In today’s day and age, feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and overstimulated is the new norm. As women, we walk around all day with smiles on our faces pretending to be ok, when internally, we’re exhausted. Tired of the fake charade, the pressure from work, the stresses at home… and let’s be honest, this weird added pressure we feel now from society and social media to:
-drink enough water in our day
-get enough sleep at night
-eat enough protein
-take magnesium and creatine supplements
-exercise and keep our body toned
-avoid aging at all cost (literally $$$)
-have a social life
-keep your house clean
-be successful in your career
-make time for your family (but somehow keep your friends in your life too)
-and all the while, keep a cheery smile on your face.
Oooofff. Being a woman is no joke. It can all just feel like a bit too much. And if we’re not careful, this kind of chronic stress and crazy pressure can get really heavy, even leading to bigger mental health struggles. So let’s take a moment to pause all the noise.
We spend so much time thinking about all the things we have to do in our day, all the goals we need to achieve, and the perfect life we need to have, but we tend to forget all the good we currently have in our lives. Take a moment. Think about it. We’re alive! We’ve got a roof over our heads and food on the table. We are healthy! I’ve recently learned the hard way that if you have your health, you have everything. But if you’ve never had a health scare, it’s often taken for granted. So let’s change that.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Wasn’t that easy?! How lovely to be able to breathe with such ease. Don’t forget what a privilege it is to be YOU and all the crazy things that come with that experience.
Finding Peace Amidst the Chaos
The most radical thing you can do for your mental health today is to reclaim the present moment. It’s about taking sixty seconds to stop scrolling and notice the sun on your skin, the wind whipping your hair, the smell after it rains. Stopping to notice these small, simple joys can help calm your nervous system and break you out of your chronically stressed cycle. Giving yourself this time to sit and soak up the present moment opens up space for gratitude. The one, tiny, little word with so much power to change your entire life.
The Biological Reset
When you take a minute to practice gratitude, you are actually performing a biological reset on your brain. Neuroscience shows that when we focus on the good things we have in our lives, we stimulate the part of the brain that regulates our emotions and calms the stress response. Consistent gratitude can actually lower cortisol (the stress hormone) by up to 23%. Not only that, but gratitude also triggers a natural release of dopamine and serotonin, the “feel-good” chemicals we often crave. Recent insights show that gratitude has a direct effect on lowering depression and an indirect effect on lowering anxiety. When it comes to anxiety, the research shows that gratitude can help calm your “brain chatter” before bed, which improves your sleep and correlates to lower anxiety levels.
If you needed a reason to make gratitude a part of your daily routine, there it is. It’s clear that there are many mental health benefits of a daily gratitude practice. By choosing to be grateful, you are physically rewiring your brain to be more resilient against the stressors of everyday life. You are training your mind to find the light, even when the “mental load” feels heavy. You are helping your future self fight through the tough days that inevitably stand ahead.
Take a Breath With Us
We believe your mental well-being deserves the exact same level of care, respect, and attention as your physical health. Whether it’s through a class in the studio or a quiet moment on your journal page, give yourself the gift of gratitude, and watch it slowly change your life.
In honor of Mental Health Awareness month, we want to remind you that we’re here to help carry the load of this invisible weight. Come find your strength in our shared movement and your healing in our community.
Thank you for being here.
Sending you so much love and light.
Sources:
Psychology Today: The Grateful Brain