KEEP YOUR MIND CLEAR AND CALM THIS SPRING

Spring is the perfect season to pull on those rubber gloves and spruce up your home. But don’t stop at cleaning out the cupboards – it’s a good time to declutter your mind, too.

---

AIM FOR BALANCE
Decluttering your mind starts with recovering a sense of inner harmony, says Cape Town-based registered counsellor Suzanne Brooks. She advises drawing a pie chart divided into eight areas: sleep, a healthy diet, gratitude, exercise, time outdoors, relaxation, time with family and friends, and maintaining your faith.

‘Doing this exercise and then rating yourself is extremely useful because it immediately shows what is out of alignment in your life,’ she says. This way you can see where you need to put in the effort to bring life back into balance.

Related article: All about self-regulation and why it’s an important skill

BREATHE DEEPLY
Most of us think breathing is just a natural bodily function, but Brooks stresses that breathing correctly and deeply is important. ‘When we’re stressed, we tend to breathe shallowly from our chest,’ she explains. Brooks recommends an abdominal breathing technique that, when practised correctly, can improve mental clarity, reduce stress levels, boost your immune system and result in better digestion and sleep.

To do the abdominal breathing technique, lie on your back on a flat surface with your knees bent and your head supported. One hand should be placed on the upper chest and the other just below the rib cage. This will enable you to feel the movement of your diaphragm as you breathe. Slowly inhale through your nose, causing your stomach to move up and your hand to rise. Your hand should remain still. Next, tighten your stomach muscles, causing your stomach to descend as you exhale through pursed lips. Your hand should stay as still as possible on your upper chest.

Related article: Mind over matter

JOURNALING
A good way to organise your thoughts is to externalise them, says Brooks. ‘Journalling is a creative way to express your thoughts and work through difficult emotions,’ she says. She believes there are many benefits to journalling daily.

‘It enables you to identify and understand your thoughts, problems and needs. Some clients say it has helped them reduce stress, rewire their brains to think more positively and work through issues and losses.’



Use journalling to create a mental inventory of what’s important to you (for example, spending more time with your kids) and what activities or habits you need to ditch (binge-watching Netflix, for example). Then, revise your mental to-do list often to make sure you stay focused and on track to achieving your goals.

MINDFULNESS
Another great technique that Brooks recommends is mindfulness. ‘Mindfulness is to be fully present to what is going on in your life and to be cognisant of your thoughts, feelings and senses,’ she says. ‘Furthermore, it is the ability to resist being overwhelmed by what is going on externally.’

She practises a mindfulness technique using the five senses called 5-4-3-2-1, where you record five things in your environment using sight,

four things with hearing, three things you can feel, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste. ‘People tend to report feeling calmer and more peaceful after I guide them through this process.’

DECLUTTER YOUR HOME AND OFFICE SPACE
If the above mental techniques aren’t enough, it’s time to get physical and declutter your home and work environment.

‘I find that my external environment affects my mental clarity, so I would encourage a spot of spring cleaning. As well as clearing space around you, it has other benefits,’ suggests Brooks. ‘I often find there are things that I can give away,’ she says, ‘which has the added benefit of enhancing the lives of others, which in turn makes me feel happier and more grateful.’

Related article: 4 sports psychology tips to help you with everyday life