8 Ways to Improve Your Mental Health ASAP (Part 1)
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In today's society, the relentless pressures and unrealistic expectations surrounding body image can significantly impact our mental well-being. It is of utmost importance to emphasize self-acceptance and engage in regular self-care practices to cultivate a positive and nurturing connection with our bodies, ultimately benefiting our mental health.
In this two-part series of the Embrace Your Real podcast, I'll be sharing four essential strategies to improve your mental well-being.
What I discuss:
Stop body checking
Focus on how you feel rather than on how you look
Prioritize 30 minutes of movement a day…
Don’t expect yourself to perform your best daily
If you love this episode, you’ll also love…
Episode 268 - 5 Things That will Instantly Make Your Life Easier
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Transcript:
[00:00:00] Hey. Hey, beautiful human. Can I steal 5 minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Real with Me, Julie Ledbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace your real, let's get it. Let's go. [00:00:22][22.7]
[00:00:30] Hello and welcome back to another bonus episode. Today is part one of a two part series, 8 Ways to Improve Your Mental Health ASAP. [00:00:38][7.9]
[00:00:39] In today's society, the pressures and the expectations surrounding body image can really take a toll on our mental well-being. And I personally think that it's crucial to prioritize, you know, self-acceptance in order to really foster a positive relationship with our bodies and nurture our mental health. And so in today's episode, again, it's part one of a part two series. I'm going to be in today's episode sharing four key strategies that can help to improve your mental well-being. And then stay tuned for next week's episode on part two for the remaining four strategies. [00:01:08][29.3]
[00:01:08] But before we dive in, I wanted to share this review. It comes from a devoted follower. She gave a five star review and said, Stellar podcast, I love Julie. I followed both she and her husband for over four years. Julie speaks straight to my soul and oftentimes to my gut. I listen to every podcast because even if the title doesn't jump out at me, there's at least one piece of truth in there that either lights me on fire or sets me straight. This podcast also encourages me to reflect and grow. And what are we if we are not growing? Do yourself a favor and listen to Embrace real. You won't regret it. [00:01:39][30.4]
[00:01:39] Oh my gosh. I love this so much. Thank you so much. Not only for leaving the reading interview, those genuinely do mean the world, but also just following us for the last four years. That is incredible. I am so, so honored. And man, I just you know, I tend to forget that I've been on the Internet for over a decade. And so, man, I really do feel like I have grown up before so many people's eyeballs. [00:02:01][21.8]
[00:02:01] And I look back sometimes at my content. And like, who even, you know, four years ago, I'm like, oh my gosh, like, so much has changed. So thank you so much for again, leaving that reading interview. [00:02:11][9.4]
[00:02:12] Let's dive into part one of 8 Ways to improve your mental Health ASAP. [00:02:16][4.2]
[00:02:16] Number one, you've got to stop body checking. So what do I mean by body checking? So body checking is essentially just constantly looking at your body in the mirror and, you know, trying to catch glimpses of your body, any reflection that you can or touching it or pinching it or feeling your body to see if you've gained or lost weight in a certain area of your body weighing yourself daily. All those are attributes of kind of what this body checking mentality is, and they can be very detrimental to your mental health. [00:02:46][29.4]
[00:02:46] Once I personally stop checking in on my body to see if I gained weight or lost weight, you know, simply just instead let my body be whatever it was that day, I really did reclaim my mental health. It was taking up so much space that I didn't even realize it was taking up. Right. And this is a very simple habit, but it's something that can genuinely allow you to control your mood, your confidence, and overall, just this self-acceptance. [00:03:12][26.3]
[00:03:13] And so for me, you know, it took time. Like it really took me saying, I don't know. I would put, you know, these reminders on the mirror. So for me, I'm a faith believer. I would put scripture, I would put quotes that really spoke to me that were just reminding me that I'm I'm beautifully and wonderfully created. I'm creating in God's image. And so every time I go to look in a mirror, I would see that instead. And this is kind of where if you guys have been following me for a while, I used to do mirror reminders a lot. [00:03:46][32.6]
[00:03:46] This is kind of where the mirror reminders like was burst out of was. I just kind of wanted to reclaim like what it looked and what it felt like to look in the mirror. So obviously we're all going to look in the mirror throughout the day. And so for me, I wanted to have some truth first and foremost before I actually saw myself in the mirror, if that makes sense. So, you know, seeing that quote or seeing that Bible verse on my mirror. So whether this is your bathroom mirror, a mirror in your room, a mirror in your car, I also put reminders on my lockscreen on my phone. And so again, just these things that you constantly see your self in. So like the reflection of your phone or the mirror in your car, like having the truth penetrate you first before actually looking at yourself in the mirror. So it kind of can reframe your mindset. That has really, really helped me and also just reminded me that my worth is not determined by my physical appearance. It's my unique qualities, my strengths, my contribution to this world. And just overall, again, reminding myself that I'm a child of God and how he sees me and just that constant truth being fed into my mind and heart has helped so much. [00:04:53][66.6]
