How and Why to Take a Break From the News
Why and How to Take a Break From the News
The world is "on fire" and so are our central nervous systems. Breaks help.
Posted January 13, 2021
This week, in America, and around the world, our ability to focus, be present to our daily lives, and stay emotionally regulated is at great risk. Historic events are unfolding before our eyes and critically important news stories are constantly evolving. The resulting state of high alert is taking a massive toll on our collective and individual well being.
If we are to move through the next week with any sense of agency and groundedness, it is imperative that we do some thinking about the way in which we will (or will not) engage media. Our near-constant connection to our devices has always come with certain benefits and costs to our well being. This particular time in history provides a uniquely tricky challenge in balancing these. Yes, we must be informed. We must also, however, tend to our own physical and mental health, both of which are impacted by the sensational way in which history is playing out.
In order to care for ourselves well, we would benefit from considering our media intake and making a plan for taking breaks throughout this week. Here are some ideas to that end:
1. Establish a self-check norm and set limits on access to media. Our constant awareness of evolving and provocative current events, along with our immediate access to information, leaves us unable to be fully present to ourselves and the situations we are physically in. The knowledge that something new and frightening/angering/exciting/traumatic could occur at any moment puts us and our bodies on high alert and in fight, flight, freeze, or faint mode.
Creating a habit of checking in with ourselves before accessing news sources can go a long way toward maintaining a sense of emotional balance. If we feel we must access the news, making a commitment to identify our emotional state, and taking at least one action to address it before doing so can help.
If we are already anxious or feeling distressed, taking three or four deep breaths and naming at least one thing we are grateful for before tuning in would go a long way toward approaching the news from a place of grounding.
Similarly, as we step away from checking current events, asking ourselves if there are big feelings we need to address (or exhale away to be addressed later) can help.
Practically, deleting news and social media apps from our phones and committing to only using them on a desktop or tablet can help limit unconscious news checking and doom scrolling. Pre-choosing specific times to check the news each day is also a good strategy. If we find ourselves tempted to seek out information between these times, it would help us to find something appealing or soothing to engage outside of the digital domain (number 4 below will help with this).
2. Set specific times to take breaks and stick to them. We can set alarms or ask friends to hold us accountable. Letting people who may reach out to us during our breaks know that we won’t be responding would be a good idea. It’s important to do everything in our power to set ourselves up for success. The reward will be a greater sense of agency and grounding in our day.
3. At least once a day, commit to stepping away from all media. It’s easy to think that only current events and news stories can stress us. The reality is, however, that social media use is not only correlated with a higher incidence of anxiety and depression but that it can also cause both. To step away from the news and into social media just means a switch in the kind of potential distress we expose ourselves to. If relational connection is what we need during our time away from the news, consider a phone call to a trusted friend, agreeing not to discuss current events, rather than mindless scrolling through social media.
4. Find, invest in, and have on hand things/ideas/activities to engage with when stepping away from media. Put a jump rope or balance board where they are easy to engage or leave a bowl of Legos or Kinetic Sand on the coffee table. There are plenty of high-quality manipulative games and skill toys available at our local toy or hobby stores and they are not just for children. These offer something for our hands and mind to engage while we’re doing the hard work of stepping away from our devices.
A few of my favorites are Perplexus Maze Balls, Rush Hour, Number Tile Scramble Games, Yo-Yos, Kendamas, and Luna Sticks. Learning a simple origami technique or doing a brain dump, writing down everything in our minds for five minutes without stopping, might also be good activities to try. For ultimate impact, get outside or near an open window during the break and move. Fresh air and movement help calm the central nervous system which is on high alert during times of cultural distress.
5. Get perspective. The news is going to be constantly changing in the next few weeks. Taking 30 minutes away from all updates and devices may mean we miss something but it doesn’t, necessarily, put us at risk. In fact, consistent times away from media will actually help us be able to synthesize new information (when we return) and give us the resources we need to stay emotionally regulated while doing so.
