It’s well past midnight on my side of the world, and I just got up from a mental detox session.
I have a fixed bedtime and don’t usually mess with my routine, but tonight, I really needed to sit down with myself.
Whenever I’m under mental overload, I indulge in one or two soulful activities, but this time, I had a step-by-step process in mind that I wanted to give a go.
And the effect was instant and magical! Would you believe me if I said that I am now as fresh as a leaf?
Apparently, all the hype about cleansing your mind through a mental detox is as real as you and me.
Why You Need A Mental Detox
Your brain is capable of wonderful things, but at the end of the day, it has its own limits and boundaries. It needs rest, self-care, and rejuvenation to function well.
But the hustle mindset can make it difficult to make time for rest, which leads to mental burnout.
Read: 11 Important Signs You Need A Mental Break In Life
To keep up with life’s demands, you need to prioritize your mental health, and a mental detox is a simple yet highly effective way to keep your brain’s health in shape.
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In this post, I reveal an amazing mental detox routine that will unknot your mind and send you into a self-induced relaxed zone.
Follow these 8 steps to flush out your unnecessary thoughts and to bring your awareness to the present.
How To Do A Mental Detox
1. Unplug
The first thing you need to do for a mental detox is to quiet the chatter around you, and the technology is going to hate me for saying this, but your phone is a major chatterbox that should be silenced beforehand.
Switch off your phone or put it on airplane mode. I find it funny that every time I do this, I feel a sense of detachment from the world.
It’s like cutting a chord connecting your mind to all the external noise that you absolutely do not need.
On an extended note, it would also be a good idea to tuck away your laptop and move to a TV-free zone.
Again, it’s all about limiting your consumption of digital media so that you can tune your energy inward and tap into your healing channels.
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2. Find A Cozy Corner
You can sit down in a regular spot for your detox session, but I recommend finding a corner that you don’t usually use.
Why? Simply because it would give you the feeling of being in hibernation mode, and would make the whole experience better and much more effective.
You can go to your balcony, or the rooftop, or find a comfortable spot on the floor.
I’d been meaning to create a cozy self-care corner for myself that I could uproot and shift whenever I wanted to, and it finally happened!
My mom gave me the fuzziest and prettiest red blanket that gave me an idea for my brain detox sessions. I laid out a floor mattress next to my bed and covered it with my blanket.
My makeshift self-care zone turned out to be beautiful and I absolutely adore it. Makes me look forward to my future mental decluttering hours.
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3. Set The Mood
It might feel like we’re spending too much time setting up, but I promise you this part of the process is therapeutic in itself.
I don’t know about you, but I love putting in some effort to prepare for my downtime. Why settle for normal when you have the option to romanticize your life?
Before launching into any of our mental cleansing activities, spend a few minutes playing around with the mood of your space.
Got a set of scented candles that you’re withholding for some special occasion? Well, I’d say a mental detox warrants you pull them out and enhance your good vibes.
Open your windows to let in some fresh air. Nothing beats the positivity that comes from exposing yourself to the goodness of nature.
Complete the setup by turning on some music in the background at low volume. Now, you’re ready to start detoxing.
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4. Brain Dump On A Journal
We often end up accumulating a lot of excess thoughts in our brains because there are no healthy outlets for them.
And believe it or not, something as simple as writing stuff down can help you unload and unpacks everything going on in your mind.
So, sitting in your cozy corner with some lighthearted music playing in the background, create a journal entry where you let the words flow out of you.
Communicate with yourself by expressing your emotions, writing about recent incidents that impacted you, and using positive words of encouragement.
If you’re not a journaler, grab an empty notebook and scribble whatever comes to your mind.
It’s okay if your words don’t have a structure or make no sense. The point is to do a brain dump and ease the worries off of yourself.
I always see my journaling sessions as a form of self-therapy, and it’s awesome that I don’t have to pay a single penny for it. :p
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5. Add Tea To Your Mental Detox Session
There are many delicious beverage options around us, but let’s just admit that a cup of hot tea beats everything when it comes to killing stress.
