October is a busy month and a lot of colors represents the month. Pink is prevalent this month for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This month is very important to me personally because I have a lot of friends and family who have had breast cancer in their lives. I am on a committee where we raise money every year for a local women’s wellness center and support services. The organization is Not My Daughter Find a Cure Now. Not My Daughter also donates resources for breast cancer research. I will put a link at the bottom of this blog if you would like to find out more information on this organization.
Brown, yellow, orange, red and black are the other common colors we see in the month of October. Autumn and Fall are just starting and the colors and smells of this season are abundant. The four seasons Summer, Winter, Fall and Spring all evoke different emotions in us. The four seasons can also play a part in what moods we are experiencing. This is where our mental health comes into play. Let me first start with different feelings, emotions, moods and actions that are associated with the four seasons.
Spring is usually an expression of love, feeling light, hopeful, having an elevated mood and new life.
Summer is joy, moving around more, energy, excitement, bored and freedom
Autumn/Fall has ups and downs, excitement of the holiday seasons coming and a calmness.
Winter comes with anxiety, low energy, social withdrawal, sleeping a lot, hibernation and peace.
If you suffer from major or minor mental health issues it is important to take a notice of how the different seasons can make an impact on your emotional state and mood. Many people can suffer from seasonal mental health issues called Seasonal Affective Disorder or Major Depression with a Seasonal Pattern. Is this something that you have noticed in yourself or others around you. I would like you to set a goal for yourself for the next year. Make notes to yourself on your smartphone on how each season makes you feel. Many of you may just love the changes in the seasons and what they bring into your life. Others of you may mark a noticeable change in your behaviors, feelings, actions and moods. This is so important in identifying how the seasons can make a positive or negative impact on your mental health. Humans are part of nature, it’s biological. There is a huge correlation in the growth and lack of growth in nature and how it relates to our mental health. In this weeks podcast Episode 57 of Wide Open Space with Ilise I will discuss ways in which we can utilize the four seasons to create positive energy and positive thoughts to elevate our mood and life experiences.
I absolutely love Autumn or Fall as we call it here down South. Unfortunately, living in the south Fall is not as vivid as it is in the rest of the country. For me I always try to create the feeling of Fall as much as possible in my daily life. Marketing is an amazing tool that many company’s use to represent Autumn that works well on their consumers. It all starts with the coffee shops announcing Pumpkin Spice time. We all have our favorite coffee venues. Pumpkin Cold Brew is my favorite! What is yours? This is where it all starts for me! We all will begin to notice the colors used in marketing to get us in the Fall state of mind. Brown, Red, Orange, Black and Yellow are used to represent this season. Episode 57 I cover how these colors can also play a part in your mental health.
The Four Seasons also have time changes, daylight changes and the temperature fluctuates. Mental Health and your mood also greatly change with these changes in your environment. Mental Health is very complicated and has many different facets and complexities. Mood and feelings can change readily with the seasons and it is important for you to note these changes to better understand yourself and the things you might be going through.
I would love to take you on a journey with me as the season changes to Fall/Autumn and how it can elevate your mood. Seasons can also be used as a coping skills that you can pull out of your own personal tool box to help you look at the positive and exciting things that can come from these seasonal changes. Pop in your earbuds and take a listen to Season 2 Episode 57 as I take you through your own personal experience of the smells, colors and feelings you can experience this time of year to improve your mental health.
POSITIVE THOUGHTS, CREATE POSITIVE ENERGY
GO OUT AND EXPLORE ALL OF THE WIDE OPEN SPACES IN YOUR WORLD
Don’t forget to look at the Not My Daughter Find a Cure Now website
CIAO
Ilise