If you are a member of a vulnerable population it’s likely that you feel a heightened need to be informed of changes in national or local events almost immediately. This makes sense. If this is the case for you, consider forming a “pod” of people with whom you can share responsibility for knowing and sharing current events. For instance, if there are three other people who share your vulnerabilities, you might consider making a schedule where each of you covers a certain period of the day “on call,” promising to inform others of any pressing changes while they take time away from the news media. This time away is crucial for maintaining health in these trying times.
Be Kind To Your Mind
Family dynamics can lift you up (or drag you down)
December 10, 2021 - 19 MIN READ
For many of us, family is one of the most important aspects of our lives. Whether biological or chosen, it’s our family members that we rely on for support.
But like all relationships, there are dynamics at play.
Our family dynamics can significantly impact our mental health in both positive and negative ways. Because of this, it’s important to understand how your own family dynamics have shaped you.
Let’s explore some examples of healthy and less-healthy family dynamics (even toxic ones). Then, we’ll discuss how you can work on building positive family dynamics.
What are family dynamics?
Family dynamics are the patterns of interactions between family members. These include roles, hierarchies, and communication between family members. Family dynamics are how members of a family interact with each other in relation to their individual goals and preferences.
Our family dynamics can strongly influence how we see ourselves, others, and the world around us. Plus, they influence our behaviors, well-being, and work relationships. Our families are where we first learn to relate to others.
But family isn't destiny. Once we become aware of how our family influences us, we can have more control over whether those dynamics shape our perceptions and actions.
The dynamics in our families aren't limited to current, living generations. They also include previous generations, as we still feel the effects of some of their traditions, structures, and habits.
To better understand the meaning of family dynamics, we need to dig a little deeper. Various factors influence our family dynamics, including:
Family members’ ages
Family members’ personalities
The relationship between the parents of a family
A parent who is relaxed or strict
An absent parent
Intergenerational homes
The job requirements of working parents
A family member with a disability or chronic illness
Issues such as substance use or abusive relationships
Parent and grandparent family dynamics
Events such as divorce, affairs, trauma, grief, or unemployment and resulting job search depression
Secure or insecure family attachments
Culture, ethnicity, and family values about gender roles and responsibilities
Family members’ power or status
Type and level of influence from family members
6 types of family dynamics
Various types of dynamics are present within each family system. They dictate how a family functions and the power roles parents and siblings play.
Let’s take a closer look at six types of family dynamics:
1. Authoritarian
Authoritarian dynamics can be summed up as being all about following the rules without any exceptions. In this family dynamic, one family member is very controlling. They expect others to follow them without negotiation or questioning.
Other family members aren’t allowed to be involved in solving challenges and problems or to share their opinions. Failure to adhere to the rules is usually met with punishment rather than constructive feedback.
For example, the head of the household sets the rules for when everyone in the family must be home for dinner. If anyone is late, they are met with aggression and punishment.
2. Authoritative
Authoritative dynamics also involve rules and consequences, but not in the same way as authoritarian dynamics. One individual sets the rules while validating other family members’ feelings and respecting their opinions.
The authoritative family member stays in charge. They use positive discipline such as reward systems and praise to reinforce good behavior. They don't use threatening punishment for disobeying the rules.
Let’s look at an example of a nuclear family with an authoritative family dynamic. The parents set clear household rules for their children, and explain the reasons behind their rules. Rather than saying, “Eat your vegetables because I said so,” they say, “Eat your vegetables so you can help your body and your brain grow.”
3. Competitive
With competitive family dynamics, family members are continuously competing with one another. There is a sense of rivalry within the household, as members try to outshine their relatives. This competition could be for many things, such as attention, recognition, or power.
Competitive dynamics can take place between siblings when parents encourage their children to challenge each other. Another example is spouses competing over their professional achievements, whether that’s promotions, raises, or who has the highest salary.
4. Uninvolved
When uninvolved dynamics are present, family members aren’t present to one another, even when they’re in the same room. Individuals don’t really know what the other members of the family are doing. There is often a lack of support and guidance.
As an example, one person in a marriage may be totally disinterested in their spouse’s life. Rather than asking their partner how their day was or supporting them in times of need, they are dismissive and neglectful.
