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Published by Okanagan Clinical on May 6, 2024

Mental Health Week:

This year, Mental Health Week falls May 6-10. While there are many ways to think about and nurture our mental health, here’s one metaphor that I find particularly helpful: seeing your mental wellness like a piggy bank. If we pop in some change daily – a nickle here, a toonie there – it might just become a simple, do-able way to collect and grow the “funds” you need to move forward in a good way. Here’s some “change” that is evidence-based and can be deposited here and there to keep our mental wellness bank topped up.

Five Cents: Time in Nature

Studies consistently show that any connection with nature improves our wellness. And yet, with our increasingly plugged-in lifestyle, we can find ourselves becoming more and more distant from the outside world. What are some quick ways you can top up your connection to nature? Sitting outside to read your book? Walking a forest trail instead of a gym treadmill? Opening the windows so you can hear birdsong? Each addition to your mental wellness piggy bank adds up.

Ten Cents: Mindfulness

Being mindful means slowing down and being aware of what is happening in the present moment. Too often we get caught up in the busyness of our minds, our to-do-lists, our worries. Next time you feel yourself spinning in that whirlwind, take a breath. Notice. What can you see, hear, feel, touch, taste right now? Just notice it. Bringing yourself into the present moment calms our racing thoughts and our nervous systems and gives us the funds to move forward again in a good way.

Twenty-Five Cents: Social Connections

One well-researched area of mental wellness is around the benefits of social connection – in what small ways can you connect with people around you in new, more, or deeper ways? Smile at the neighbour. Say good morning to the postal worker. Text a friend/family member just to say hi. Keep adding little bits of change and I bet you’ll start to feel it grow.

Loonie: Self-Compassion

Perhaps the most well-known self-compassion researcher is Dr. Kristin Neff, who has both spearheaded and compiled studies showing that being compassionate to ourselves in times of difficulty helps with everything from reducing shame and chronic pain to increasing vitality and courage. Next time you’re not feeling great about something, try talking to yourself like you would a good friend. Just like the theme of Mental Health Week says this year, #CompassionConnects.

Toonie: Physical Health

One of the most important things to do for our wellness can also be one of the hardest: tending to the foundations of health like eating well, sleeping well, moving, and exercising. Instead of seeing this like a “big” and “impossible” task, what might happen if you kept the piggy bank metaphor in mind and just topped up these areas in small ways throughout the day? A glass of water here, a handful of squats while you’re waiting for the coffee to brew, some stretches when you wake up.

I believe small change can grow in big ways. I hope your piggy bank soon overflows.