My stress recently has been at an all-time high; between saving to buy a house, work obligations, trying to lose weight and get myself debt-free, I wasn’t making “wellness” a priority in my life. I always considered “wellness” a far-east, Buddhist, Eat-Pray-Love idea that definitely did not have any space in my fast-paced, type A, suit-wearing life.
But more recently, I came to the realization that many things I consider passive or secondary tasks (mental health, savings accounts) — as in, I kind of thought they would just take care of themselves, or I would deal with them eventually — are quite the opposite. I’ll cover my revelation on savings in a future post & link it here, but for now I want to focus on the mental health piece.
The realization itself was very much an “aha!” moment, although the steps to address it came more organically. I definitely became aware that I wasn’t giving myself any space to relax mentally, to find peaceful time uninterrupted by alcohol or television or general noise. I wasn’t engaging in any kind of self-improvement, just kind of getting through the week so I could get to the weekend, drink and see my friends, immediately regret drinking the next morning, wish the weekend was longer, and start the process all over again on Monday. People around me – my friends, family, and coworkers – started to tell me I should take time off, that they’d never seen me react to situations like that, or just openly told me I wasn’t handling stress well. Stress is such an internal mechanism that if others start to notice, it’s gotten to an extreme point.
Now, I make it a priority to give myself some breathing room, to take things a little less seriously, and to engage in activities each day that either bring me peace or help me improve in some way. My go to “wellness” activities:
- Listening to Podcasts
- Yoga/Exercise
- Writing
If you haven’t listened to a Podcast, you must start today. I swear by them and anyone that knows me well has already gotten my diatribe on how every single person should have a Podcast portfolio and listen to it every single day. Podcasts run the gamut from politics to meditation to TED talks to diet advice. They are certainly not all created equal; those by NPR and NYT are much cleaner and more well-produced than a mom-and-pop show about Southern Cooking, but they’re all worth a listen to find what you like.
My daily Podcast lineup consists of these favorites (and I’m always open to suggestions):
- “The Daily” by the New York Times (20-30 minutes of updated daily news)
- TED Radio Hour (each show is centered on a common theme & combines interviews with TED speakers as well as excepts from prior TED talks)
- Sincerely, X (a TED-created show with speakers who tell their stories on the condition of anonymity, such as a doctor who accidentally killed a patient, and a woman with PTSD who pepper-sprayed customers in a store and went to jail)
- Locked Up Abroad (based on the TV show, told first-person by those who lived it)
I also enjoy
- “The New Washington” by the New York Times (interviews with politicians in the current administration)
- BBC Global News
- A variety of meditation podcasts (just search “meditation” or “mindful meditation”)
Podcasts are great for your morning commute – rather than listen to the drivel on the radio, I feel that I’ve selected what I want to hear and it’s contributing to my life. Staying current on political topics is important to me, but it may not be important to you — find the podcast portfolio that really feeds your needs, and edit until you look forward to hearing your lineup each day.
Making the most of your commute time, your workout, or even your time spent cooking can make you feel more in control and like you are doing something positive for yourself.
What are your favorite podcasts?
Losing It 