What Is A Mental Health Retreat?

A mental health retreat typically uses complementary and alternative therapies within a holistic residential setting. The principal purpose is to improve a person’s well-being through the stay. “Wellness retreats” and “wellness tourism” are basically the same thing with just a different name to call it.

The concept of it is so diverse that it can be for any amount of time in any way that allows you to focus on your well-being. A quick retreat in the city might be an evening at a spa that allows deep rest through a hot tub or massage. A more extensive retreat might be for a few days or more at a remote location in nature where they offer extensive programs that help enhance the wellness experience.

Besides, getting away for a while is proven to relieve stress in itself.

How Effective Is a Mental Health Retreat?

A study in 2017 looked at participants who went on a one-week retreat to measure the effectiveness of a retreat. The retreat included aromatherapy, health measures, mental health-related questionnaires, and various tests to measure a person’s well-being.

Results showed significant improvement in a person’s wellbeing after a one-week retreat and the positive effects sustained for 6 weeks. As for physical benefits, it reduced weight, abdominal circumference, improved blood pressure, and sleep quality. There were significantly improved results in the depression anxiety stress scale and mood state tests as well.

This means that a mental health retreat can refresh a person enough to get them through for a while after they return.

3 Elements to Enhance A Mental Health Retreat

Here are 3 elements to look out for when you consider planning for a mental health retreat. If it’s difficult to afford (time and money-wise) a full getaway right now, you can still incorporate these elements in your life in small ways to mimic a mini-retreat within your everyday life.

Connect With Nature

Nature heals, soothes, and restores our wellbeing. Being in nature or just even viewing an image of nature reduces anger, fear, and stress while increasing pleasant feelings.

Just a 40-minute walk in the forest improves mood and feelings of health and robustness. Exposure to nature contributes to better physical wellbeing, boosts immune function, improves creativity, reduces blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and production of stress hormones. 

Pick a mental health retreat that allows you to indulge in nature or go for a short walk in nature. Go barefoot and feel the ground or dip your feet in the ocean. Even if it’s for a short period, simple direct engagements with nature can help recharge your mind and body.

Greening your office space can also help make you feel relaxed. Perhaps you can create a little mental health retreat in the corner of your room with plants for a relaxing effect.

A Healthy Diet

Our health is affected by what we eat. It’s not only physical, it can affect us mentally too. Science suggests that a plant-based diet rich in vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and healthy proteins lowers the risk of weight gain and chronic disease. 

There are retreat programs that provide healthy meals that help with dietary choices and eating habits. Eating healthy meals for a certain duration will give us a push in a healthier direction.

If a mental health retreat is difficult, you can go on a healthy diet for a few days to self-activate a reset.

You can find more on how healthy diets affects our wellbeing in our past blog post.

Hydrotherapy – Soak Yourself in Water

Did you know that soaking in water is beneficial for your health and wellbeing? Using water as therapeutic treatment is called hydrotherapy, water therapy, aquatic therapy, pool therapy, or balneotherapy.

According to scientific evidence, hydrotherapy improves immunity, management of pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, asthma, anorectal disorders, mood, fatigue, anxiety, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, hyperthermia, labor, etc.

The different effects on various systems of the body depend on the temperature of water and water quality.

Find a spa nearby for a mental health retreat experience or simply fill up your tub at home. If you like nature, perhaps an environment where you can swim in the ocean or lake would be nice. Hot-spring water can enhance health benefits with its mineral components in the water.

A Mental Health Retreat for a Relaxing Time-Off

Stress can build up no matter what kind of environment we’re in. It’s important to notice the signs and take time off when you feel strained. Sometimes a little getaway through a retreat is all we need to come back more energized. Plan ahead and make sure to schedule time off for your mental health!

References:

Association of Nature and Forest. (n.d.). Forest Bathing is an Evidence-based wellness practice. Https://Www.Natureandforesttherapy.Org/about/Science. Retrieved July 26, 2021, from https://www.natureandforesttherapy.org/about/science


Cohen, M. M., Elliott, F., Oates, L., Schembri, A., & Mantri, N. (2017). Do Wellness Tourists Get Well? An Observational Study of Multiple Dimensions of Health and Well-Being After a Week-Long Retreat. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 23(2), 140–148. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2016.0268


Harvard Health. (2017, June 5). Harvard researchers continue to support their healthy eating plate. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/harvard-researchers-launch-healthy-eating-plate


Mooventhan, A., & Nivethitha, L. (2014). Scientific evidence-based effects of hydrotherapy on various systems of the body. North American Journal of Medical Sciences, 6(5), 199. https://doi.org/10.4103/1947-2714.132935



University of Minnesota. (n.d.). How Does Nature Impact Our Wellbeing? Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing. Retrieved July 26, 2021, from https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/how-does-nature-impact-our-wellbeing

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How the Body Responds: Stability vs. Change

The Capability to Keep Things Stable: Homeostasis

Our bodies generally have an average physical standard to maintain.

For example, your average temperature, average blood pressure, and the pressure to keep body fluids flowing throughout the body, theses are all kept at a standard of each person. This capability to keep things stable is called Homeostasis.

However, our physical body changes its standard when there’s a breakthrough change. As we grow, our physical standards change from a baby to adulthood. Another simple way to look at it is to notice what happens when we continually stimulate the body through exercises. There is always a way to break through our current homeostasis.

The Brain’s Capability to Change: Neuroplasticity

We have the ability to change as a result of the various stressful experiences we go through.

Our brain determines what experience is stressful or how a person should cope with it. This capability is called Neuroplasticity (also known as brain plasticity) where the neural networks in the brain change and adapt through growth and reorganization. These functional and structural changes range from individual neuron pathways to systematic adjustments.

Stress: Allostasis and Allostatic Load

If we have a system in place that keeps our body stable, what keeps it intact or causes the breakthrough and adaptation for change?

