How to decongest your mind
“the mind is like water. When its turbulent, its difficult to see. When it becomes calm, everything becomes clear” Buddha
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“the mind is like water. When its turbulent, its difficult to see. When it becomes calm, everything becomes clear” Buddha 〰️
What is Mind Muddle or Brain Fog?
Mind muddle occurs when your mind is full and your struggle for clarity, feel confused and are unable to focus. It is not a medical condition but can be due to stress, over worked, lack of sleep. I struggled with brain fog recently, in fact it is the reason there is no blog post for April, i sat here unable to think of a good topic to discuss so I put my mental health first and left it until a really good subject became clearer to write about.
We are all so busy, pressured in our daily lives, this can lead to a full mind unable to process any further information, our creative side is dulled, this can lead to anxiety, emotional overload and feeling sad. There is too much information being pumped out of the tv, radio, social media and newspapers, most of it being unhappy and worrying, this all adds to our brain fog. So what can we do to protect our minds and how do we have a springclean of our mind?
Spending time at the seaside clears your mind and resets your thinking process
How to Spring-clean your Mind
There are lots of ways to help clear your mind of unwanted and not needed or healthy thoughts. A little like your filing cabinet, if we kept everything, the drawers would not close and you would struggle to find the letter you needed, so you need to prioritise what is kept. Your mind is just the same. Here are our TOP TEN TIPS to declutter your brain
stay hydrated. just like your muscles if you are dehyrated, your mind will feel sludgy
sleep for approximately 7 - 9 hours per night. Going to bed at the same time every night and waking at the same time too. While we sleep, our brain detoxifies (sorts your filing cabinet) and resets your nerve pathways. Adopt a healthy bedtime routine, stop watching TV, scrolling on your phone and laptops a good hour before bed. If you need your phone next to you, switch to the blue light to protect your eyes.
Eat a good healthy diet of brain healthy foods. Berries, Walnuts, Dark Chocolate, Green Leafy vegetables (rich in vitamin K), Avocadoes, Oily Fish for non vegetarians and Pumpkin Seeds. A diet low in vitamin B12 (vegetarians and vegans often to struggle to eat enough B12 so may need a supplement) can cause hazy thoughts and memory loss.
Learn something new. This will help to improve your cognative functions such as concentration, memory recall, attention to detail and problem solving. Everything that you experience leaves its mark on your brain. When you learn something new, the neurons involved in the learning episode grow new projections and form new connections.
Practise meditation regularily to calm and soothe the neurons in your brain. You will learn to control your stress levels by using your breath to release your diaphragm and increase the levels of oxygen.
Be active. If you take regular exercise (doesn’t have to running, dancing around the kitchen is just as good) you release endorphins into our blood, they are feel good hormones and send messages to your brain to relax you. A walk in nature truly calms me down. If i am struggling with something, I go for a walk in my local woods, the pace starts fairly brisk but by the time I am half way round, my pace has slowed down and I notice the birds, trees and insects.
Do you multi task? I am guilty of this. When we multi task, our mind struggles to focus and can become tired. By focusing on one task at a time, writing a list or mind map, we allow our thoughts to stay clear and uncluttered. This takes practise and determination but it definitely works.
Reduce or avoid alcohol if possible. Alcohol and drugs are used to calm us but they have an after effect of leaving our mind and body sluggish, they negatively affect the brain. As does sugar, another remedy suggested. “As blood sugar levels plummet, the brain reacts by sending out a panicked adrenaline alarm, leading to anxiety,” says DeFigio. Excessive amount can lead to cognitive decline so limit your sugar intake.
Use essential oils around your home to create a calming, soothing ambiance. I use our blends in many ways throughout my day. In the morning, I use our “fresh as a daisy” blend which is made with frakincense, sweet orange, rosemary and cedarwood. All oils which improve my sense of wellbeing. In the afternoon, I need a little motivation so I change to “they say exercise is good for you”. Energising oils of juniperberry, pine, sweet marjoram, lavender and lemon inspire and motivate me to finish my job list. In the evening, I use either of our three calming and relaxing blends. If the day has been stressful, I love the calming scent of “mindful of calm” (frankincense, geranium bourbon and lavender) but some days have been happily busy so I reach for “i need to chill out” which gives me that spa feeling (palmarosa, geranium bourbon, ylang ylang and lavender). In my bedroom I always have an aromastone diffusing our sleep blend (petitgrain, ginger, lavender and eucalyptus), it really sends me off to sleep before I can count to 3 !!