Now, I am a tea girl through and through. I celebrate my good days with a cup of tea, and I end a crappy day the same way.
So, of course, I couldn’t skip out on adding a cup of herbal tea to my detox sesh. The world would end if I didn’t do this, my friends, believe me.
My recommended choice of tea is always green tea. It has an amino acid called theanine that keeps stress at bay and helps you relax instantly. Add lemon and honey to level up the taste and enjoy sipping it in your
Other simple options you can go for – Ginger tea, chamomile tea, peach tea, and black tea.
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6. Stretch Your Body
The path to a peaceful mind is sometimes through a relaxed body. Now, you could do a full-fledged workout, but that would be in sharp contrast to the lovely atmosphere we’ve created so far.
A simple stretching routine is more than enough to help you relax your muscles, and bring awareness to your body.
These are some of the yoga poses I recommend – Cat cow, downward facing dog, and child’s pose.
If you’d rather stretch to the voice of an instructor, try this pure joy yoga workout by Popsugar Fitness, which is my go-to Youtube channel for home workouts.
It’s 30 minutes long, but you don’t have to finish all of it. Just a few minutes would suffice to get sync your mind and body, bringing them in alignment.
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7. Meditate To Some Calming Music
I believe meditation should be a part of every person’s routine, but it takes time to get used to it. If you’re not someone who meditates regularly, doing it as a part of a mental detox can seem stressful.
So, instead of doing meditation as it is usually done, we are going to make it easier and more chill.
I hope you turned on some music as I suggested in the third step. You’re going to need it here.
First, play a song that gives you good feels. It can be an acoustic romantic, something groovy, or a happy song that makes your heart full.
Now, all you have to do is focus all your senses on the music. Feel the lyrics, smile as your favorite part comes up, and hum along to the melody.
I know this might seem super silly, but I swear it works!
I like to call it music meditation, and if you think about it, this technique does fit the bill for meditation, which is defined as a technique in which you focus your awareness on an object, thought, or activity.
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8. Read A Book
Let’s wrap this up with a universally acclaimed cozy activity – Reading a book!
It might be true that you can’t buy happiness, but you can certainly buy little things that can make you happy, and books are right at the top of this list.
Pick a book off your shelf – romance, comedy, mystery, self-help, thriller – whatever works for you, and let your mind wander inside those magical pages.
You’ve done your part to get rid of your pesky and bothersome thoughts, now it’s time to put your energy to good use, and reading is perfect for that.
Remember that we are still in our unplugged mode. So, no digital reading, please. Only paperbacks and hardcovers are allowed for this last part of the mental detox session.
P.S: If reading doesn’t float your boat, do an activity you love. Paint, draw, doodle, solve puzzles, play the guitar, or create something. Hobbies are amazing for stress relief and fun to indulge in.
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Do A Mental Detox Regularly
After seeing the amazing results from this mental cleansing routine, one thing is clear to me – Mental detox needs to be a weekly activity.
I mean, I sure would love to be that girl who’s unfazed and rock solid in her mental boundaries, but let’s be honest, we all have days that are filled with exhaustion and utter chaos, and that’s okay.
What goes around you might not be under your control, but how you choose to deal with your emotions is.
And a mental detox is the perfect way to hold onto your good feelings and flush out the ones you don’t want in your system.
Don’t wait for your brain to send you an alert signal before taking action. Make it a point to sit down for your mental detox every 7 days, and use the 8-step formula discussed above to clean your mind.
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Yashica says
This was amazing and much needed. I will be utilizing this often.
Akansha says
Thank you, Yashica! Glad to be of help.
Pamela Johnson says
Very interesting. I have never done a brain detox. I will have start. Thank you
Akansha says
Glad to know the post was able to inspire you to try a mental detox. I’m sure you’ll find it very therapeutic. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
Christiline Johnson says
As always I love your blog posts. This one is awesome and I truly are going to implement a weekly mental detox in my schedule. Good advices. I love them
Akansha says
Hi, Christiline. So glad to know you found the post helpful. A weekly detox would be perfect. Hope you are able to make time for it.