Allostasis

The driving force that pushes for an adaptive process forward is called Allostasis. Allostasis is the “stress” that impacts the production of mediators such as adrenalin, cortisol, and other chemical messengers. The response of these mediators promotes adaptation to the acute stress we experience.

Once stress (allostasis) hits us, the body responds by creating a new baseline of homeostasis so that it can anticipate and prepare for the next coming stress. Essentially, the body works naturally like an AI (Artificial Intelligence) where it learns from previous experiences. Once new homeostasis is created, we are capable of tolerating or handling the same situation with less stress.

Allostatic Load

On the other hand, allostasis can change to allostatic load.

The changes and stressors that impact our life can have both positive and negative effects. Excessive stress over a long period of time can have detrimental effects on the body and permanently alter the architecture of the brain. This negative effect is called the Allostatic Load.

Allostatic overload keeps us “stressed” while it wears and tears away at the body and brain. This happens when our body undergoes constant stress while the homeostasis fails to create a new baseline to adapt.

The 4 Types of Stress That Becomes Allostatic Load

There are 4 circumstances as to why the allostasis can change into allostatic load:

1. Repeated “hits” from multiple stressors
2. Difficulties in adaptation
3. Delayed shutdowns and prolonged responses in the aftermath of the stress incident
4. Inadequate response leads to compensatory hyperactivity of other mediators

The best way to prevent these circumstances is by learning how to mitigate stress through techniques that we can practice every day.

An “Active Recovery” From Stress

Stress mitigation through physical activity is called Active Recovery. Active recovery is said to be the best way to prevent allostasis from becoming allostatic load.

There are no strict measures on what counts as active recovery, but generally speaking, you want to keep a 30 minute physical activity that will keep 70% of your maximum heart rate. This includes running, swimming, biking, yoga, dance, etc. When an enjoyable activity increases the heart rate and fully uses the brain and muscle, it relaxes our mental state more than if we just rested. This allows a state where we can prepare to welcome the next stressful event.

If incorporating a rigorous exercise routine seems difficult for you right now, you can start by just taking daily walks around your neighborhood.

If “exercise” sounds less exciting, you can always take on an active hobby like dancing. Music that heightens the mood and a sense of accomplishment that comes from learning a new skill will surely satisfy those that want a sense of stimulation and growth.

Learn How to Cope With Stress

Review your day to see how you can incorporate small actions to break your thoughts away from stress. At work, you should never keep still in your office chair for hours. If you want to use allostasis to your advantage, try to stand up and stretch at least once an hour. Talk to your coworkers, friends, or family if something is bothering you. Small stress relief habits will prevent allostasis from becoming allostatic load.

As long as we can keep stress at healthy manageable levels, we can use it to our advantage to strengthen our brain for future life adversities.

References:

Ganzel, B. L., Morris, P. A., & Wethington, E. (2010). Allostasis and the human brain: Integrating models of stress from the social and life sciences. Psychological Review, 117(1), 134–174. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017773


McEwen, B. (2005). Stressed or stressed out: What is the difference? Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 30(5), 315–318. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1197275/


McEwen, B. S., & Gianaros, P. J. (2011). Stress- and Allostasis-Induced Brain Plasticity. Annual Review of Medicine, 62(1), 431–445. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-med-052209-100430


Ratey, J. J., & Manning, R. (2021). Go Wild: Free Your Body and Mind from the Afflictions of Civilization by John J. Ratey Richard Manning(2014–06-03). Little, Brown and Company.

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What Does It Mean to Be Mentally Strong or Weak?

・No One Is Mentally Strong to Begin With

First of all, what does it mean to be mentally “strong” or “weak”?

Mental strength isn’t a given strength people have. It’s more about how good you are at navigating through emotions when a negative incident occurs.

For example, lets’ say a man was given the opportunity to do a presentation at his company. Over a few days, he gathers information, creates the necessary files for it, and presents everything at the end. However, the boss responds with very critical feedback. How does this man react to that critical feedback?

Scenario 1: Let me incorporate what he said and try again

Scenario 2: I’m not going to care about it too much

Scenario 3: I tried so hard, yet all I got was a critical opinion on it

Scenario 1 is a response from someone who is positive that tries to grow towards their next opportunity. Scenario 1 is the most ideal way to navigate your emotions. Instead of facing away from the problem, they improve their skills so that they can prepare and build their mental tolerance towards the issue.

At a quick glance, the scenario 2 response seems like a response from someone who is mentally strong. However, this does not consider fixing the situation to prepare for future possibilities. This response is effective in brushing off malicious and offensive acts carried out towards a person. It is important to assess how important the situation is before you choose this option

The most problematic is scenario 3. A negative response to feedback only grows negative emotions within that leads to a loss of self-esteem. This is spotted in people that are always too serious or are perfectionists. When they can’t achieve their ideal goals, they tend to self-sabotage.

・It’s Important to Shift Your Thoughts

When there’s an inconvenient event that happens, we feel unpleasant. After the unpleasant feelings, it turns into negative emotions of frustration or anxiety. This shift from unpleasant to negative emotion is part of how the brain reacts and we cannot change this mechanism.

Most people who are mentally vulnerable tend to be affected by these negative emotions that arise. Eventually, they feel trapped in a negative cell from the illusion that they’ve created.

People who are considered mentally strong are capable of shifting their thinking more positively before they get affected by these negative emotions.

This thought shift is a vital skill. If we use the example from above in the case of the presentation getting critical feedback from the boss, you can shift your thinking into the positive by focusing on your potential growth from this experience.

5 Mental Strength Training Methods to Try Now

Just like muscle strength or endurance training, we can build out our mental strength so that we become more tolerant of adversities. Below, we introduce the 5 training methods we recommend for you to try.

Method 1: Self-Reflect Through Self-Talk

By changing the pronouns while you talk to yourself, you can create a second-person dialogue. This allows you to see your situation from a distance so that you can see things more clearly and objectively.

