While running is an excellent tool to help with mental health, it isn’t the only tool. There are many tools that you can use to help manage your mind. Happiness comes from using a variety of tools to achieve balance. There might come a time when injury, illness or life’s circumstances prevent you from using running to help manage your emotions. It’s essential to have more tools in your toolbelt and to seek balance in your life through a variety of strategies. Below, our coaches share some of their insights into additional tools you may find helpful in fostering good mental health.

Carrie: While I love running and movement, I have had to develop other coping skills to help manage my mood and my mind. I have found great comfort in writing as a way to process my emotions. I also find that reaching out to others to talk things through helps. Finally, seeking time in nature gives me the chance to find peace. 

Camie: One of the tools that is helpful for me is working on my mental fitness. I find that when I get really bogged down by emotions I haven’t been taking care of my mental fitness. Some of the ways I do this is by listening to podcasts that teach me skills or writing in a journal or thought download notebook. I also love discussing things with people who are willing to help me explore my thoughts. One other tool that has been helpful for me is to be curious about my thoughts instead of judging them. It allows me to look at them and wonder about them without attaching judgment to them, which can unnecessarily add emotional baggage to the thoughts..

Sherrie: I’ve believed for a long time that I was good at practicing self care because I exercised.  But I would find myself frustrated that while running and physical health are a huge help for mental health, I would still struggle to stay afloat emotionally.  I learned to practice other elements of self care – emotional, spiritual and social.  Some of my tools are learning to recognize what emotions I’m feeling and writing them in a journal, and practicing visualization to really let that feeling run its course through my body. Even if it’s negative.  That gives me space to feel the feelings and then release them so I can move forward.  Meditation, solitude, stillness and quiet also help me stay centered.  And while I refill my bucket by being alone, laughing with my girlfriends is soothing to the soul.  Just make sure you are spending time in all the areas of self care. 

Emily: Injury has been a constant visitor this year, so I have become well acquainted with ways to manage my mental health outside of running. I have spent a great deal of time evaluating my strengths and focusing on the gifts and talents I have been given. By turning my attention away from the negative and the things I can no longer do and allowing myself to find the good, I am able to embrace positivity and keep myself balanced. I use spirituality a lot to guide me. I believe in a higher power who loves me regardless of my life choices and guides me through my struggles. This helps keep my thoughts in check because I can see where they come from and choose to accept or reject them based on the knowledge I have of who I am and who I want to be. One last tool I use often comes in the form of two questions. Negative thoughts are greeted with, “Is that true?” and “Does that thought serve me?” Sometimes I hang out with these negative thoughts a lot longer than I should and sometimes they really require some critical thinking, but more often than not, the answer is no. I can then go through a process of letting those thoughts go and replacing them with ones that do serve me.