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3 ways to improve your mental health this year · feel your feelings with Ethan Jewell

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  It's a new year. As of recording this, the new
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  year started yesterday and around this time of year many
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  people, including myself, make resolutions and promises to
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  ourselves about how we can improve or change for the coming
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  year. However, I'm doing things a
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  little bit differently this year.
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  I'm making resolutions all about my mental health.
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  I'm making promises to myself of how I can improve my well-being
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  and overall be more mentally healthy for the next year.
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  So join me as I go over three of these resolutions and why I
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  encourage you to engage in them as well.
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  My name is Ethan Jewell and welcome back to feel Your
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  Feelings. If you regularly listen to this
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  podcast, you'll have noticed that I haven't posted an episode
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  in just under a month. The reason for that is I decided
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  to take some time off during the holidays to spend with friends,
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  family and myself. Taking time both to just slow
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  down and enjoy life, but also to really think about some of my
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  goals for the next year. And three of those involve my
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  mental health. These are practices that I
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  already engage in, but I will be continuing to try to improve and
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  to engage in more over the next year.
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  So here are three mental health resolutions that I encourage you
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  to try one spending more time with yourself and your feelings.
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  With the speed of everyday life, it's easy to lose touch with the
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  most important person in our lives, ourselves.
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  But let me tell you, there is immense power in taking a step
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  back, tuning into your own frequency, and truly
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  understanding your feelings. So why is spending time with
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  yourself so important to your mental health?
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  I like to think of it like a rendezvous with your own soul, a
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  moment of sanctuary time you can take to listen to the whispers
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  of your heart and the nuances of your thoughts and feelings,
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  because it's more than just alone time.
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  Taking the time to sit with your feelings, whether they're joyous
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  or challenging, is a profound act of self love.
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  It's not about judgement, but about acceptance, about saying
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  hey, I I see you, I hear you, and it's OK to feel this way.
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  The same way you would encourage a friend when they're feeling
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  down, you can encourage yourself when you spend that quality time
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  by yourself. You foster a deep sense of
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  self-awareness. self-awareness is the compass that guides you
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  through the labyrinth of your emotions.
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  It's the cornerstone of mental well-being because in knowing
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  yourself you can make choices that align with your values and
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  also you can deeply understand the emotions that you go
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  through. You get to know your feelings,
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  where they sit in your body, the thoughts they bring, the
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  emotions that they take you through.
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  When you spend intentional time with these thoughts and
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  feelings, you understand important parts of your mental
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  health, such as triggers and what helps you Overall, you can
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  achieve a calm understanding of who you are.
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  You gain confidence in yourself and your feelings.
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  So I encourage you take time, maybe once a week, where you put
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  away distractions and let the silence speak.
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  Go on a walk through a park without checking your phone and
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  without music. Sit in a quiet room and simply
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  let your thoughts roam. Check in with yourself.
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  Engage with wandering thoughts. Maybe bring a piece of paper and
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  pencil and write out the feelings and thoughts that you
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  may experience. Make a date with yourself.
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  Honor your feelings and watch as your mental health blossoms.
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  You are your own greatest ally, and the more time you spend in
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  your own company, the more you'll discover the incredible
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  resilience and strength that resides within.
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  Get to know your feelings and you will get to know yourself.
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  My second mental health resolution for the year is to
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  give others more compassion and kindness.
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  Giving yourself compassion and kindness is obviously good for
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  your mental health, but giving others that same compassion and
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  kindness is surprisingly healing.
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  Being kind isn't just a nice gesture, it's a game changer for
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  our own mental well-being. I used to be relatively shut off
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  to the world. I was bitter that I had my own
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  problems and my own hurt feelings, and I would become
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  cold and distant to others because of it.
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  However, as I have began to heal, I've opened myself up to
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  the world. I smile at strangers.
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  I give out random compliments. I reach out to people that I
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  haven't talked to in a while, and this has given me an
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  incredibly empowering feeling. Connecting with others is
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  medicine to the heart and soul. A simple exchange of kindness
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  ignites a warmth inside that is simply indescribable.
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  Kindness has a ripple effect. When you extend a helping hand
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  or offer a genuine smile, you're not just brightening someone
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  else's day, you're creating a positive energy that
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  reverberates back to you. It's like tossing a Pebble into
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  a pond. The ripples may start small, but
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  they have the power to touch every corner.
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  In the same way, acts of kindness, big or small,
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  contribute to a collective atmosphere of goodwill, and
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  being part of that is incredibly good for your well-being.
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  Compassion is a gentle force that binds us all.
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  When you practice compassion towards others, you're not only
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  fostering connection, but also building a reservoir of empathy
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  within yourself. And here's the twist.
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  When you offer compassion to others, you're also learning how
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  to be kinder to yourself. It's a two way St.
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  When you see the humanity in others, it becomes easier to
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  extend that same grace to your own journey that is beautiful
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  and important as you walk a path to improving your mental health.
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  There's also a very scientific and practical benefit to being
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  kind. When we are kind, our brain
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  emits oxytocin and dopamine which are two of our feel good
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  chemicals. This will literally make you
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  feel better in the moment and lead your brain down a healthy
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  path. So extend a hand, share a smile,
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  and watch how the world and your mental well-being transforms.
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  My final New Year's mental health resolution that I
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  encourage you to engage in is to feel your feelings.
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  I've said it before and I'll say it again, you have to feel your
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  feelings. That is the entire reason I
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  started this podcast. I hope to create an outlet and
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  encourage others to feel their feelings.
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  For the longest time, I thought improving my mental health meant
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  getting rid of the feelings. I thought that I had to push
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  down my sadness in order to feel better.
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  But I'm telling you that couldn't be further from the
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  truth. Take it from me, I have gone
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  through this journey for over 4 years to truly grow and improve
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  our mental well-being. We must learn to live with these
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  difficult feelings and feel them.
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  It's not always easy to sit with discomfort, sadness, or even
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  joy. But here's the thing.
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  Our emotions are messengers, and paying attention to them is a
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  powerful act of self-care. When you allow yourself to feel,
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  you're acknowledging your own humanity and it's not a sign of
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  weakness, but a testament to your own strength in confronting
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  the complexity of the human experience.
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  You are strong enough to acknowledge your emotions and
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  vulnerable enough to feel and process them.
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  Feeling your feelings is like releasing pressure from a steam
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  valve. It relieves the weight of built
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  up feelings. It allows space for growth.
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  So embrace the journey of feeling.
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  Embrace the discomfort that being sad or upset may bring.
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  It is OK and healthy to feel your feelings as we enter the
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  New Year. I encourage you to seek mental
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  growth, to seek a healthy relationship with yourself and
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  your feelings. I feel confident that if you
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  take even just these three topics that I've talked about
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  today and apply them to your life for the next year, you will
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  find a world of difference and you will feel a change.
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  You deserve that. You deserve to see growth and
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  you deserve to feel your feelings.
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  That's going to wrap it up for today's episode.
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  Thank you so much for being here.
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  If you need help feeling your feelings, please check out my
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  music on all platforms under the name of Ethan Jewell.
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  And I almost guarantee it'll make you cry.
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  I actually have a new song coming out January 12th.
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  I'm experimenting with a new style and starting to sing and
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  grow within my music journey and I really hope that you'll walk
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  that path with me. Also, please shoot me a message
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  on my Instagram at Jewel Boy with an I under score and let me
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  know what you thought about today's episode.
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  So I wish you a Happy New year. Thank you for listening and I
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  hope that we all find growth and happiness in this new year.
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  Thank you for being here. And as always, thank you for
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  feeling your feelings. I'll see you next time.