You can specifically shift the dialogue by using first-person, second-person, and third-person pronouns. Below are examples if we continue the scenario of presenting and receiving critical feedback from the boss.

・First-Person
“I’m super nervous. I’ve perpared well, but I wonder if everyone will understand.”

・Second-Person
“Hey, you don’t have to feel so nervous. You’ve prepared well, so all you have to do is present with confidence.”

・Third-Person
“He doesn’t have to feel that nervous. He prepared well. I’m sure people will understand if he presents with confidence.”

As you can see, talking to yourself as if you were another person creates the necessary distance to gain clarity.

Method 2: Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness is a way of thinking that enhances the experience of the present “now.” Mindfulness meditation is applied in cognitive behavioral therapy within the mental health field.

It focuses on subtle sensory signs of the body, such as how it feels when a single bean is placed on the palm of your hand. The focus on these subtle actions helps steer our thoughts away from negativity. Once we displace ourselves from a position of stress, we can recognize new aspects that lead to solving the problem itself.

1. Sit with a straight back
2. Close your eyes and feel your breath
3. If your thoughts start to wander, bring back the attention to the breath

These 3 points are all you need to practice mindfulness meditation. Start from 3 to 5 minutes of practice and then expand to 10 minutes or 15 minutes as you go.

Method 3: Think Like a Fly on the Wall

The Fly On The Wall method is a great way to gain objectivity. As the word spells it out, you act as if you’re a fly on the wall as if you could understand the situation with a bird’s-eye view.

This method is test proven through an experiment at Ohio University and known to be effective as a stress care method. Similar to mindfulness meditation, it requires no tool.

The most important technique in this is to create an external view of what’s happening to yourself.

You’ll be affected less by negative emotions once you learn how to separate your emotions and actual reality. You don’t have to be a fly. It could be another bug, a cloud, a light pole. By continuing this practice, you train your mind to constantly take an objective perspective and this helps cool down anger when it arises.

Method 4: Organize Your Thoughts on a Piece of Paper

If a negative incident is straining your thoughts, try writing it all out on a piece of paper.

The content should be based on what happened and how you felt.

• I got into a fight with a friend – Unhappy
• I had to go to work on a day off – Sad
• I got stuck in traffic – Frustrating

When we write out how we feel on a piece of paper, the visualization of our feelings helps organize our thoughts. The understanding of why we feel unhappy or frustrated will give us the opportunity to recognize our biases and negative beliefs.

Negativity is contagious so it’s easy to roll down the negative spiral once you’re in it. Write out all your feelings and organize your thoughts. See if you can capture things in a more positive light.

Method 5: Learn How to Build Automatic Positivity

Mental weakness comes from us reacting negatively to incidents. This is called “automatic thinking,” and when our automatic thoughts are steered negatively it can trigger a state of depression.

However, this tendency can be fixed through training by continually focusing on the 3 points below:

1. Reflect on your past success
2. Think positive thoughts if you ever feel yourself getting negative
3. Think of the influences that positive memories bring

First, recall a positive success memory. It can be anything from receiving a compliment or a good score on a test. Think of what elements produced the results and try to unravel the secrets to your success and failures. Continually recalling your success will automatically kick your thoughts into positive gear.

It’s also helpful to recall how you’ve overcome failure. If you ever feel negative, remember the moment you grew from your failures. Perhaps it’s now a great story to tell or you recognize how important someone was to you. Try to understand the past as a positive event that made you who you are today.

If your friends encouraged you through failures, you can take it that you have great friends. If you’re able to make it into a great story from the past, perhaps you have the whit to do so. Sprinkle these positive aspects into your mind and this will help create an automated process towards positive thinking.

Strengthen The Mind and Body Through Mental Training

We talked about strengthening our mental tolerance through training, but weakness has its benefits too.

If you tend to be sensitive to small incidents, another way to see it is that you are expressive and have a strong sensibility. If you feel anxiety and pressure, it could mean that you feel more responsible than others.

If you feel that you’re mentally weak and need the training to build mental tolerance, just make sure that you don’t lose the great aspects that you already have. We hope you keep your unique greatness as an individual while building out parts that need support for a more enjoyable life!

Nowadays, an AI can help you on your mental journey without any restrictions on time schedule, or location. The more you interact, the more adequate advice it can give. It’s an affordable alternative counseling method with a free trial period. Give it a try!
→SELF MIND

Reference：

【World Health Organization】

【BlueCross BlueShield THE HEALTH OF AMERICA】

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Signs You Might Be Depressed

Depression and mental illnesses do not manifest in a way that is easily understood from the outside. There are many instances where we’re already at that stage without any noticeable symptoms.

In fact, university studies mention that most depressed patients don’t initially seek medical help for depression. Most people think they have something wrong physically and later find out the root cause was mental. This is called “masked depression.”

Consider that you might be depressed if you notice the following signs:

・You Repeatedly Make Mistakes You Never Used To Make

When we’re depressed our attention scatters, leading us to make more mistakes to perform badly. It can be small mistakes from misspelling to missing details or big mistakes like sending the wrong email to a client or forgetting an important appointment.

These mistakes can bleed into our personal life as well. Even when someone points out the mistake, we oftentimes don’t have the capacity to process what’s pointed out. Eventually, this leads to a path of more mental hardships.

・You’ve Noticed A Change In The Amount of Food You Eat

A university study indicates that when we’re depressed, we tend to overeat or crave sweets. This means that there is a correlation between the amount we eat and our mental state. There’s no doubt we need food to live, but overeating is an unhealthy habit. Weight gain and physical difficulties that come with it can become additional stress if we’re not careful enough.

・You Have Less Communication with Co-Workers

When work gets to us, we naturally distance ourselves from it and communicate less with co-workers. Even if you are an extrovert, if you find yourself being less communicative, declining work-related social engagements, it could be because you’re depressed.

