Local therapist shares fall mental health and wellness tips 

Tips to adapt to seasonal transition

– Each seasonal change brings its own rewards and challenges, many of which we tend to experience each year. Whether you tend to struggle with adapting to these changes or are simply interested in expanding your mental health and wellness lens, here are a few tips on boosting your mind and body as we transition into the fall season:

• Get outside. Ok, this might sound like a no-brainer but whether you’re an avid hiker or a homebound new parent, there’s a lot of research showing the benefits of being in nature. It’s even helpful in small doses! There are so many beautiful outdoor spaces in Paso Robles and our surrounding areas, you’ll be busy for months. From our downtown city park to hiking along (Salinas river walk or shoreline trail at Lake Nacimiento), start a list of places you can rotate through and schedule it in your calendar.
• Connect with others. This could mean fostering current relationships by reaching out to friends or family that you tend to fall out of touch with. Or, if you’re new to the area or lacking connection in your current social circles it may be time to take another approach and join a group, class, or community volunteering project. Either way, make it a point to build genuine connections with others
• Identify unhealthy patterns. Where do you tend to struggle most, during these transitional times? Many find the stress of ‘back to school’ or the impending holidays daunting, so it can help to focus on building more realistic expectations and habits around what these events mean and how to approach them.
• Evaluate your boundaries. Reflect on your values and how you’re attending to them in your daily life. Tune into when you’re feeling emotionally drained or charged to figure out what is and isn’t working for you. Proceed by communicating about your needs both with yourself and others.
• Embrace the change. When we’ve pushed back on something for a long time, it becomes an automatic thought or physiological response and it can be difficult to shift our response. However, taking the initiative to reframe and embrace these changes can do wonders for our mental health. Try radically accepting things as they are by taking more accountability, letting go of judgments/the past, and learning to forgive and move forward.

Happy Fall, Paso Roblans!

– Angela Phillips, PhD, LCSW

Dr. Phillips is a writer, psychotherapist, researcher, content creator, mom, and first responder wife living in Paso Robles. Learn more mental health and wellness tips with Dr. Phillips by following her on Instagram: @humorist.therapist.

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