Three Years of Pandemic Followed by War and Inflation!
This Year, Try Spring Cleaning Your Brain.

A recent AmericaTM poll, fielded in March 2022 by The Harris Poll on behalf of APA, revealed striking findings. More adults rated inflation and the invasion of Ukraine as stressors than any other issue asked about in the 15-year history of the Stress. These stressors are coming when the nation is still struggling to deal with the prolonged pandemic and its effects on our daily lives, with close to two-thirds of adults (63%) saying the COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed their life.

The arrival of spring can be a natural point to take stock of our mental well-being and reconnect with the things that bring us purpose and joy, offering our brains a respite when possible. Here are five things you can do.

1. Practice Mindfulness: Mindfulness meditation, a practice that helps you remember to return to the present when you become distracted, has been shown to reduce the stress of daily life.

2. Bullet Journal method: The Bullet Journal is an organizational system and mindfulness exercise that requires you to continually re-evaluate how you are investing your time and energy and then decide whether those things are worth it.

3. Reduce information overload: Choose just one or two reliable sources and read them at a specific time each day. Take a 30-day break from the optional technologies in your life (social media, digital gaming, 24-7 news channels).

4. Declutter your physical space: clean space > clean mind. A messy space prevents you from taking the initiative in your work.

5. Reconnect with the people you love: If there are people you care about whom you have lost touch with during the pandemic, don’t be shy about getting back in touch. You may use this icebreaker: “We lost touch during the pandemic, but now things are calming down, and I would love to see you. Not seeing you has been one of the things I’ve missed.”