Right now, trapped within the four walls of our houses, we are constantly looking at our screens. Phone, television, or any other device; that is allowing us to consume content. Be it news, information or even if the content that we might like, being glued to a device, leads to some kind of exhaustion. You scroll through social media, you do work, but do you ever stop and just stare? Do you breathe for a moment and just do absolutely nothing? Well… people have started doing that now, a lot more than ever. Here’s why.
What Is Mental Vacation?
People are now trying to figure out ways and means that allows them to ‘switch off’. An ability to unwind themselves from all the stress or stressful situations that they have been dealing with. Initially, during pre-Covid days, you would normally take a vacation. Explore the wilderness or watch the sunset and steer away from any kind of ‘connectivity’. Now, that’s not possible. So many people are now deviating their minds towards things that would help them feel calm and at peace. The best part about mental vacations is that you can take it for FREE!
1. Read A Book
Pick up a book that you have been meaning to read for the longest time. It could be something inspirational, about history or could also be just another comic book that has been lying on your shelf. Dust it off and open the pages. Many of us like to read on Kindle too, but for this particular vacation, we would just steering away from screen time and going the old school way.
2. Meditate
What might seem quite difficult to do, is actually easy. If you are restless and extremely stressed, then meditation is the best way to go on a mental vacation. Put on a soothing music, take a quiet corner, if it’s good weather, maybe open the windows and just close your eyes. Breathe slowly, let your mind relax and all disturbing thoughts leave your body. For those, whose mind waivers a lot, you can put on some soothing music in the background or a particular sound, like the rain, to make you feel at ease.
3. Listen To Your Favourite Music
By this, we don’t only mean the mantras. This is not a recreational bootcamp, but the aim is to make you feel happy and relaxed. Choosing the right playlist, however, might get a little tricky. The kind of music you like, might not possibly make you feel at peace. Explore new genres. Who knows, you might be a Rock Music lover, but some Tropical House might just calm your nerves. So, just queue it up. If you are feeling slightly more experimental, you can pick up an instrument too and start learning that.
4. Sleep
There is no better way to switch off than to close your eyes and just sleep. Count sheep, escape into the dreamland and hit the bed. Don’t put an alarm. Switch off all reminders. Go on airplane mode or just switch your phone off. Unplug all the devices and then sleep peacefully. If you like aromatherapy, then maybe you can use some essential oils which will ensure deep and peaceful sleep.
5. Indulge In Self Care
How about a nice head massage or just put a homemade face pack? Stand in front of the mirror and take a look at yourself. If you see puffy eyes, or a wrinkled forehead, then this is just what you need. Bring back the glow on your face with some home remedies and face scrubs. If you don’t want to do that, just take two pieces of cotton, dip them in rose water, place them on your eyes. You can substitute the rose water with ice-cold water too or a hot towel. Just sit in a chair and lie there.
These mental vacations sounds quite interesting right? You don’t have to do much and you in return you feel so refreshed. By the end of it, your mind is at ease and so are you. You feel fresh and are ready to take on the next challenge with all your might.
If there are better ways, then do share your mental vacation tips with us. We could use some too!
First Published: July 09, 2020 7:20 PM