World Mental Health Day: 6 Actions to Maintain Balance During Pandemic

Recently, on Oct. 10, we observed World Mental Health Day. As you know, self-care became top-of-mind for me over the last several months. As the world focused on mental health, I shared six key actions I believe can help bring balance during the ongoing pandemic.

Some thought the pandemic wouldn’t last this long. Others are predicting it will last until 2025. Regardless, we need even more self-care to make it through, to ascend higher, and to help others.

Six Actions to Benefit Mental Health

1. Get a Good Night’s Sleep
2. Nourish Your Body
3. Exercise Regularly
4. Limit Screen Time
5. Engage with Others (and the World Around You)
6. Explore Nature

Getting 7-9 hours of sleep each day, listening to your body on timing to eat nutritious food, and dedicating yourself to regular exercise are the first areas of focus for self-care. These actions, I believe, will bring a noticeable sense of balance and harmony.

The next three action items place the focus squarely on ourselves. Studies show we spend an average of 4.2 hours per day in apps. The screen time works counter to finding personal balance and calmness.

Nearly everyone is suffering from fatigue with endless virtual meetings that fill our days and devices that pull us into our screens for hours on end. It’s important to unplug, minimize screen time, be more mindful of how long we’re on devices, and look up to engage with other people, nature, and things around us.

If a person feels anxiety over device separation, it’s important to talk to someone. Whether it’s a professional therapist or trusted friends, they can help us see a new perspective and rekindle healthy hobbies, such as a walk outdoors.

I learned firsthand growing up in Montana that spending time in nature is therapeutic. It’s obvious we are natural beings and while in such surroundings, we can almost feel ourselves uniting with nature. Look at this step as an escape, even for an hour, to fields and mountains, which can enrich our soul and quickly bring back balance and harmony.

Simple acts like these get us away from the crowds and allow us to spend solitude time to think and take personal inventory. That level of solitude time will likely become your favorite time of the week.

Learn More

Designed to help others find balance, my book, All the Right Reasons, reveals 12 principles for living a life in harmony. All proceeds benefit The USANA Foundation.

World Mental Health Day, first recognized in 1992, is an international day for global mental health education, awareness, and advocacy against social stigma. It’s led by the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization with members in more than 150 countries.

I shared these thoughts and more in a news release that went out on Oct. 10, 2021.