5 Ways To Relieve Stress When You Feel Depressed

If you notice the signs of stress or depression, it’s best to get rid of them as early as possible. Stress coping methods differ for each person, but if you’re unsure of where to start from, below are some methods you can try.

1. Find a Hobby to Enjoy on Your Own

If work is bringing you down, allocate time for hobbies where you can completely distance yourself from the difficulties at work. It can be an outdoor or indoor activity, but ideally, it should be an enjoyable activity that is easy to incorporate into your routines.

If you don’t have any hobbies like that, we recommend books and movies. “Cry sessions” through reading books and watching movies, are known to be healthy for our mental wellbeing. Comedic movies can make us laugh and bring down our stress hormone levels. A dive into an enjoyable world will help us feel less stressed.

2. Get Enough Sleep

We all feel terrible after making big mistakes at work. If it’s a matter of our incapability, we can always take the time to grow and learn. If it’s because we’re mentally unwell, it’s solvable.

One of the most important activities for health is sleep. According to a university study, when people continue with 4-6 hours of sleep for 2 weeks, the brain function drops to as if it were pulling all-nighters for 1-2 days. In other words, unless we sleep for at least 7 hours per day, we’re carrying on with our lives under a strong stress state.

If you want to sleep but have trouble falling asleep, we recommend that you start scheduling your sleep. We share tips and tricks on that in our past blog post:

3. Have an Internal Conversation With Yourself

It’s difficult to understand ourselves from an objective perspective. Many realize the difficulties they’re going through, only after someone else points it out.

To avoid this, we recommend having a continual dialogue with yourself using methods of “self-talk.” It’s simple. All you have to do is talk to yourself in an encouraging and compassionate tone. Canadian university research shows the effectiveness of this method too.

There are many ways you can hold conversations with yourself. Talking to yourself from a second-person perspective is known to be helpful. To learn more of how to do this, check out our past post:

4. Talk With Friends Outside of Work

The basic and most effective way to release stress is to talk to friends. It may not be appropriate for you to speak about work stress to co-workers, but you can always rely on your friends from other social circles. The content of what you say doesn’t matter. The most important thing is for you to “feel better” after speaking to them.

Direct conversations with them will alleviate stress and help you gain an objective perspective on your problems. Constructively explaining what has happened and why you are feeling the way you do, will help you organize your thoughts. You might even find a positive outlook in the end!

5. Talk to a Mental Health Professional

If none of the 4 methods above work, we recommend seeking professional help.

The National Health Institute (NIH) lists ways to seek help via phone and text. They also provide guidelines in finding professional help.

If that seems like a jump to you, there are apps that can casually help. SELF MIND is an AI chatbot that assists your mental health journey. For working adults, it can be difficult to find time to go see a professional, and with this, you can converse casually throughout the day to see how you’re feeling.
→Check SELF MIND in app store

Health Is Wealth, Its Okay to Let Go

When we overthink, we tend to corner ourselves into feeling low.

Get out and enjoy your hobbies and get good sleep. Find ways to enjoy your time on your own terms, and hopefully, this will lead you to more mental and physical vitality.

References：

Konishi, K., & Hyakutake, A. (2015). Factors Associated with Depression and Atypical Depression in Japanese University Students. Showa Woman’s University Departmental Bulletin Paper, 902, 21–33. https://swu.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=pages_view_main&active_action=repository_view_main_item_detail&item_id=6026&item_no=1&page_id=30&block_id=97

Nakao, M. (2004). Industrial Mental Health in an Information-oriented Society : Relationship between Depression and Perceived Somatic Symptoms. Japanese Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, 44(10), 735–744. https://doi.org/10.15064/jjpm.44.10_735

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The Challenges That Single Parents Face

A 2019 Pew Research Center study of 130 countries point out that the U.S. has the world’s highest rate of single-parent households. A 2019 Statista survey also shows that there are about 19 million single U.S. parents raising children on their own, with 15.7 million of them being women.

What are the challenges that these growing numbers of single parents face?

The Financial Challenges

Single-parent households are at high risk of financial hardship. Studies indicate that parenting alone heightens feelings of stress, uncertainty, and depression associated with finances.

The overall net worth of a single mother is significantly less than single fathers or married households. 25% of single mothers have wealth exceeding $3,500 and 50% have either no wealth or are in debt. It is said that almost half of single mothers are in poverty.

The financial challenges of the single-parent household creates an environment vulnerable to adversities.

The Physical Challenges

It can be physically tough to manage taking care of your kids and work at the same time. The younger the child, the more physical energy is required to keep up. Some parents put in a lot of work time so that they can reach financial stability and this can wear them down both physically and mentally.

Children are the motivation and reason for parents to keep pushing forward, but the physical strain, lack of sleep, and stress from all of it can affect their mental well-being at times.

Best Ways a Single Parent Can Care for Themselves

It’s a challenge for single parents to find alone time. They’re usually financially strapped as well, which makes it difficult for them to consciously engage in self-care. Single parents should put in the conscious effort to shift their mindset so that they can care for themselves.

Below we introduce the best self-care methods you can try right away.

Create a Photo Album of Your Child

One of the most satisfying rewards for a single parent is to see their kids grow. No matter how busy, try to keep a record of your child’s growth through photographs. This will motivate you in a positive way. Don’t just use your smartphone for taking pictures. Make physical prints to create a photo album so that you can share it with others and look back at your memories.

Whenever you feel stressed, flipping through these albums will help reduce stress. A university study shows that looking back at fond memories helps maintain our mental wellness. It’s a method you can try easily. We provide more details on how to do this in our past post.

Read a Little Bit Every Day

Reading is a great self-care method that is recommended for everyone. We use our imagination and try to absorb as much knowledge as we can while reading, and when we indulge in a book we can create a distance from our stressful realities.

If you’re a newly single parent, it may be difficult to find time to read. Try to find small fragments of time within your commute or before bed where you can read little by little.