5. Communal
The presence of communal dynamics emphasizes the family as a community in which every member makes a contribution. Individual opinions are respected, and all voices are heard.
In a communal family structure, tasks are shared, and everyone helps set rules and solve problems and challenges. All family members are encouraged to actively participate in making decisions and setting rules.
6. Alliance-based
Alliance-based dynamics lead to members of the family grouping together and playing off each other. Certain family members form alliances in order to gain leverage over other members of the family. They agree to work together for mutual interest. This agreement can be explicit or implied.
For example, in a step family, biological siblings may form alliances against their step-siblings. Or a child may form an alliance with one parent and pit them against the other parent or their siblings.
Family dynamics and self-awareness
The family dynamics of our childhood, as well as our current family dynamics, can impact our behavior, relationships, and work. One of the reasons for this is that those dynamics can trigger various emotions. In some cases, it can lead to emotional labor.
Those emotions can also be triggered if we find ourselves in situations with similar dynamics to what we experience in our family units. Self-awareness is a key element in understanding how our family roles impact us and our work. Many of us are unaware of how those dynamics affect our emotional well-being.
Writing for Harvard Business Review, Roger Jones explained that early family life can affect leaders in various ways.
For example, those early dynamics can affect leaders’ reactions to team members who vie for attention. It can also impact their relationships with people who report to them and how they respond to pressure.
Sometimes, we subconsciously redirect our feelings from childhood onto someone years later. This is known as transference, and it can be positive or negative. For example, a manager or supervisor may remind a team member of a parental figure. The team member is likely to respond to the manager in the same way they responded to their parents.
A lack of self-awareness makes it difficult to recognize and respond to the impact of family dynamics. Jones writes that some people who are vaguely aware of their issues might consider them as personality traits they cannot change. Others might ignore their issues completely because they are afraid of looking weak.
Self-awareness offers insights into how our family influences our styles of communication and relationships. When we recognize the impact of our family dynamics on our behavior, we can work at changing traits we thought of as unchangeable.
Our own self-awareness can also help us recognize when our team members and managers are acting out their own family dynamics. This can change and improve the way our teams and we perform.
You can't always change your family dynamics, as they were in the past. But you can work with professional support to understand how they affected you. From here, you can reframe how you understand and interpret them in the present.
You also can't change other family members and how they act. But you can alter family dynamics by addressing your own role in your close family and choosing different behaviors or responses. You have individual agency to move forward and make empowering decisions.
Examples of healthy family dynamics
Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common characteristics of healthy family dynamics:
Open communication
Each member of the family should be encouraged to speak for themselves, rather than there being one person whose word is the law. There should be open communication rather than one person acting as an interpreter or message carrier.
Emotional support
Emotional support is when everyone is allowed to communicate their anxieties, fears, and sorrows. Emotional support also enhances each family member’s ability to care for themselves.
For example, a child who is being bullied at school feels comfortable enough to tell their family what is happening. Or an individual who has just been laid off feels comfortable asking their partner for help in looking for a new job.
Shared responsibility and authority
Shared responsibility and authority mean one or both parents aren’t responsible for everything. They also are not the only ones involved in making decisions.
The hallmarks of shared power and responsibility include respect and inclusivity. It also means creating opportunities for children or other family members to lead.
For example, parents ask their children for input when discussing the chores list or the destination for the next family vacation. Or both husband and wife share the responsibility of preparing the house for Christmas so as to avoid holiday stress.
Balance between work and family
A lack of balance between work and family can be a source of conflict within the family and at work. Greater balance between the two can diminish conflict and lead to healthy relationships in both areas.
For example, one of the parents in a nuclear family might spend too much time dealing with work responsibilities. Their partner and children may take on more responsibilities at home. This could lead to tension between the parents and children.
Expressing interest in each other’s lives
By taking an interest in each other’s lives, family members make each other feel valued and included.
For example, family members ask each other about their day when they eat dinner together, and they support each other’s important events. If a child is participating in a school play, all family members attend a show.