I truly believe in counting my blessings every day. We are wired to only dwell on bed things, worries, we can often miss the good things that happen to us on a daily basis. Small things that can easily be missed. Before you close your eyes, name 3 good things that have happened to you that day. I read this the other day. “A blessing is a circle of light drawn around a person to protect, heal and strengthen.”
2 drops of our calming “mindful of calm” organic essential oil blend on the aromastone diffuser will help with anxiety
Charity Walk
The Big Green Hike Sunday 15th May 2022
We are taking part with The Big Green Hike to raise much needed funds for The British Hedgehog Preservation Society. We are going to walk five miles which is 8 km and we would love you to sponsor us if you can. Please click on the title above and it will take you directly to our Just Giving page. Our aim is to raise £300
Our wildlife needs us to protect them from housing development, increased pesticide use, loss of habit and foraging land and more turbulent weather. In the case of hedgehogs, it is great news that slug pellets are now banned but we need to check before strimming, mowing and having bonfires. Be aware that there may be frogs, newts, hedgehogs are living in your garden so please make room for them, don’t be too tidy and leave dishes of fresh clean water in your front and back spaces. We are having a long spell of water and they need it daily.
Our Next Market
The AndSoToShop Summer Online Market - Saturday 21st May until Monday 23rd May
What a lovely thought summer is, more time outside, everyone seems to smile more. Sandy toes and salty kisses from days at the seaside, just splendid! We are passionate about promoting small businesses and enjoy taking part with AndSoToShops events, this market celebrates summer and gives you the opportunity to discover new creative makers, small businesses and, of course, US! We will be offering a discount at the market so please make a note and click the link on the day, keep an eye on our social media @helpmeorganics for more information.
New Product
“help me say hello to summer” collection is……….. ON OUR SHELVES
To celebrate the arrival of summer, we have launched our summer fragrance, “help me say hello to summer”.
Organic essential oils of sage, rose geranium, pink grapefruit and lavender will fill your home with the summery scent we all love so much. This fresh, happy, floral scent is available in a 150g handpoured soy candle, 250ml reed diffuser and our Mini Reed Diffuser gift boxes, Mini Soy Candle gift boxes an, of course our Organic Essential Oil blend which is perfect to use with the aromastone diffuser in The Little box of Summer Essence.
We think our gift boxes are the ideal wedding gift, birthday and party gift, we can gift wrap for you too!
Available from our website, AndSoToShop and Etsy platforms too
Summer Mini Reed Diffuser Gift Box
And finally……..
If you struggle with Hayfever. Fill bowls of water and place on windowsills to catch the pollen grains. Add 3-4 drops of “help me, i’m feeling under the weather” blend to help keep your sinuses open. Having a shower in the evening to remove pollen granules helps you to sleep better. Keep damp pads in the fridge to calm & soothe your eyes.
Its Exam time, a very stressful period for children and parents. Create a calm space for the young person to take time out to relax and clear their heads, place cushions, blankets and our aromastone which can be fragranced with “help me have a mindful of calm”. You cannot revise and study for long continual periods, going for walks, listening to music, being active is very important as is quiet time too. Use “help me, it’s way past my bedtime” at night to help them sleep and remember “trust yourself, you know more than you think you do”
Have a look at the Headspace app. Mindful breathing is excellent to allow your brain 10 minutes to relax. You can practise the 5 senses breathing exercise. Close your eyes and notice what you can smell, hear, feel then open your eyes, what can you see. The final sense is taste, during your meal really notice the texture & spices of your food. By allowing your mind to think of other factors, you will find you have relaxed. Good luck, you will do so well.
