feeling more tired and stressed than usual, and burnt out at work? Has your overall well-being been impacted?

If you’re struggling to find the right self-care strategies to help you move through your day feeling energized, you’re not alone.

Well-being is a state of feeling happy, healthy, and comfortable. When you feel this mindset decline, you are more likely to have high levels of stress, and become more vulnerable to other challenging emotions such as irritability and sadness. This is why you want to look at what you need in your life to enhance your mood and overall well-being. What do you need to add to your life to get closer to a healthier, more positive state of mind this spring?

If you are feeling a lack of energy from your daily video calls, the lack of physical movement due to working from home, or you notice your inner critic showing up more often, now is the time to refocus and practice strategies to improve your mood and increase your wellbeing. When you take action, your stress levels will decrease, your negative thoughts will stop, and your mind and body will thank you.

If you are struggling, here are three simple strategies you can practice now to start feeling better.
Move your body, engage in exercise, and get some fresh air.

Being stuck inside for most of your waking hours can impact your mood negatively. So walk around your backyard, or take a short walk around the block. If you don’t have time to get outside, open a window and stretch, or walk around your home office. Research shows that moving our bodies positively affects our moods, so give it a try.

Practice appreciation every day.

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When you focus your attention on what you appreciate or feel grateful for, it can shift your mood to a positive mindset. You can appreciate anything you want such as your morning cup of coffee, rolling out of bed and being in your home office five minutes later, your favorite cozy sweater, your best friend, and her amazing laugh. It can be anything!

If you make a conscious effort to say and write down three things each day that you appreciate, you will notice a decrease in negative thoughts and an overall boost to your mood.

Make yourself a priority daily.

wellness

At the beginning of every day, ask yourself how you want to take care of yourself. Each day can bring a different answer based on what you need, which means you may have to use a different skill. Asking yourself this question also means that you make yourself a priority every day!

Author(s)

  • Angela Ficken

    Boston-based psychotherapist and entrepreneur

    I am a therapist who will challenge you to work on becoming the happier, healthier self you envision. I am an active listener in sessions and believe that providing feedback is the best way to challenge behavior patterns and to ultimately help you connect with your own strengths, wisdom, and inner resources. I ask questions and will engage you in a thoughtful way while providing you with a non-judgmental, supportive environment. I use several therapy strategies to guide patients toward accomplishing goals: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Supportive Psychotherapy Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) – Exposure therapy is specifically used for people diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Each individual comes with different experiences and needs, therefore we might use one or all of these strategies based on what you want to work on. I believe in progress, not perfection and that with every problem there is an opportunity for growth.