Providing support and discipline to children
This characteristic of healthy family dynamics sees parents taking an active role in the children’s lives. The key to this is to be loving, but also to provide a structure that supports the children’s well-being.
Parents should discipline children in a positive way by replacing punishments that frighten them with strategies that encourage better behavior. For example, instead of demanding them to brush their teeth, use encouraging language. “I know you don’t want to brush your teeth, but we can do it together.”
Shared respect
Allowing everyone to have a voice is an important part of family dynamics. In this family culture of mutual respect, constructive conflict is embraced.
If conflict does arise, family members work to resolve it rather than punishing those whose opinions differ.
Creating a safe, loving environment
A safe and loving environment is one in which parents set good examples, stay positive and display affection. These family dynamics help members nurture relationships and build strong human connections.
How to step back from toxic family dynamics
Some family dynamics are toxic and can deeply affect your emotional and mental well-being. Ways to step back from dysfunctional family dynamics include:
1. Setting boundaries in your family relationships
Some behaviors are not acceptable within a family. You need to set boundaries that let family members know which behaviors are not acceptable.
The key to setting boundaries is to be firm but kind. Listen to what your family members have to say, but seek to take care of yourself.
2. Expressing your concerns
Each family member should communicate their feelings about the family dynamics. They also should offer possible solutions. Everyone should be able to express their feelings without being criticized or interrupted by other members.
3. Practicing self-care
According to Laurel Daly, toxic family dynamics can place stress on you in various ways. Toxic family members may ignore your emotions, insult you, or gossip about you.
The negative effect on your self-esteem could lead to you forgetting about self-care. One element of a self-care plan is taking time out for yourself, so you can do things that make you feel good about yourself. Another element of self-care is to identify and deal with toxic family members.
4. Seeking professional help
Dealing with toxic family dynamics isn’t easy. You may experience feelings of guilt or shame. Or you may avoid dealing with confronting members of your family in an effort to keep the peace.
You might not know where to begin. Seeking professional help from a counselor or family therapist can provide you with the support you need to take those first steps. In this sense, seeking family therapy is a form of self-care.
5. Developing your emotional regulation skills
Toxic family dynamics can affect our emotional regulation skills. Reacting impulsively to emotions at work that mimic toxic family dynamics is one example.
Emotional regulation involves regulating your actions and responses triggered by emotions. You can develop your skills through self-awareness, mindful breathing, and self-compassion.
6. Determining the root of toxic behavior
Identifying toxic behaviors and communicating your concerns about them isn’t enough. You should try to determine the root of those behaviors, too. Some toxic behaviors that affect family dynamics exist because no one sets any boundaries.
Other behaviors may be a result of mental health concerns. Identifying the root of that behavior could lead to positive changes.
Understand your family dynamics
Positive or negative, your family dynamics and the way you grew up can affect your life in various ways.
If your childhood experience had toxic family dynamics, your overall well-being could suffer. Your behavior, relationships, and work performance can be affected as those dynamics resurface. If your experience was one of positive dynamics, the influence on your adult life should be positive.
For many of us, our family dynamics include both positive and negative elements. Understanding past and present family dynamics is an essential part of personal transformation.
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Practical Ways to Improve Your Confidence (and Why You Should)
Practical Ways to Improve Your Confidence (and Why You Should)
Self-confidence is just one element in a triad of things that make up our overall “confidence.” Here’s what you can do to boost yours.
By Eric Ravenscraft
June 3, 2019
Self-confidence is a bit like the running water in your house. You may not know every detail about how it works or where it comes from, but it’s painfully obvious when it’s not there. Like when your water is shut off, a dearth of self-confidence has a huge negative impact on your health and lifestyle. Fortunately, there are things you can do to shore it up.
What is confidence?
In everyday conversation, self-confidence is often confused with self-esteem, and it overlaps with the less well-known term “self-efficacy.” However, psychology gives each of these terms a specific definition. It’s helpful to distinguish among the three:
Self-Efficacy: This term, as defined by Albert Bandura, a Canadian-American psychologist, refers to your belief in your ability to accomplish specific tasks. If you believe you’re capable of cooking dinner or completing a project, this is reflective of high self-efficacy. People with low self-efficacy often put less effort into a task if they don’t believe they’ll succeed at it, increasing the likelihood of failure.