Have a Talk With Your Employer

It is physically challenging to juggle between parenting and a full-time job. Talk to your employer and see if there’s room for negotiating remote work, shorter work hours, or other alternative ways to work. Sometimes, a change in the work environment can lead to better wellness.

If your company seems inflexible about changing the terms of work, as inconvenient as it may seem, we recommend that you switch jobs. Some companies proudly push forward their benefits of paid paternity leave, flex hours, remote work, and on-site nurseries. You can manage to work with less stress if you find a company that values your needs as a single parent.

Apply for Financial Help

There are programs and organizations designed to help single mothers and fathers in the U.S.

Child Care and Job Training

Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) is a grant program that provides supplemental cash for up to two years to working parents. They encourage single parents through child care assistance and job training. To see more for eligibility and details, visit: TANF.

Food Programs

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, can provide funds for food. You can check eligibility and details at: SNAP. For pregnant and nursing woman, WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) also provides aid in supporting nutrition for mothers in need.

Housing Assistance

Rent is a huge part of our living cost. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers housing assistance through Section 8 housing vouchers. This program targets low-income households, many whom are single parents. You can check the program details, eligibility, and how to apply through their website at: HUD Housing Choice Voucher Program Section 8.

Financial Assistance for Education

There are many grants and programs widely available if you want to pursue a higher education. However, there are specific scholarships catered to single parents. You can check the long list of single parent scholarships on scholarships.com. The Pell Grants is also a popular federal government aid provided towards low- and moderate-income families based on need.

The programs mentioned here may create some financial relief for single parents who are in need of help.

Talk to Someone

People feel better when they share their struggles with others. With no partner they can rely on, single parents tend to bottle in their feelings, which can lead to worse mental conditions. The stronger responsibility they feel, the more they try to solve things on their own.

It’s okay to vent.

Talk to someone you trust. It can be a family member, a friend, or a therapist. Surely, it will make you feel a little better.

If the issues you face are hard to share with people in real life, an AI can hear you without any restrictions on time schedule, or location. It’s an affordable alternative counseling method with a free trial period. Give it a try!
→SELF MIND

No Need to Be Perfect, Grow Together With Your Child

We become a parent when a child is born, but that doesn’t make us a perfect parent. Single parents face many physical challenges that can impact their mental well-being.

We hope that you can try some of these methods listed above and find a self-care method that works best for you. Try to take it day by day as you grow together with your child.

References:

DaVanzo, J., & Rahman, M. O. (1993). American Families: Trends and Correlates. Population Index, 59(3), 350. https://doi.org/10.2307/3645248

Financial Help For Single Parents: Benefits, Grants & Programs. (2021, April 29). Debt.Org. https://www.debt.org/advice/financial-assistance-for-single-parents/

Hao, L. (1996). Family Structure, Private Transfers, and the Economic Well-Being of Families with Children. Social Forces, 75(1), 269. https://doi.org/10.2307/2580765

Kramer, S. (2019, December 12). U.S. has world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/12/u-s-children-more-likely-than-children-in-other-countries-to-live-with-just-one-parent/

Live a life of a single mother : Describe what the society is and will be. (2018). Journal of Nagoya Management Junior College, 59, 129–140. https://doi.org/10.14995/00000435

Stack, R. J., & Meredith, A. (2017). The Impact of Financial Hardship on Single Parents: An Exploration of the Journey From Social Distress to Seeking Help. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 39(2), 233–242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-017-9551-6

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3 Common Reasons of Negativity

According to a study at a university, there are 4 elements that create negative thinking: Regret and Shame, Negative Expressions, Lack of Confidence, and Criticism Towards Others. If we sum it up, the following 3 reasons are the most common triggers for negative thinking.

Severe Long-Term Stress

Stress can be a direct cause of negativity. When we mess up at work/school or can’t perform well, negativity takes over our minds, making less room for positivity to grow. If we surround ourselves with negative people, sometimes we end up being heavily influenced by them too.

Past Traumatic Experiences

Past trauma can impact us in many ways. A person full of optimism and positivity can suddenly change negatively due to shocking incidents. Some people can fall into a negative trap where they can’t believe in anyone after experiencing betrayal from someone they used to trust.

Hormonal Imbalance Due To Poor Lifstyle Choices

A neurological chemical called serotonin has to do a lot with our emotional control and stability. A lack of serotonin not only makes us less energetic, but it can also make us negative too. For your body to properly produce serotonin, a stress-free lifestyle with exercise, a healthy diet, and sunlight becomes crucial. If we can shift our lifestyle with healthier lifestyle habits that promote serotonin, that can push our minds back towards positivity.

3 Reasons Sleep Heals Negativity

Typically, if the cause of our problems is clear, we’d have to fix that first. However, causes such as past trauma or long-term stress cannot be fixed overnight and that can feel like a struggle. Therefore, we advise that you start easy with getting plenty of sleep. In this section, we’ll explain how sleep can heal negativity within our minds.

It Heals the Physical Body and Brain

The brain can rest and condition the body’s hormonal balance when it goes to sleep. A well-balanced hormonal function can fight negativity and build stress resilience towards the incoming negativity we experience.

The body needs to feel energized enough before we start exercising towards a healthy serotonin function. Sleep also helps our whole body restore itself. Without fundamental sleep, it’s hard to make the change we desire.

Leads To Better Lifstyle Habits

A structured sleeping schedule, sunlight, and a healthy diet all contribute towards getting rid of our negativity. A good night’s rest promotes serotonin secretion which helps us back to positivity. Good sleep also helps us stay efficient during the day. Most of us have pulled all-nighters during the weekday only to try and catch up on sleep during the weekends. We can start working on positivity today, just by starting off a healthy sleeping schedule.

Stops The Negativity Loop

Once we fall into a negativity loop our problems seem infinitely larger than what they are. We need to reset our minds so that we can shift gears towards positivity. To easily do this, we recommend sleep.

When we sleep, our thoughts are forced to shut down and we can leave from thinking so much. This gives us the capability to look at things more objectively and calmly when we wake up.