[00:04:54] Number two, focusing on how you feel, not really on how you look. So instead of fixating on physical appearance, really starting to prioritize how you feel in your body was a total game changer for me. And this, you know, also included focusing on what my body actually needed versus what I was telling my body it needed because that was so draining mentally. I was telling myself that, you know, I needed to lose X amount of weight or if I could only. X amount of food. Or that it needed X amount of, you know, exercise each day. Like I was telling my body all these things that I needed instead of really focusing on, okay, what is my body actually need? Like really tuning into my body and saying like, is it telling me something? Because oftentimes our bodies are signaling stuff to us and we've become so conditioned to not listen to it because we have been so conditioned to be like, No, we're going to tell our body to do X, Y, and Z instead of the opposite. [00:05:54][60.0]
[00:05:54] Instead of allowing our body to tell us, No, no, no, this is what we need. And again, like everything in moderation, right? I think this could easily go into the opposite direction where it's like, Oh, well, my body's just telling me that I need to eat all of this food and I need to not work out and I need to not move my body and I need to do X, Y and Z, and then, you know, four weeks or ten weeks down the road, you like look at your life and you're like, I don't even recognize anything in my life. So having that self-awareness, but also recognizing that our bodies do tell us things like there are certain times where maybe you had a workout planned, but your body is like, Please, can we just rest? Can we just rest? I want to make sure we get enough sleep. I want to make sure I'm optimally fueled like I'm getting enough water, all these things. And it is amazing what has happened personally, just from speaking from experience, like when I allow myself to tell myself what it needs and when I allow myself to rest in my I allow myself to properly feel my body like it is amazing when what has happened, when I shifted on, you know, really internally, focusing on how I felt instead of, all right, how do I look or, you know, paying attention to just the physical attributes. There are so, so many benefits to that. [00:07:13][78.5]
[00:07:13] Number three priorities, 30 minutes of movement a day. You guys, if you've been following me for any length of time, you guys know I am a huge believer in the saying mantra, whatever you want to call it on your body with movement. And I typically associate that with on your body, with movement, with at least 30 minutes of movement every single day. Doesn't have to be a workout, doesn't have to be even a run or jog. I mean, this can be dancing, this can be cleaning, This can just be intentional with your movement for at least 30 minutes every single day. And I really when I truly took this to heart and I started practicing it, it is genuinely changed my life because movement is so therapeutic and it leads to overall mental health. [00:07:57][44.3]
[00:07:58] I've talked about this on so many other episodes, like the science behind movement and how it can impact psychologically so many things in our brain. And so for me, I really have to shift my mindset because for so long I only equated movement with a workout and the workout had to be constrained within, you know, within the four walls of a gym, like even any sort of movement at home for, I would say, 7 to 8 years of my fitness journey, I was like, That's not a real workout. Like home workouts are for wimps. Like, honestly, I'm just just being straight up with you. Like if I went on a hike with a friend or if I was outside or whatever, I did not count that as movement, I would still punish myself if I didn't get to the gym and do a workout. And man, it has been so freeing to just be saying and just living out that that mantra of like, I'm going to honor my body with movement with 30 minutes today and what does that look like today and how how am I going to do that? And, you know, some days it's longer than 30 minutes and that's amazing. Other days it's 30 minutes and it's dancing is just being intentional. It's enjoying all different types of movements. And so I just want to challenge you. [00:09:04][66.6]
[00:09:04] If you've been struggling with like being sedentary, just say, okay, I'm going to move for 30 minutes and that could be 50 minutes of dancing. It could be 15 minutes of walking. Your dog could be 15 minutes of Pilates or yoga or dumbbell workouts or whatever it feels like each day, but committing to that 30 minutes every single day. [00:09:22][17.3]
[00:09:22] And lastly, number four, don't expect yourself to perform at your highs every day. Oh, my gosh, this is me for so long. I'm a tape three on the gram. I am very like just a competitive person and teacher at heart. And I am I don't want to say I'm a perfectionist because I'm definitely a Type B, I'm not type A, but I do hold myself to like the highest expectations. And I mean, that would really filter through, you know, I would get down on myself if I wasn't hitting PR, if I wasn't, you know, hitting my strongest workouts day in and day out. And I just think that it's so important to recognize that we all have ups and downs and it's super unrealistic to expect like peak performance every single day. And when we expect this of ourselves, like it's inevitable that our mental health is going to deteriorate, it's going to decline. [00:10:11][49.1]