Self-Confidence: In contrast, according to Dr. Bandura, self-confidence is more of a general view of how likely you are to accomplish a goal, especially based on your past experience. When you practice playing piano, you increase your confidence in your ability to play the piano. This can also apply to how likely you believe you are to be accepted in a social group. If you’ve been made fun of for your underwater basket-weaving hobby, you might be less confident sharing it with others next time. Self-confidence and self-efficacy are both rooted in experience, but self-confidence reflects a broader view of yourself, rather than your confidence in specific tasks.
Self-Esteem: The term most often confused with self-confidence is the one perhaps least similar to it. Self-esteem refers to a belief in your overall worth. Broad statements like “I’m a good person” fall into this category. Self-esteem is one of the levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and improvements to self-confidence can contribute to your broader self-esteem.
These concepts overlap, and psychologists disagree about where the lines are between each one. You can have enough confidence to believe that you’re capable of learning how to play a new game, for example, while simultaneously lacking the self-efficacy to believe that you’ll be any good when you first start. Likewise, you can have zero confidence in your ability to cook while still believing you’re a good person and deserving of love.
High confidence leads to more chances to improve
Self-confidence is your belief in how good you are at something, but it’s not a measure of your actual skill. So why does it matter if you believe in yourself? According to Charlie Houpert, the author of “Charisma on Command” and the founder of a 2.7-million-subscriber YouTube channel of the same name, confidence doesn’t just make you feel better, it also helps you take risks to make tangible improvements to your life.
“Internally, true self-confidence will lead to more positivity, happiness and resilience,” Mr. Houpert said. “Externally, high self-confidence will lead to taking more risks, which directly correlates with reaping more rewards.”
The “Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology” puts it another way: “If the person lacks confidence, again there will be no action. That’s why a lack of confidence is sometimes referred to as ‘crippling doubt.’ Doubt can impair effort before the action begins or while it is ongoing.”
If you believe you can get your dream job if you apply, there’s a chance, however small, you might get it. If you don’t believe that you can get it, and you don’t apply, it’s guaranteed that you won’t. Self-confidence doesn’t magically make you better at what you do, but it does prime you to take the risks necessary to achieve your goals.
How you can improve your self-confidence
If building self-confidence is a matter of changing your beliefs about yourself, it’s going to take some work. You can say, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough and, doggone it, people like me” into the mirror every day — and it couldn’t hurt — but there are more practical, effective tools you can use, too.
Be ‘hyper honest’ with yourself
Mr. Houpert suggests being “hyper honest” with yourself as a simple, everyday way to exercise your confidence.
“For example, let’s say someone asks you what you do for fun or what you do for a living,” he said. “If you find yourself biting your tongue or hiding something, evaluate that. That’s an indication to either stop doing that thing or, more likely, accept that part of yourself and own it.”
This doesn’t mean you have to share every part of your personality with everyone you meet. You can share your geeky hobbies with your geeky friends but stick to work topics at work. However, you can find someone to share yourself with. “When you stop hiding parts of yourself from other people, you’ll find you feel more confident in who you are,” Mr. Houpert said.
Start working out
Many people start working out to lose weight or build muscle, but exercise can also be a huge boost to your self-confidence. The American Psychological Association has noted that exercise can improve your mood and — along with regular treatment and therapy — help combat depression and anxiety. It can also help improve your confidence if you stick with it for a while. Working out regularly requires a commitment, and keeping that commitment is an accomplishment. Not only does sticking to a new healthy habit make you feel more confident, but you can also spot physical improvements to your body and health over the long term.
Try things that make you uncomfortable
Stepping outside your comfort zone is, as you might expect, uncomfortable. Mr. Houpert said that’s the point.
“Confidence is ultimately about being comfortable in a wide variety of situations that would make most people feel uncomfortable,” he said. “So if you stretch your comfort zone every day, very quickly you’ll have a large comfort zone and be able to feel more comfortable even when outside of it.”