If you have a hard time sleeping, an AI app can help you sort your thoughts through too. Try the SELF MIND app for a FREE trial!
If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

Sleep Well for a Healthy Mind and Body

Good sleep nourishes our brain and body while it puts our negative thinking on hold. It’s a necessary step for proper serotonin secretion and the key to stopping the negativity. Next time you feel negative and down, stop what you’re doing and go to bed.

Reference：

Akutsu, Y., Odajima, H., & Miya, S. (2008). Changes of positive and negative affect by a stress task. The Annual Report of the Faculty of Education, Iwate University, 68, 1–8. https://iss.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000002-I000000001712-00

Konishi, M., & Yoshida, A. (2011). Life style and environment that influence serotonin secretion. Journal of Osaka Kawasaki Rehabilitation University, 5, 1–20. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/120006866960

Shiraishi, S., Soma, H., & Shimazu, N. (2016). Characteristics of Japanese automatic thoughts in negative situations. Utsunomiya University Repository, 66(1), 3–12. http://hdl.handle.net/10241/10240

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Why Do Some Mom Friendships Feel Stressful?

If you’re feeling stress or anxiety, it’s important that you identify the root cause of it. In this post, we will look at a university study case where they looked into the reasons why people feel stress or anxiety from mom friendships.

A Tendency to Focus On Rumors and Negativity

The social circles of a mom can be relatively small, and rumors can easily get around. Stay-at-home moms can already feel pretty restricted when they’re mostly tied down taking care of family necessities. This creates an environment where stress can easily fester. Mom friendships allow for moms to relate to each other’s stress where they can vent about their daily stress whether it be about family dynamics or parenting.

Of course, there is no problem if you don’t mind listening to gossip and venting about personal problems. However, a university study shows that most people feel stress from these topics.

There are people that like to go around detailing the issues of another person’s household. This creates the fear that you might be targeted one day as a focus for gossip, causing a lot of underlying stress.

Disagreeing With Personal Values and Parenting Styles

You won’t always 100% agree with other parenting styles. You may feel the urge to distance from other parents that can’t or won’t discipline their children, have bad morals, or are too strict. For example, if a parent never disciplines their child, you may fear the influence this may have over your own child, who will observe the behavior. There is also the concern of being grouped in as the “same” with parents that you don’t agree with.

Feeling a Divide Because of Financial Differences

You may feel anxiety from financial differences within a group of moms. It could be from a casual conversation, a birthday party, what school they could afford for their child to attend, or simply just what they wear. Financial differences can cause a feeling of insignificance or general anxiety for what the future holds.

Some moms may have difficulty feeling connected with other moms that are too different in financial values.

How to Deal With Stressful Mom Relationships

Once you’ve established a relationship and social circle, it can be hard to cut ties. Try the following ways to see if you can lighten the stress.

1. Keep A Healthy Distance

If you’re involved in a mom group, cutting ties from the group without warning may not be the best idea. It may make things difficult if a group of moms deems you “unfit for social interactions,” or if you’re in a small community, it can lead to bad rumors and other troubles.

If there are moms that you don’t get along with, we recommend that you create a healthy enough distance by taking note of the points below:

・Always say “Hi”
・If a mom that you dislike talks to you, give a few light friendly responses and then leave
・Don’t agree or disagree with the rumors they spread
・Try not to share anything about your private struggles

2. Find a Hobby to Focus On

Indulging in hobbies has 2 beneficial aspects.

First, you can temporarily escape from the situation that is posing stress. Most of us have experienced situations where we feel gloomy all day from an incident that happened early in the day. Hobbies allow for our attention to steer away from the stress and focus on something that is beneficial for our minds.

Secondly, hobbies create room for new relationships and communities. Let’s say you took walking as a hobby. You may find people who walk the same path every day as you do and become friends with them. A community besides a local mom group will allow room for you to speak your mind freely and gain different perspectives on what they think of your situation.

If you’re a mom with a tight schedule, we recommend simple exercises and reading, something you can work on indoors or outdoors alone. If you’re feeling constrained within a mom group community, you should try indulging in hobbies.

3. Write Down What Stresses You Out

We recommend that you write down your feelings on a piece of paper before you go and vent to other moms and potentially start unwanted rumors.

A Spanish University conducted an experiment and came up with a method called the “Negativity Trash Can.” You write out what you’re feeling onto a piece of paper and then tear it away into the trash. It seems like a menial act but it can reduce stress instantly without any external help.

The Negativity Trash Can method details can be found at the link below.

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Stay Smart in the Way You Handle Mom Friendships

Many mothers that have a hard time socializing with mom groups all struggle through similar stress. We hope that you try some of the tips on this post and find a stress-reducing method that works best for you so that you can create healthy relationships with other moms.

Reference:

Nakayama, M., & Ikeda, Y. (2014). The Relationship between Interpersonal Conflicts and Personality Traits in Friendship between Mothers Rearing Little Children. The Japanese Journal of Personality, 22(3), 285–288. https://doi.org/10.2132/personality.22.285

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Reasons Why Mid-Management Positions Are Stressful

Mid-management positions face more stress from multiple directions and this can cause their mental health to deteriorate. Here are a few reasons why this happens.

You Feel Trapped Between Your Boss and Subordinates

As the word “mid” suggests, mid-management positions work through constantly feeling sandwiched between their boss and subordinates. Oftentimes, tasks under this condition can feel unpleasant.

For example, even if you visioned a great working environment for your subordinates that considered their mental well-being if the boss only valued productivity, you can’t direct a working environment that’s best for the workers. This kind of contradiction can create a lot of stress.

Your Position Requires Long Work Hours

Mid-managing positions like a general manager often require a person to multi-task several roles while managing a team. They’ve already made it up to this position by proving their worth, and they may have high standards to start off with. Work hours can extend incredibly long hours while they try to meet their own tasks and take care of subordinates at the same time. This kind of environment causes difficulties when it comes to mental health.

