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How to use your senses to understand your mental health

Christmas can be a really stressful time of year, and sometimes it can be hard to understand why we feel anxious or overwhelmed.

 

Dr Sarah Vohra, aka The Mind Medic, says a lot of her patients aren’t sure why they feel out of sorts: “I always say take five minutes and check in with all five of your senses.”

 

She joined the Fit and Fearless team, Tally, Zanna and Vic, to show them how to use their senses to find out what’s bothering them.

 

1. Sight

 

Dr Vohra says you should think about what you’ve seen in the past 24 hours, and whether that’s something that might have bothered you.

 

"That’s from seeing a particular person that you know grates on you or winds you up, or it could be that you have accessed something on social media that’s made you feel a certain way.

 

"It could be that you’re spending a lot of time on your screens.”

 

2. Hearing

 

The next thing Dr Vohra suggests is to think about what you’ve heard.

 

“Have you just had a really uncomfortable conversation with someone? Are you finding it really difficult to drown out the noise?”

 

She says this can be things like getting criticism at work, or even just being around a lot of negativity.

 

3. Touch

 

Dr Vohra’s third tip is about your body and how it can affect your mind - "things like exercise and sleep”.

 

Have you skipped your workout, or slept poorly?

 

Dr Vohra says doing this can affect your mental well-being, and make you feel off-balance.

 

4. Taste

 

Have you increased your caffeine consumption?

 

Dr Vohra says caffeine “can mimic mental health symptoms,” such as raising your heart rate, which can feel like anxiety.

 

She also says to watch out for hidden caffeine in whey products for workouts, so you aren't upping your intake without realising.

 

5. Smell

 

The last tip from Dr Vohra is a bit more hypothetical than the others…

 

Dr Vohra says: “If something smells off, nine times out of 10 it probably is.”

 

This is a tip to analyse things you’ve read or heard, and acknowledge if something feels off to you - and to understand if that’s bothered you.

 

“It’s about having the confidence to call things out and to smell stuff that’s fishy.”

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