I was just reminded of the fact that I pay $10 a month to watch YouTube without ads. I’ve read about how frequent exposure to advertisements can erode a person’s mental health, and $10 seems such a small price to pay for the benefit of removing the ads.
After work, I’m going to walk my dog. Taking her out for a walk costs no money, and it’s only an investment of maybe half an hour of my time. But I think there’s real benefit in having a daily time to (a) get outdoors, (b) disconnect from technology (because I leave my cell phone at home), and (c) get my body moving.
Does anyone else make any small investments of their time or money that they suspect comes with significant benefits to their mental health?
When my husband wants to watch another episode of Real Housewives, I leave the room and do something else. With other programs I can do a crossword puzzle or something if I’m not interested, but with those on the tube, it is impossible.
(and by the way, Adblock Plus keeps YouTube ad free, and it costs nothing)
Connecting with people. If I know and care about them, it reminds me I love and am loved. If I don’t, even an exchanged “Good morning” is a little boost.
Listening to great energetic or soothing music.
Petting dogs and getting slobbery kisses.
Listening to children squeal and laugh at a nearby playground.
Cooking. Also, giving away things I’ve baked to friends/neighbors. (I guess that’s the connecting thing again.)
I do not take my cell/smart phone with me when I am outside, it stays in the house. Mowing the lawn, working on the car, yard work. I may check it for messages when I come inside for a break but usually I don’t look at it until I am done with whatever I am doing. When I am going somewhere in the car, shopping, to a bar, ball game, the thing stays in the car and I check it when I get back in the car.
I have rejected the idea of constant connection, constant access, always being available. I am not Batman, I don’t need to solve the problems of the world while I am doing other things. I am not the answer to whatever it is that another person thinks must be done right now.
It is very liberating. I have missed a few calls and messages but nothing of much consequence.
Walking my dog is essential for me. Definitely gardening, music, reading. And I self edit tv exposure to things like graphic crime drama etc. Severely limit exposure to news. Wear bright colours in the winter. Sometimes when hubs is gone out, instead of doing my intended activities, I loll with my dog and luxuriate in the aloneness and quiet stillness.
You must not have kids. I put my phone away at a baseball game once and saw my name on the bug screen advising me to call security. My 9 year old had been hit by a car. (24 hours in the hospital, but ultimately undamaged).
As soon as I get home from work, my phone is put down and I don’t look at it until the next morning. I can do this because any actual emergencies will go to the wife’s phone.
(who, by the way, cannot watch a movie or a TV show without her phone within arms reach and fiddling with it every 5 minutes or so)
I’m the opposite. I’m more relaxed working or playing outside if I have my phone with me. Otherwise I have to periodically stop what I’m doing to go in and check it.
I make sure my house is clean and all the chores are done before I start my work week. Coming home from work to a clean house really helps me decompress.
Every so often I post on Facebook a note “to” my friends about how I love them and I think they are doing a great job. It helps that I truly love and care about everyone on my friends list.
Walking the dogs, swimming and going to tai chi class are actually my BIG things I do that help my mental health!
I used to do that, too! The message would be specific to a certain friend. It made the other person feel good, but it also gave me an opportunity to think about my friendships and what I appreciate about the people who were in my life, so I’m not sure who wound up getting the better end of that deal.
OP covers most of mine to some extent. I have daily routines that are non-negotiable no matter how pressed for time I am or what is going on in the world. I go outside at least 20 minutes every day, preferably soon after waking. Some exercise every day, etc. To me these things are basic and essential as brushing teeth (which I know some people don’t do) or other things generally accepted as basic hygiene. Sleep 7-8 hours, too.
Avoid news. I do watch the local news a few evenings a week, but since we cut the cord, we have no 24-hour news channel. And I limit my online news sources to boring NPR, AP, Reuters, and such, and only allow myself to read news for an hour or so per day. I find limiting the amount of information I need to process greatly enhances my day, and by cutting out a lot of news, it’s much easier to see the bias, so I don’t get all worked-up over nothing. The day is also a little happier not knowing stuff I cannot do anything about.
Also, walking my dog, and just generally interacting with her. Such a good form of therapy. Going for a walk or bike ride nearly every day ensures getting outside. I also started stretching in the morning and I feel better all day for it.
Our Border Collie died the beginning of 2021. She was a rescue along with quite a few other dogs from the same address (unscrupulous breeder). One of the other dogs was her son whom we’ve kept tabs on over the years. Well, last year, glaucoma claimed both his eyes. Now, something like that would have me listening very carefully for a truck to walk out in front of; I can’t imagine anything worse. Yet, in every picture we see of him, he seems incredibly happy, healthy and glad to be alive with not a care in the world. He has a brother dog helping him get around and you can tell they’re thick as thieves. And whenever I see a pic of them, I get a bit choked up at the unfairness of this life and then I chastise myself for not being more like my friends, the dogs. I tell myself it keeps me a little bit more centered.
My daughter doesn’t allow her daughter (my granddaughter) to use electronic devices while riding in the car. It’s a chance for conversation and seeing what is happening outside her window. The same is true at our dinner table and when eating at a restaurant. (That makes me proud of my daughter, and granddaughter too.)
Hell, yeah. Decades ago, at a high-stress job, I’d be sure to take a break and either work out or take a walk while listening to an audiobook (if I didn’t have a book, I’d be obsessing about work).
Nowadays, I have a little lunch bag that fits on my bike rack. It fits sketchbooks, pencils, snacks, a battery pack and cord (in case my phone goes out in the middle of an audiobook), and a couple of comic books.
So I get a bike ride or a walk with a break for drawing/reading/munching/listening.
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I do not take my cell/smart phone with me when I am outside, it stays in the house.
I do the same in the evening. Dinner and TV afterwards are totally analog. I’ve told my friends not to take it personally if I reply to a text the next morning.
(Although sometimes I’ll peek, just to see if a friend’s inviting me to watch sportsball at the local tavern… another mental health thing).