January 25, 2017
By Andrea Martin, PhD, Psychologist
One of our aims at Connecte is to bring psychology to the average person by making research findings more accessible (not to mention more interesting, inspiring and fun!). Psychology truly is fascinating, and as the study of how our mind works and how it connects to our body and everything around us, we feel it’s important to share this precious information to help empower people and give them tools to lead happier and more fulfilling lives. Many people don’t have time (or the interest, we are fully aware that not everyone enjoys reading articles in scientific journals- LOL!) to sift through the scientific literature on how to improve one’s health and well-being. With our solid research backgrounds, keen curiosity and experiences in clinical, social, health, community and positive psychology, our aim is to cut through the hype that’s out there and bring the best scientific based findings to you. One way we hope to do this is through our “Daily Mental Health Tips” shared on Instagram.
In October 2016, we began sharing a daily post including a picture accompanied by a short description including an action tip on something you can do to help improve your general well-being and mental health. In our society, there is so much emphasis placed on the importance of caring for our physical health, which we agree is important, yet, we see health and well-being as something that includes both physical AND mental health. There has been more in the media about the importance of mental health, but, unfortunately there is still a lot of stigma surrounding mental health and mental illness, and in general, people aren’t always well informed on how to promote their mental well-being. This is something we are passionate about helping people with! We believe that both physical and mental health are important to our functioning and for living a fulfilling and satisfying life. Like physical health, mental health can be strengthened through daily practice. Through our daily mental health boost project (and other exciting projects- stay tuned!), we hope to share information on simple ways to improve your well-being and achieve a more balanced life.
We hope to share ideas on things we can all easily incorporate into our busy lives to help improve our mood and care for our well-being. So often we hear clients say things such as “I don’t have time to exercise, I have too much work” or “When I’m done school, I can take time to focus on exercise and eating better” “I want to work hard to get that promotion, and then I can take some time to spend with my family”, etc. We get that life is busy and that between obligations such as school or work and time for family and friends, etc., it can be tough to find time for your own self-care. Our hope is that these posts will inspire and empower you to make small changes that are quite simple to implement, yet, will have a positive impact on your health and well-being. It’s amazing the impact small changes such as incorporating mindfulness into your day or creating a gratitude practice can have on helping achieve greater balance and ultimately living a more satisfying and fulfilling life.
We hope you will join us on this journey to develop greater resilience, mental strength and overall well-being. Please check out some of our latest posts (see below!) on Instagram for quick and easy tips on how you can improve your mental strength and overall well-being. While you’re there, why not share your ideas and help empower others with your own strategies you use to practice self-care or improve your well-being? Let’s lift each other up and support each other by sharing strategies with others! In doing so, we can create a community to promote well-being, self-care and mental wealth. Just think, simply sharing ideas is a way to give back to others and spread kindness which has been found in recent studies to have a positive impact on mental health. Helping others can also help you to create a sense of purpose, increase feelings of connection to others and can bring a sense of satisfaction. Please share your pictures and hashtag #connectepsychology and #dailymentalhealthboost. We can’t wait for you to check out our posts and see what you think of these strategies and look forward to hearing about your strategies too!
CHECK OUT SOME OF OUR FAVORITE DAILY MENTAL HEALTH BOOST POSTS @CONNECTEPSYCHOLOGY ON INSTAGRAM
Nature has a positive impact on our mental health!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BN2jUs6giYR/?utm_source=ig_embed
A revised holiday to-do list: let’s ditch the typical “shoulds”!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOWC3ZUAPDR/?utm_source=ig_embed
Drawing is a mindful activity that can help you feel more relaxed!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNf12VQgyqr/?utm_source=ig_embed
Connecte’s Podcast is up on iTunes!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPdigZIA8bc/?utm_source=ig_embed
Trying to change the way we think about a situation can help us change how we feel about it!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOI75h4Anfs/?utm_source=ig_embed
