Using lifestyle medicine to manage mental health - anyone up for a support thread?

[Bisgedi]

My GP and I agreed that lifestyle medicine (LM) could be right for me after a spate of panic attacks due to chronic stress over the last year (alongside anxiety with bouts of depression throughout my life). It’s been really debilitating. Can’t work and sometimes I can’t get up off the floor. But I’m convinced by the growing evidence around LM and want to ‘take’ my lifestyle medicine just as I would pharmaceutical medication.

It’s not an easy road but I want to celebrate every ‘pill’ I take - getting light early in the day, going to bed without my phone, getting into green space, etc.

I’d also be interested in sharing resources - podcasts, tips, etc.

Hop on if you’re interested!

Ive been on/off MN for 15 years but have NC for this.

I'm going to get a copy of Four Pillars, it sounds like there's good advice in there.

A few years ago when I was in a very bad place mentally, I regularly saw a psychiatrist. One thing he kept emphasising was getting enough, unbroken sleep. I really struggle with that. It's made worse at the moment because I recently threw out my old pillows - they were so comfy but very old - and bought new ones which are so bloody uncomfortable. Just using one pillow is too low, using two pillows is too high. I feel like I'm adjusting them 10 times during the night. So first thing is to get pillows that are comfortable. I may be spotted later in Dunelm, lying on one of the beds trying out the various pillows lol.

Morning, all. I have a vile cough so I haven’t slept properly for a week and that’s making everything harder. Good luck with the pillow hunt, @MissMarplesNiece!

Going to set up a time limit on my use of MN - I don’t have other social media for MH reasons but MN can quickly move from support to drain if I’m not careful - not this chat, obviously!

Today I have had my breakfast in the garden, done a body scan meditation on my mat on the grass, and I’m about to have a cold shower. There’s some really difficult stuff going on in my family so I need to throw everything I can at keeping myself regulated.

I’m also going to get The 4 Pillars.

Do you have a cold shower every day. What is the effect of cold showers.

I’m not feeling very well today. I had to go to bed during the day yesterday for a sleep. Stomach not right and I’m so tired. I hope to do some good for my MH today. I got my hair do e and have a dental appointment later. I’ll go but I feel so unwell

I would love to join too please!

I’d started having cold showers every morning - 3 minutes cold - then I had an operation and stopped while I was recovering because I thought my body needed time to recover. There’s a growing body of evidence that it’s really good for mental health, inflammation, stress management. I can’t remember the science just now but it gives your body a blast of manageable stress and I find them incredibly helpful.

I hadn't heard the term lifestyle medicine before, but I will read the thread with interest as it is so clear to me that the most effective medicine for my depression/anxiety has been:

-- Gym membership, especially yoga
-- Running
-- Dog ownership and dog walks
-- Hiking with my local ramblers group

I only came across the term recently when I was looking for non-pharmaceutical ways to manage depression/anxiety/stress. As someone else said up-thread (sorry, I can’t remember who!) a lot of it is common sense, but somehow I find it easier to force myself to do this stuff when I frame it in terms of the research that shows how effective it is at improving mental health, and actively treat each behaviour/activity as dosing myself with medication.

Your list ticks so many boxes! I want to join a hiking group as I don’t have many local connections. (I’m lucky to have a small group of really good friends, but none of them in the same city.) I always use the kids as an excuse not to join things, but my partner is desperate for me to be well/more functional, so is v supportive of anything like that. One thing at a time, though. Need to get myself sustainably back on track rather than do my usual thing of trying to change everything at once!

"done a body scan meditation on my mat on the grass,"

I do a bodyscan meditation everyday. I tried a few on YouTube until I found someone with a voice I found soothing.

I was reading about how to make connections with the nature and one of the suggestions was walking for 5 to 10 minutes bare foot in the grass. I like the idea.

I identify with what you've written, @Bisgedi, about pacing and not trying to do everything at once. I quickly become overwhelmed and start feeling like a failure.

Looking at this thread it seems like a lot of the lifestyle medicine "pills" are to be found in quite micro events during the day. Not just big, decisive things like going for a run that I mentioned earlier.
So I'm thinking of some of the small things in my day that really help.

Starting the day with a shower is one. I often begin with just a quick wash at the sink (what my mother used to call a 'lick and a promise'). But a full shower is much much better for cultivating a positive mood (cold shower might be even better but I'll have to work up to that)

Another is any moment during the day when I make time to stroke my dog and ruffle behind his ears. I can feel both of us slowing down and coming to ourselves when I do that. He or I will take a deep sighing breath as the encounter starts to have its calming effect, and then the other one of us will feel the same sighing relaxation in response.

Watering houseplants is good. Really taking the time to observe them as you care for them. (Repotting them is even better, but there are only so many times that you can do that without loving a plant to death.)

And housework. Specifically, cleaning. Any housework that involves organising things I find a bit stressful. But simple cleaning is almost always very therapeutic for me.

Very small and superficial conversations with other dog owners while walking the dog. Social encounters generally frighten me, and any planned social encounter is liable to get cancelled as my anxiety increases in anticipation. But the accidental run-ins with doggy neighbours seem to stay within my comfort zone. Two or three minutes then on into solitude.

