Good morning Unsanity readers!
It’s another #FreebieFriday for you finally. I’ve been out of the loop writing here myself (currently featuring a whole BUNCH of guest bloggers instead!) and wanted to share something for your Freebie today.
Click the link below to download your 4 different color scheme daily planner pages! You can also find this here on my page if you lose this post amongst the others.
Hello Friends!
I am so happy to be back doing a guest post series for Koral! Thank you so much for this chance.
I’m Stephanie from A Red Hair Girl. In January I wrote a post for Koral that gave you some background about my mental health issues. Then I went on to explain three ways I helped myself with my mental health.
First I admitted to myself I had a problem and that I needed help. Second I told a few people that I felt comfortable telling (my husband, my mom, sisters, and my OBGYN). And third I made the scary phone call to a therapist to get up an appointment. It is worth the read. I hope it will give you courage to seek out the help you need if you are struggling.
At the end of the post I mentioned I had a post about the things I have learned in therapy that have helped me. Welp, I had good intentions but I never got around to writing it… AHHH! I’m sorry!
I thought this mini-series would be the perfect chance for me to tell you about 4 things that I learned from my therapist. And tell you why they have helped me. I’m super excited!
So, let’s get right to it! This post is all about exercise! Here are 4 reasons why exercise is great for your mental health. I hope that by the time you are finished you are ready to get your sweat on.
Working Out Releases Our Feeling Good Endorphins
When we have our feeling good endorphins are flowing it just feels great. This is a natural way to get them going. So why wouldn’t we want to do that? My therapist always ask how my level of exercise. She doesn’t care how hard I’m going at it. She just wants me moving.
Even a walk around the block and kick start the good feeling endorphins. In fact if you exercise outside it can increase the amount of good feeling endorphins. That’s a double win! She tells me to get outside and talk a walk around the block sans kids if I’m feeling stressed, depressed or anxious. That isn’t always possible. But when I have, I come back refreshed.
Exercise Can Help Take Your Mind off Worries
When your brain has less to worry about your depression and anxiety will have less to feed it. When I’m working out it is harder for me to think about negative things. After a workout it is even hard to be negative. It’s all those good feeling endorphins. J
So if you exercise most days then you will have less time during those days to worry, which will help. Because the less you worry then the cycle of negative thoughts that help to feed your depression and anxiety will not be as present.
Exercise Can Help You Gain Confidence
What happens when you work out consistently? So many wonderful things! Among them is you will start to feel better about yourself. When you take the time to work out and do something that is hard you gain confidence.
You may start to lose weight or gain muscle. Your clothes may start to fit differently, a good different. People may start to give you complements. Or you may catch yourself in the mirror and think, WOW! All of these help you to gain confidence.
When you have more confidence you start to have a change in your thinking. For me, I become less depressed. Both of those things (being less depressed and gaining confidence) are very important to your mental health.
Working Out Can Help You Eat Better
If you are like me (and so many other people) then when you start to exercise consistently you may start to eat healthier. You may find yourself grabbing for an apple instead of crackers. The can of soda may not look as tasty as water.
When I am able to get myself out of bed and work out first thing in the morning I tend to make better eating choices all day long. Why wouldn’t I want to start my day off in that way?
Then when you start making better eating choices and continue to work out you will see a difference in your body. This will help you gain more confidence. See how many of these are intertwined? J
Some Tips and Tricks to Help You
Good luck my friends with exercising! It has helped me so much with my mental health and confidence. I know it can help you as well!
Happy working out!
Xoxo, Steph
Hush now don’t cry… wipe away the teardrop from your eye. You’re lying safe in bed… It was all a bad dream spinning in your head. Your mind tricked you to feel the pain of someone close to you leaving the game of life. So here it is, another chance- wide awake you face the day. Your dream is over… Or has it just begun?
