I admit it - it can get frustrating to plan ways and set up systems to reduce the mental load in my life. You may really feel this too - you carry all the load, yet you’re expected to come up with the answer to lighten it all alone as well?
But it’s like that old saying: “do you want to be right, or happy?” And when the load is heavy, put it down! Choose happy! In the spirit of this, here are some ways to reduce the mental load. They may be a little cookie cutter, but trust me, they’re a fab starting point if you’re not sure which way is up or down right now:
Pick 3 MIT’s (Most Important Tasks)
I don’t even recall where I gathered this amazing practice, but it was in my 20’s, when I had a job that was overwhelmingly busy. There was just no way there were enough hours in the day to do this job (although, people pleaser me sure did try! Hello burnout). So each morning before I did anything else, I’d list my 3 most important tasks of the day. The things that had to be completed by the end of day. These things would be actioned first, and if anything else got done during the day, WONDERFUL. If not, the important things could go on the 3 MIT’s for tomorrow.
It’s a great way to prioritise, plan and break things down.
Mindfulness Practice
I feel you - your head is noisy, 24/7. Those mental lists take up time, space and energy. So this one is vital - be it meditation, deep breathing, or chilled yoga, they can help reduce stress and increase focus without the overwhelm. Treat yourself daily, even if it’s 3 minutes.
Delegate or Outsource
Reduce your load! Admittedly this comes from a place of privilege, but if you can outsource, DO! Organise meal delivery boxes (like Every Plate or Marley Spoon) or even a bunch of frozen, ready-cooked meals for the freezer (The Dinner Ladies) to help reduce the meal planning and shopping.
Hire a fortnightly cleaner for a couple of hours. Hire a baby-sitter once a month, and exhale as someone else puts the kids to bed (or do this with a local mum - take it in turns to have a little friend over). Order your groceries online and get them home delivered.
At home, make sure everyone in the house contributes. Kids unpack the dishwasher. Partner takes care of all the bookings and notifications for kids extra-curricular activities etc. You are not the help!
Declutter
Sometimes the sensory overwhelm of a messy space is the final straw in an already affected system. For a birthday one year after my little was born, my dear friend gifted me a half day with a professional house organiser. Once I got over the shame (I just kept thinking I could do this myself!), my life changed! This is now my go to gift for overwhelmed friends.
There is a strong association between a clear mind and an organised home, and trust me - the benefits of organisation from an outside person who’s not attached (but is respectful) to your belongings makes all the difference. Sydney friends, I can’t rate Alex at Holistic Homes enough!
Of course, you can also do this all yourself. Even a 15 minute nightly whip around the house (every house member involved!) will work wonders, for ongoing maintenance.
Distraction Watch
Having screen free time is well lauded, and rightly so. A study conducted by the University of California, Irvine found that office workers were interrupted on average every three minutes and that it took them an average of 23 minutes to return to their original task. Yikes! Obviously this constant interruption and task-switching contributes to the mental load and reduces productivity, but our emotional state suffers with more screen time as well.
And did you notice that as reels became more and more popular on socials and instagram (lights, sounds, flashing, ugh!) you found yourself more and more attracted to keeping the sound off and preferring still images? This isn’t just for those that are neuro-divergent (although this can be really helpful), this is another example of Too. Much. Stimulation! It’s ok to sign off for a while, my friends.
So, can acupuncture help reduce the mental load?
There’s plenty of studies to suggest that acupuncture may be effective in helping reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. Other research speaks to the efficacy of acupuncture helping with cognition, reducing overwhelm, and regulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which is involved in the body's stress response.
So while acupuncture won’t be able to organise your life more seamlessly or pick up the kids from school, it can definitely help with your mental state emotionally and cognitively, and help offer some grounding when things get sticky. So well worth adding it in!
Let me know the ways that you’ve found to help with the mental load! And if you need a treatment, don’t hesitate to book in now!
Source:
- De Clercq, A.-S., Galand, S., & Grevisse, B. (2019). Can Email Overload Provoke Burnout? An Experimental Study. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 22(11), 710–716. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2018.0712
- Mark, G., Gonzalez, V., & Harris, J. (2005). The Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI ’05, 107–110. https://doi.org/10.1145/1054972.1054987
- Kim, C. K., Lee, H. J., & Lee, S. D. (2018). The Efficacy of Acupuncture on the Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 33(48), e308. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2018.33.e308
- Eshkevari, M. E., Permaul, S., & Mulroney, L. (2013). Acupuncture regulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Integrative Medicine, 11(4), 251–260. https://doi.org/10.3736/jintegrmed2013035