8 Tips For Elevating Your Mind and Decreasing Stress

Wellness coach and best-selling author Kristin Meekhof shares her tips on how to cope during these difficult times.

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After several months of dealing with pandemic related stress and living on the edge of our seats, most of us are longing to elevate our mindset. As we know, keeping our anxiety level low is good for our overall well-being and mental health.

Here are eight things to do to help elevate our mood and decrease our stress related to these trying times.

Give someone a compliment. When we go out of our way to point out something positive in another person, and we can see their happy reaction it evokes an uplifting feeling in us as well. You can do this with a stranger or someone you know. Optimism is often contagious and you can feel good that you’re spreading something positive.

Share something that is special to you on social media. When you post a meaningful quote, recipe, story, photograph, or memory, you’re giving a gift. Others may be unaware of obstacles you’ve overcome to accomplish a particular outcome and seeing the before and after (literally and figuratively) can be inspiring. And it is worth noting, that just because someone isn’t commenting on your post, it doesn’t mean they weren’t touched by it.

Create a distraction. All too often, stress level increases when you become hyper-focused on an unpleasant thought or conversation. And ruminating results in more overwhelm. By creating a distraction for your mind and body, you can disrupt your current thought pattern. Examples of small distractions can be organizing a drawer or closet, folding clothes, reading a chapter in a book, making a list, or even washing the dishes.

Plan an activity. An activity can engage others or be done solo. Examples include reaching out to a friend, reading a blog, or coloring in a coloring book. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can even replicate a part of a joyful experience, such as making the same recipe you had on a travel adventure.

By adding it to your calendar, it will give you something to look forward to and create a positive emotion when you see it on your schedule. Be sure it is an activity you enjoy…