A university study concluded that when a person in a mid-management position worked for more than 10 hours a day, they felt 2.4 to 3 times more stress compared to an average worker with the same hours. Long work hours can cause all sorts of trouble in terms of lifestyle and sleep quality.

There Are Fewer People You Can Talk To

When a person enters a managing position, there are fewer people they can talk to. Their position makes it difficult to casually complain or talk to anyone (boss or subordinates) about work difficulties.

Many people who struggle through stress find it helpful when they can talk to someone. A person can start feeling mentally unwell when they feel like there is nowhere to turn to.

The Pressure Between Work and Family

By the time we reach a management position, some of us may also be managing our own families. A study from the University of Georgia concludes that quality time with family has benefits on the job for managers. There is a known link between great leadership and positive family interaction.

However, it can be difficult to balance quality time with family when the boss doesn’t understand the importance of family commitments, or the demands of the team never seem to end. As a manager, we naturally try to step up to the position, but sometimes the demands of the family and work conflict in a way that creates more stress.

5 Things To Try for Mid-Management Stress

If you’re under a lot of mid-management stress, the following activities may help you.

1. Seek Professional Help

If you struggle sharing your difficulties, we recommend that you seek professional help. Middle managers are known to carry a lot of stress. A professional therapist or counselor can be helpful in figuring out the core of your problems to improve your mental health.

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2. Make Friends Outside of Work

It’s important to build relationships at work so that things go smoothly, but there’s a downside to this. If we only strengthening work relationships, our headspace can never escape the work environment. Therefore, we recommend making friends and joining communities outside of work.

It can be anything like a study or hobby group. A place where you can be yourself and have friends to talk to will help take away stress and improve your overall mental well-being. At the same time, if you could find friends in similar mid-management positions, there are opportunities to share and grow together.

3. Talk to Your Boss

We recommend that you try and talk to your boss if things are really tough. There’s a possibility that your skills and capabilities have nothing to do with the problems presented. It could be because there are not enough people on the team, or it could be a corporate structural issue. A talk with the boss can improve and change the working environment for the better of everyone.

Most likely, your boss has experienced a similar position as you. They could provide personal advice and insight for you to improve. Stop worrying about the negative consequences of speaking to your boss and try to seek advice with an open mind.

4. Understand That You Don’t Have to Be Perfect

Just because you’re in a management position doesn’t mean you have to be perfect. Instead of feeling overwhelmed with self-guilt, understand that there are strengths and weaknesses in everyone.

Skills and experience will grow as you go. Perfectionism can be harmful to your mental well-being. Recognize your strengths and weaknesses and don’t be too harsh on yourself.

5. Read Books That Inspire You

There are many business books that dabble on the topic of middle management. These books are an excellent way to gain insight into how to overcome some of the common challenges.

It doesn’t even have to be business books. Reading provides a temporary distance from our anxieties. It allows us to absorb knowledge and provides great comfort when we can’t fall asleep because of stress.

Embrace Your Career with Optimism

If you want to keep advancing in your career, there’s no way around going through a mid-management position. This position can get to you mentally if you’re not caring enough for your own mental health.

We hope that you can learn how to embrace this mid-management position as a stepping stone, and can hold an optimistic outlook on the career path you’re on!

References:

MARUYAMA, S., KOHNO, K., & MORIMOTO, K. (1995). A Study of Preventive Medicine in Relation to Mental Health among Middle-management Employees (Part 2). Effects of Long Working Hours on Lifestyles, Perceived Stress and Working-life Satisfaction among White-collar Middle-management Employees. Nippon Eiseigaku Zasshi (Japanese Journal of Hygiene), 50(4), 849–860. https://doi.org/10.1265/jjh.50.849

O’Connell, B. (2021, March 9). How Your Family Life Might Make You a Better Manager. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/people-managers/pages/managing-workers-like-family-.aspx

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Causes and Influences of Eating Disorders

An eating disorder, as the word implies, is a condition where there is trouble present in the way a person consumes food. There’s Bulimia, in which a person overeats before forcefully making themselves throw up, and Anorexia, in which a person barely eats and overexercises, and may even throw up the minimal food that they try to consume.

Bulimia: Extreme Stress and Pressure

Many of us feel happy when we eat delicious foods. Studies show that people gain high amounts of happiness from satisfying meals. Furthermore, it is said that the meals we eat have a direct impact on our mental state.

Bulimia is oftentimes triggered by holding onto mental stress. High-demand environments in school or work can cause high amounts of stress that leads to people overeating excessively. A person finds stress relief through eating, then feels guilty afterward and feels more stressed which urges them to eat more again. This is the perpetual negative cycle a bulimic can fall into.

Anorexia: Self-Hate and Extreme Desire for Weight Loss

People who have negative body images are more prone to anorexia. A belief that others would view them positively if they were thinner or an experience where they were made fun of for being fat will push them toward self-hate. This is thought to be the stem root of why people become anorexic.

However, sometimes anorexia is much more complicated than that and is hard to treat. We recommend anyone with possible anorexia to go seek professional help.

Anorexia causes both mental and physical pain. In terms of physical, the lack of nutrients causes insomnia, low body temperature, dizziness, dry skin, loss of hair, and menstrual cycle irregularities. In terms of mental, a person can become short-tempered due to hormone imbalances, experience poor concentration, and memory. Anorexics also constantly tire themselves out from the fear of gaining any weight. There is no benefit to anorexia and it should be treated immediately.

Easy Preventative Measures We Can Start From Today

Eating disorders are hard to overcome once it happens, so the best way to prevent it is by incorporating preventative measures within your daily activities. Bulimia and anorexia both have mental strain as a common trigger, so it’s important that we strive for minimal stress every day to prevent it.

1. Make Exercise Your Hobby

Exercise is an excellent way to prevent eating disorders. It’s a healthy way to control weight and health for anorexics and a great stress reliever for bulimics.

