To ask for your mental hygiene hacks

[nearlynermal]

Happy podcasts, escapist reading, gentle telly, mental tricks to tune out the fears for the future. What's working for you?

Rarely put the tv on.
Listen to talk radio during the day but not at peak times when it’s all current affairs. Daily meditation slot after 4pm news on Radio London is brilliant.
Jigsaw puzzles.
Not speaking to my mother.
Still pick up my copy of the Metro to do the crossword and Sudoku.
Daily check into WhatsApp group chat with my sisters, usually discussing food, sharing pics of what we’ve been growing, the kids and old horror photos we’ve found of each other!

Watching with interest. I find reading helps me most. Also talking things out with my sisters/ mom/ wiser work colleagues. In the past writing a diary has been really helpful too just to get things out of my head.

Minimising caffeine so there are as few barriers to sleeping as possible. Still have terrible sleep when I'm wound up though. Crap sleep equals bad mental health for me.

A really important one for me is being strict with myself so I don't catastrophise. I have to consciously recognise I'm doing it and tell myself only to worry about what's actually happened or is happening not what hasn't happened.
My ex husband (father to my dd) has just told me this week that his new girlfriend is pregnant with twins so I'm practicing that last one a lot at the moment. More tips appreciated!

Exercise meditation sleep

Meditation. There are some calming guides on YouTube.

Walking and being in nature.

Good sleep.

No caffeine

Minimal booze

Running

And, most recently, revamping my bedroom after my divorce. It's now a little sanctuary that I can escape to at the end of every day and have amazing sex with new DP

Avoid crime/murder mystery books
Avoid people who wind me up
Have a stringent list of people whose opinions matter, and everyone else.
Other people's behaviour is about them, not me.

Looking at my list, I think it's about agency. I can only control myself. If I don't like something, step away from it rather than trying to change it.

Boundaries- what is my problem and what is someone else's. If someone else is doing something bad or risky, tell them then step away. I can't help unless they want me to. Don't obsess about other people's problems.

NLP principles are really helpful for clarifying boundaries, I find.

Exercise, watching funny films, no booze, eating well,

joywillcome - Oof, sorry. That'll test the mental balance alright. Not great timing, not that any time would be good.

Tavern - wow, rocking lockdown. Way to go!

My morning routine is to wake up around 5:30 and consume MN, FB, Twitter, Guardian, Times, FT, NY Times, New Yorker, Slate and HuffPost. Then I drink three coffees while listening to Radio 4. I'm starting to see where I'm going wrong..,