I have always been bright and extrovert person growing up and so when I moved to Canada, I didn’t realize mental health can be an important thing. In India, I had many habits and hobbies that inadvertently helped me stay high strung. When I moved to Canada, my only focus was work and study and so I never paid attention to take time out for my hobbies. When I started struggling with mental health and home sickness, I realized I need to work on taking care of myself more. I always been proactive person, but I started procrastinating and had no energy to do anything some days and stayed in my bed not eating well and not communicating with anyone. My physical health also took a toll from all this mental health issues, and I gained 45lbs weight and got many health risks and started having panic attacks.
It took me some 2 years to realize how much I was falling, and I decided to take matters to my own hand and planned a system where I made to do lists for simplest tasks with the reward system to keep me motivated and moving. I started tracking my daily activities and by analyzing my monthly log I realized I needed to enroll some healthy habits and hobbies. I made a list of all the ideal morning and nighttime routines I wanted to incorporate in my lifestyle. I started writing daily journals where I would record my daily events, what I ate and how I feel. I started taking morning walks, yoga and meditation for at least 15 minutes in the morning.
I had insomnia and would rarely sleep. I tried late night exercise, reading novels and drinking chamomile tea but they didn’t work. Over the counter melatonin dose were also futile as I would barely sleep for 4 hours and wake up with anxiety and headaches. During this time, I researched a lot of methods and came across to a YouTube channel by Jason Stephenson – sleep meditation music who has unlimited playlists of Sleep meditation and sleep hypnosis, I decided to try this method and it worked like a charm. I ended up sleeping for 12 hours and felt relaxed and refreshed next day. I started sleeping as early as 9:30pm and waking up as early as 5:30am every day and I felt difference in my mood. I was more energetic and optimistic. I realized my productive hours are in the morning from 8am till 11am and so I should prioritize all important tasks during that time frame.
I started walking 10,000 steps in a trail nearby my house which was surrounded by trees and brought peace for my chaotic mind. Eating everyday turned into a healing experience where I started trying and learning new dishes and I was pleasantly surprised on my cooking skills. I didn’t lose lot of weight then and it was strenuous journey to lose weight but after 5 years of healing and prioritizing myself, I would proudly like to announce that I have lost 40lbs and defeated diabetes and live truly healthy lifestyle.
At this point, I am an advocate of healthy lifestyle and believe that if your mental health is as important or may be more important than physical health. I know it is hard to take care of mental health but start slowing and gradually add things that adds positively to your lifestyle. You should take 1 day out of the week where you relax and do whatever you feel like doing and probably do mental detox therapy.
I have attached some digital health trackers that I use on daily basis. These are downloadable links, and you can use it by printing them or just by itself as PDF file and see how it helps transform your lifestyle. I have many ways filling out these trackers but mainly I add simple stickers or emojis to show or fill the circles with distinct colours based on the tracker guide to record my activity. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will explain these trackers in more details. Also, there are many other types of trackers out there based on individual requirements.