[00:10:12] And so if you are wanting to improve your mental health and I just I want to recommend learning how to allow yourself the grace to have those off day or those moments of lower energy, lower productivity. This is normal. This is healthy. Treat yourself with kindness and understand during these times that that's normal and that your worth is not solely determined by your daily performance, but your inherent value as a unique individual. So one thing for me that has been a game changer I've talked about this on previous episodes, but about man, it's been over a year, definitely over a year and a half now. We implemented a Sabbath on Sundays, and I have to tell you, it has been one of the most challenging things I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding things in so many ways. Like spiritual. Yes, mental. Heck yes. Physical. Yes. My relationship 100%. [00:11:02][50.6]
[00:11:04] Really just recentering and refocusing on what's most important. And for me, that is making sure that I'm living a life that is honoring God and that I'm allowing him to control my life, not trying to always take the reins. And so I want to encourage you, maybe yours isn't the Sabbath, maybe yours is just taking time away from your workouts or taking time away from social media or taking time away from whatever it is that you feel like you're focusing on and you feel like you have to perform every single day. So for me, obviously, I have a business that I can genuinely do anywhere from my phone. And so the whole reason of me implementing a Sabbath was not only to like give the control back to God and say, God, like, I want you, I want you at the forefront and I trust that you're going to be able to take control of this. And I know that you know everything in me when I see an email like comes in, I want to be able to, like, answer it right away. [00:11:56][52.1]
[00:11:56] I want to be able to help people. And I had to just release those reins and say, I trust you with our business. I trust you that things are it's going to be okay, Like everything doesn't have to get done right away. And then also, like reprioritizing and making sure that that day is solely focused on just remembering all of the gifts and talents that God is so graciously blessed me with and our family with and just, you know, serving people and taking time to reflect on the week and the week prior and the week ahead. It is just it has transformed every aspect of my life. [00:12:30][34.2]
[00:12:31] So, I mean, if you could take a Sabbath, I would encourage you to do it. I know it's hard for people who have families, but I have seen people who have families do it. And man, I truly believe that the Lord blesses you and you take time away, not just like materially blessing. That's not even when I'm talking about like the Lord genuinely blesses your soul when you take time out of your week to say, Okay, God, I'm devoting this day to you. I'm devoting this time to you. Read his word, allow him to speak to you, and I promise you that he will. But kind of going back to just having this unrealistic, the expectation when you do have that unrealistic expectation, I mean, it does it puts a mental toll on you. And so I need you to remember that life is ebbs and flows and and this is not even just on a micro level, this is on a macro level, too. [00:13:17][46.5]
[00:13:17] Sometimes you go through seasons of life where it is just not realistic to perform optimally and that's okay. Do what you can with what you have. That's what I always talk about because it's something that I think allows us to not be completely complacent, but it allows us to also, you know, pursue what we want to pursue but not put so much pressure on ourselves. It allows us to give ourselves grace for those times in those seasons that it's it's not going to be our peak performance. That is okay. [00:13:43][25.3]
[00:13:44] So there you have it. Those are the first four ways to boost your mental health. Let me quickly recap what we talked about. Number one, stop body checking. Number two, focus on how you feel rather than how you look. Number three, prioritize 30 minutes of movement a day. And number four, don't expect yourself to perform your best every single day. Stay tuned for part two of the last remaining four Simple ways to boost Your Mental health ASAP. If you love this episode, I know you will also love Episode 268 5 Things that Will Instantly Make Your Life Better. So go to an end to that. I will link to it in the show notes that you can easily go check that out. If you have a friend or a coworker or someone in your life that you feel like would really benefit from this episode or this podcast in general, I just ask that you share it out with them. You can copy the link and send it to them in a text message. You can also screenshot this and put it up on your story. That is all that I have for today's episode. I love you so much. I mean it. And I was like in the next one. [00:14:35][51.4]
[00:14:44] All right, sister. That's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so. Julie A Ledbetter. Yes. It's women in the middle for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being on. Authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace Israel because you're worth it. [00:14:44][0.0]