This can involve more daunting changes, like taking a new job or confronting someone you usually avoid. However, it can also take smaller forms, like striking up a conversation with someone new if you’re normally shy, or trying a new food. According to Mr. Houpert, it’s more important that you regularly expand your comfort zone rather than occasionally throwing yourself into the deep end.
Try a new look
How you dress can affect how other people perceive you, but it can also affect how you perceive yourself. Wearing different clothes can prompt you to think or behave differently. This effect isn’t just limited to feeling good about yourself. Dr. Adam D. Galinsky, a professor at Columbia Business School, found that participants in a study who wore a white lab coat exhibited more focused attention. In other words, when people dressed like a doctor, they behaved more like a doctor, or at least how they thought a doctor might behave. If you want to feel more confident, dress the way a confident version of yourself would.
Defy your impostor syndrome
Impostor syndrome is a nasty mental bug that convinces you that your accomplishments don’t really count and that you’re going to be found out as a fraud. This doubt can creep in because it’s easier to remember faults but more difficult to remember successes. Make a habit of periodically writing down or reflecting on times you’ve done things well. It’s easier to be confident in your abilities when you remember them.
Adjust your posture
Much like how you dress, the posture you adopt can affect how you feel about yourself. While it might feel a little silly at first (remember that tip about stepping outside your comfort zone), trying out powerful stances can help adjust your frame of mind. Research from Ohio State University suggests that something as simple sitting up straight can make you feel more confident in what you’re doing.
Avoid the arrogance trap
As you start to express yourself more confidently, it’s natural to worry about becoming arrogant in the process. However, according to Mr. Houpert, arrogance isn’t confidence run amok.
“Arrogance is more the result of insecurity than high self-confidence,” he said. “Confidence is self-satisfied while arrogance requires external validation to feel good. So you get people who brag to solicit the recognition of others. Someone with true self-confidence is capable of being assertive and standing up for themselves, but they’re unlikely to adopt a tone that others perceive as arrogant. Oddly enough, the best defense against arrogance is developing true self-confidence.”
If you start out doubting yourself, it will take time before you feel like you belong. In the interim, your own creeping doubt can try to tell you that feeling good about yourself or standing your ground is really arrogance. Recognizing that this is a symptom of insecurity — and that being aware of the symptom is its own form of inoculation against it — can help you push past it.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Dr. Adam Galinsky was a professor at the Kelogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He was, and was at the Kellogg School when the study referenced was published, but he has since joined the faculty at the Columbia Business School. That reference has been updated.
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Take a Work From Home Mental Health Pause
Whether you’ve been working from home throughout the pandemic or returned to the office only to be sent home once again, now is the perfect time for a work from home mental health pause.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly two full years since the COVID-19 pandemic first collided with our lives. Practically overnight, millions of U.S. employees were forced to rapidly transition to working from home — compared to just 6 percent of the workforce that worked remotely prior to the pandemic.
There was no “game plan”. It suddenly just was, and we had to adjust and adjust and adjust to find our own work plan. All our adjusting left us exhausted, a bit depressed, and mentally drained.
While the number of professionals teleworking continued to fall throughout 2021, the arrival of the omicron variant has thwarted many companies’ return-to-office plans, subsequently sending a substantial number of employees back to their homes.
THE PROS AND CONS OF WORKING FROM HOME
Let’s investigate the pros and cons of working from home, the hidden/or not so hidden side effects of working from home, the good habits and bad habits that remote workers can develop, and the critical role communication plays in maintaining your mental health while working from home.
There’s a reason why 61 percent of workers are willing to take a pay cut to continue working from home: there are a lot of advantages to remote work.
Pro:
No Commute: Not only do you no longer have to commute to an office, you also have more flexibility to organize your time in a way that best suits your work style.
Fewer Interruptions: Since nobody’s stopping by your desk to say hello, there are also fewer distractions and work can be done more effectively (unless, of course, you’re crammed into a house full of kids!).