I’m listening to one of my favorite songs right now – Silent Lucidity by Queensryche. I don’t know why I love it so much but anytime I hear it it makes me think of some Opeth and I like to sway back and forth to the beat. It comforts me I think and that’s something I don’t have often. Today was interesting. I went to work and was bored most of the day and then went to the gym after with an old friend. It was actually lots of fun and a good time I needed out I think. I usually go to the gym alone.. but it was nice to have someone there to talk to for once. I’m not good with meeting people online or in person for that matter.. and well I feel better talking online for some reason at first. But I haven’t seen him in ages and it was a good time tonight.
On that note, I’m back on the gym kick. I figure if I have to pay for it for a year I might as well use it and try and lose some weight finally for once since I’ve been saying that I’m going to for weeks now. It’s just a matter of eating right and eating good.. that’s always my problem. I can go to the gym every day of the week if I wanted to. But when it comes to eating better I suck at it sadly. I need someone to kick my butt into gear to eat right for once. I’m so used to eating everything I wanted to and not gaining weight at all because of the Mono I had in my body and now my metabolism is catching up to me from the last 10 years and making me not lose any weight at all. I don’t like being the way I am when I gained like 30 pounds in a year and a half two years now. It sucks and everything I used to like and wear doesn’t fit me anymore and it’s real disheartening.
I’ve had more time lately to write, obviously, since I don’t do too much anymore. I don’t have a boyfriend anymore, I have more time for me and well.. I’m not sure if I like it or not to be honest. It makes me think and that’s the last thing I like to do is to think. Then I get all these crazy ideas and stuff. I’m trying to go out there and meet new people and go to the gym more.. and take myself on “me” dates and relax a lot more. I think I’m too .. used to being around people and never really focused on myself and what I want to do in life. Now I have the chance to do that for once for awhile and I’m going to start doing that. Whether that means finding a job I like and want to stick with or moving to find said job.. you never know what might happen now. I’m not attached to anything here really and I’m not going to let anyone stop me at this point.
I want to start living and traveling and relaxing and taking care of me. This time next year I could have the job I always wanted or be living in another state or even country… I’ve always wanted to do something crazy; I just need to figure out how to incorporate the cats into my life. Maybe it’s time I rented that RV and packed up what I needed sold the rest and went on my way. I think about that a lot obviously.. as it’s been in my most recent blog posts multiple times. I think I really do need to leave the valley and start doing what I really want to do. No that doesn’t mean I’m coming home family.. as much as you want me to. I need to do me, and that’s not at home unfortunately. (Sorry mom, but you should come with me anyway and do something spontaneous.) And how ironic … Iron Maiden Run To The Hills just came on my music.. so fitting I think.
I’m pretty sure my roommates can hear me singing because I’ve been blasting some 80’s hits now and old school music and singing along and I have headphones in.. oops. I have no shame anymore I don’t care I’ll sing all the 80’s tunes that my heart desires. I don’t get to do that enough really.. and I need to get it out of my system everyonce in awhile. HEAVEN ISNT TOO FAR AWAYYYY. CLOSER TO IT EVERY DAY. NO MATTER WHAT YOUR FRIENDS MIGHT SAYYYY; WE’LL FIND OUR WAY. YEEAHHH. There that’s my little shit for the night right there. Let’s see if you know what song that is and who it’s by. 10 cookies to anyone who can name that song and if you don’t know it without looking up the lyrics.. I don’t know you anymore. Seriously. Know your anthems damnit. /rant on 80’s tunes.
I really didn’t have a purpose for this entry today – I just wanted something to do I think before going to bed. And I’ve been sitting here listening to 80’s jams now after Iron Maiden came on and I put on the 80’s Love Station on Apple Music. Well then, this brings back so many memories and I love it. I’m going to sit here and keep jamming out to 80’s love ballads and sing them till I sleep. If you cant put up with that then well, I’m sorry. You’re gonna have to. Btw, Nobody’s Fool is on right now. Name that band.
In honor of 80’s Here’s a throwback photo from College Koral
Virtually Yours, Koral Dawn 