As for the ideal exercise, cardio like walking, running, and swimming are great as you can keep at it at your own pace. If it’s possible to habituate, team exercises like soccer and baseball are wonderful choices as well.

Find an exercise that you can enjoy with moderate strain. The best is if you could find an exercise that becomes your hobby as well.

2. Enjoy Meals with Your Family

There are 2 reasons why family meals can help prevent eating disorders.

First, a person can compare the amount they eat with others around them. People with eating disorders don’t eat enough or overeat. One of the reasons for this is that they have a hard time understanding standard portion sizes. By eating meals with family, they can observe how much other people eat and understand portions. This could prevent them from steering off into unhealthy beliefs and irregular portions.

Secondly, it changes the way they enjoy food. The focus on food causes extreme portions, ultimately leading to eating disorders. There’s no problem in enjoying the food, but if the focus can shift to the enjoyment of the time spent with others, it can take away their focus on food.

３. Talk About Your Struggles to Others

Eating disorders are believed to be triggered by some sort of mental strain they experience. Therefore, it’s important that we are letting go of our stress constantly through talking to others. Whether it’s family, friends, co-workers, or a therapist, sharing our struggles with someone can be very helpful. Just verbalizing the experience can alleviate a lot of the stress, so we recommend that you talk to someone before the stress snowballs into something bigger.

Looking to improve your mental wellbeing? Try the SELF MIND app FREE for 1 week!
If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

Face Yourself to Overcome Eating Disorders

Eating disorders don’t really have an easy fix to them. It’s difficult to completely cure it once it occurs, so preventative measures are essential. We hope that everyone who reads this chooses to live an authentic and healthy life where they don’t feel the need to judge themselves through the numbers on a scale.

References：

Maekawa, H. (2009). Female Eating Disorders and Attachment to Weight & Body Shape -Individual Differences from Multiple Perspectives. Keio University. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/145731819.pdf

Okamoto, M., & Muto, K. (2011). The factor to give the feeling of satisfaction of the meal of the college women. Nagasaki International University Review, 11, 105–117. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/120005578664

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How Stress Affects Your Eyes

As the saying “the eyes are the window to the soul” implies, there have always been speculations about the connection between the eye and our minds. It’s believed that stress causes the eye to either rapidly move or tense up.

Feeling Dizzy

According to one study targeting university students, when students were asked to do quick calculations continually, their eye movements increased in horizontal movement. This could imply that when we are concentrating on a fixed situation, we actually do feel dizzy. Rapid eye movement requires eye muscle activity, which in turn can strain the eyes.

Tense Eyes

The autonomic nervous system in our body greatly impacts our mental wellbeing. The sympathetic division keeps us active, preparing for fight or flight reactions, while the parasympathetic division restores the body to a state of calm. Our mental balance is sustained through these two divisions working in harmony. An off-balance state of an autonomic nervous system will affect the mental and physical in some way.

Continual long hours of work keeps the sympathetic nerves active over a long period of time. This creates a tense and nervous body.

It’s not rare to find ourselves staring into our smartphones or TV when we’re feeling down, yet we need to rest our eyes if they feel tense. Tense eyes are a sign of low blood circulation and this can lead to the eyes feeling more strained.

Looking for something that helps with stress? Try the SELF MIND app for a FREE trial!!
If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

How to Recover From Eye Strain

Whether the cause is mental or physical, the best way to fix eye strain is to relax and not use the eyes. Reading a book or watching TV can be relaxing, but we recommend the following activities for eye strain issues:

1. Rest The Eyes

First and foremost, rest your eyes. Rest gives the strained eyes the ability to recover.

You can do this by getting adequate sleep at night. Sleep allows the eyes to physically rest while letting the parasympathetic nervous system work for the body to restore itself. Even if a huge load of stress disrupts our whole nervous system, sleeping should help recover both the mind and body.

Another method to try is limiting the usage of smartphones and TV. Screens on electronic devices emit “blue light” known to keep our eyes in hyper-focus while disrupting the body from going into a deep sleep state. It’s impossible to completely cut usage of electronic devices, but we can ease the harmful effects by limiting electronics one hour before bed or by using glasses that cut out the blue UV rays.

2. Look Far Away

Looking far out into the distance helps the eye muscles relax. If you’re constantly looking at a screen for work, make sure to look out the window from time to time. Some urban environments make it difficult to access long distant views, but just looking afar while walking will help with eye strain. A relaxing walk can help uplift our moods too!

3. Eye Hydration

Dry eyes can cause eye strain. When eye muscle movement becomes strenuous, our eyes become dry and strained. An easy way to fix this is by hydrating the eyes with eye drops or pressing pressure points around the eyes.

Other methods to try:

• Set computer screens lower than eye level – looking down makes it easier for the eyes to blink which helps with eye hydration
• Use a humidifier in the room and set the humidity to 60%
• Try conscious blinking throughout the day – we forget to blink when we’re focused
• Drink lots of water and keep the body hydrated
• Watch movies or read books that make you cry

You don’t have to make drastic changes to hydrate your eyes. Small conscious changes can make a big difference.

Fixing Strained Eyes Fixes Other Issues

If your eyes feel strained, it could be because of your mental state. Our physical and mental response to any given situation can be complex, so fixing a simple eye strain issue can lead to solving other issues surrounding us.
If our eyes are the window to the soul, let’s make sure we keep them healthy to reflect our beautiful souls!

References:

MATSUDA, N., OKADA, A., & YAMASHITA, K. (2007). Visual Task and Mental Load Influence on Eye Movement. The Japanese Journal of Ergonomics, 43, 334–335. https://doi.org/10.5100/jje.43.2Supplement_334

Tamura, A., & Ostuka, H. (1989). Urban Greenery and It’s Effects on Mental Wellbeing. Technical Report on Noise Pollution, 13(5), 12–16. https://doi.org/10.11372/souonseigyo1977.13.252

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