Increased Productivity: In many cases, you’re also able to work when you’re most productive instead of being forced to work between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Con:
Unbalance Priorities: For many, it can be difficult to strike a good work-life balance, as work and home begin blending. For example, you might have a difficult time shutting down work at a certain time when it’s always within reach.
New Teammates: And, whoever thought you’d be working all day with your spouse or children so close by.
Video Fatigue: Exhaustion from Zoom or other teleconferencing is real. When we crave human interaction our video cameras provide a poor substitute, plus the pressure of “looking good” can be overwhelming.
And always working from home means you miss out on the perks of being in the office — like free coffee, meals, and mostly in-person interactions with your coworkers. Being the social creatures we are, not having these “simple” things can take a toll on our mental health.
The GoodTherapy registry might be helpful to you. We have thousands of therapists listed with us who would love to walk with you on your journey. Find the support you need today!
THE HIDDEN SIDE EFFECTS OF WORKING FROM HOME
For some people, working from home is the work solution they’ve been seeking, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for everyone.
For starters, it’s not uncommon for folks who work from home to feel profound isolation and loneliness, at least from time to time. Without opportunities to socialize with their coworkers, many remote workers can experience anxiety and depression — which can also lead to brain fog. If you experience any of these things, the best thing you can do for your mental health is to seek out a qualified therapist to help you – yep, that means you too guys!
The good news is that by developing good habits and systems and sticking to them, you can increase the chances you’re able to stay productive and enjoy working from home — whether that’s on a temporary or a permanent basis.
COMMIT TO SETTING GOOD HABITS
If you find yourself struggling to keep up your morale when you’re working from home, it might be because you’ve developed habits that are preventing you from supporting your work from home mental health.
If you suspect that might be true, do your best to develop these three habits and stick to them.
1. Take breaks on a regular basis
You might think that reaching peak productivity requires you to sit in front of your computer all day long, but you’d be wrong. Believe it or not, research suggests the opposite is true. By taking breaks on a regular basis, you can recharge your batteries and accomplish more every day. Best practices suggest taking 15-minute breaks every 90 minutes.
2. Set boundaries between work and home
If you’re the type of person who watches a movie with your work laptop within arms’ reach, your work-life balance is going to leave much to be desired.
To ensure you’re able to enjoy downtime and also give your work the full attention it deserves, set clear boundaries between your work and home life.
For example, you might set specific working hours and commit to shutting down completely at the end of the work day – no checking emails before bed.
If it is possible, since you may not have purchased your home with the intent of having to work from it, you should try to designate a dedicated working space so that it is easier to turn off the lights and shut the door and walk away at the end of your day.
3. Develop structure and stick to it
One of the main reasons people struggle to work from home productively is because they lack structure in their day. There’s an easy fix: Develop a routine that works for you and stick to it. For example, you might decide to get up at 7:30 a.m. every day no matter what, go for a light jog, eat breakfast, jump in the shower, and then hit your desk at 9.
There’s no right or wrong routine; find a structure that works for you and take it from there.
KEEP THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN
In addition to these habits, it’s also important to maintain open communication with those around you. After all, no one is going to know you’re struggling if they never see you and never hear what’s going through your mind.
With your employer
Have you ever had a conversation with your boss or HR team about how remote working is impacting your mental health? If you’re having a hard time working from home, your employer might not have any idea unless you share the information with them. By being open and honest with your employer, you increase the chances that they’ll provide you the support and resources you need to positively impact your work from home mental health.
With your family
Of course, working from home can also take a toll on your entire family. After all, home life changed for them, too. To make sure everyone is tracking in a good direction, it may be worth carving out some time to conduct a collective family mental health check to make sure everyone’s on the same page and that nobody is struggling in silence.
THE BOTTOM LINE
It’s been two years since consistent work from home became a thing. Now, it’s time to make sure that where you are mentally with the situation is a good place — and not just a place.
If you’re struggling to adapt to working from home, you may find that talking through your problems with a therapist makes all the difference in the world.
Do you feel that things have gotten away from you? GoodTherapy Recovery Treatment Centers provide addiction rehab. Use the GoodTherapy Recovery Treatment Centers directory to find help close to you.
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