@ReadWithScepticism Yes!!!! I miss my dog for all those reasons. (She’s not dead, she’s having a very happy life with a foster family and their dog for now.) I just hung up washing outside and the sunshine was glimmering through all the tiny raindrops on the lines of the rotary dryer. I went out in bare feet and my feet got wet on the grass and it was lovely.

I love your list and am going to try to note these things in my own life today. (Your shower comment really resonated!)

I’m also going to subtract some stuff. I stupidly posted on a mildly contentious thread here for the first time in years and it’s reminded me why I generally don’t do social media!

I have v little social connection locally but I stopped to chat to an elderly neighbour yesterday while walking the kids to the park and spoke to my neighbour over the fence. These micro moments of connection build up, don’t they?

I havent worked my way up to a cold shower yet, not sure I'll ever be able to!

@ReadWithScepticism I also find my houseplants soothing, a bit of "primping" and repotting is quite a mindful activity.

There's an article in The Guardian this morning about research that suggests Arts & Crafts are good for health, giving more life satisfaction than work (although that's not surprising considering the nature of the modern workplace). It could be something to add into a "good mental health practice".

@MissMarplesNiece, it took me ages to try the cold shower thing, and it was only when I read about it why it has this effect that I could make myself do it. (I’m not a scientist at all but knowing why it works really helped! I read about it in Elissa Epel’s book on stress) Also my therapist told me she’s been doing it every day for three years, and she’s not at all Bear Gryllsy or Wim Hoffish, so I thought if she can do it, I’ll try. Epel says that starting cold then finishing with warm water is fine, and I much prefer that. It’s somehow easier to step into a cold shower than to turn the dial to cold once you’re in, if that makes sense.

But I haven’t had one for 2 months and yesterday’s was only a few seconds, so I need to build it up again. But it was incredibly effective at shifting my mood, dampening anxiety, helping with resilience, etc. And it felt amazing to have done something I found so hard.

I’m finding it hard to do any activity that involves much thinking, so cleaning and tidying a small room like the bathroom is v therapeutic.

@Bisgedi I never thought of doing the cold shower the other way round, iyswim, I've always thought of hot to cold, not cold to hot. I will pluck up courage when I have my shower in a little while.

That is all very interesting about the cold shower. I’m not well physically today but will consider it. Got a tooth out yesterday. I had to leave my sick bed to get that done and went straight back to bed. Feeling a bit better today. Did a COVID test which was clear.

I use cannabis too but I tend to abuse it as well so that’s not a solution for me

@Nools24 I've just started using a weed vape. It's so much nicer than smoking with tobacco. You can control the strength and it tastes really nice, not harsh at all. I'm hoping that will help me be a bit healthier in my consumption if the tobacco is reduced.

Self care so far today;

Extra long shower (warm!) including hair mask, followed by lots of body moisturiser all over.

A walk in the beautiful sunshine.

My free cappuccino for shopping in Waitrose. Not really "free" when you've paid their prices I suppose but it was lovely 😂

Having my truly weird but strangely good smoothie for lunch. My blender’s broken so it’s less of a smoothie than a crunchy, but it’s good anyway.

I’m off on a trip with the family for a bit so won’t be checking in here much for the next day or so, but I’ll try to make a note of ‘doses’ on my phone, because I’m finding it really helpful to check in.

Managed longer in the cold shower this morning.

Hope you all have a chance to do some microdosing with LM. (Psilocybin is a whole other conversation!)

I use the trim from the plants to mix it with in a joint. Hate tobacco. Must get a vape and try that though. Thank you

Where can you buy Psilocybin

I’d love to join. I have some medical issues which the NHS have been unable to help with & I’m slowly healing through lifestyle medication. I’ve found the following helpful:
-breathing exercises
-walking & swimming
-guided meditations on the Calm App
-eating nutritious food
-getting good sleep (I find this hard)
-no alcohol or caffeine

I do struggle a bit with diet as well because I love chocolate etc. but I’ve cut it down rather than cutting out completely.

Oh I love coffee though, couldn't give that up. But I only have one caffeinated a day then it's decaf after that. Alcohol I
keep to just the weekend. It definitely does disturb my sleep though 🙁

Managed to get to my bootcamp session for the first time all holidays. Super hard but glad I did it, then had a lovely walk back along a tree-lined lane and did some mudlarking in the stream. Collecting old pottery and glass makes me super happy!

A year ago I had a complete breakdown to the point where I was making plans to end my life.

I am much better now but It is still an ongoing struggle but what I have found helpful in term of lifestyle improvement (alongside therapy and Citalopram):

• weekly pilates
• doing a daily 10 minute morning guided meditation. I just listen to things like the Daily Calm on YouTube
• starting a diary and writing a couple of pages every morning
• learning more about mindfullness. I found a book about it in a charity shop and did not know much about it but I am finding the exercises really helpful
• swimming (I live by the sea)
• eating lots of fruits and vegetables
• gardening and DYI. keeps my mind occupied and the physical activity helps me sleep better
• painting
• remembering to be grateful for every new day and small things in life.

I was given 14 therapy sessions on the NHS and the therapist gave me various breathing exercises and practical way to try to manage intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviour.

All of the above is helping but I really think one the biggest change was cutting off toxic people out of my life and making plan to find a new job as the current one is a big source of ongoing stress.