Five life changing mental health tips + car camping is fun?!

Hello friend!

This is Charishma and Boomer, welcome to the very first Newsletter of Cloud Nine. As one of the first few subscribers, I want to take a moment to express my immense gratitude for your constant support. I am using this newsletter as a way to share the lessons I’ve learnt, travel tips and tricks and so much more. I hope you are as excited as I am to see where this goes together!

Mental health tips :

Over the past decade, I have gone from my lowest moments, to working a lot on myself to now finding my way to more happiness than I ever thought possible. Below are my top 5 tips that I have learned along the way which have had an immense role in this (not including Boomer). You all know through my social media pages how much of an impact he has had, and I am aware not all of us are in the place right now to have a dog or a pet to help so this should be something anyone can apply.

• SLEEP - I had really bad sleep habits - I had racing thoughts, would be up in the middle of the night unable to fall back asleep, took a while to fall asleep and constantly woke up SO exhausted. This was such a bad cycle to try to break. There’s so much talk now on the importance of sleep and having really nailed it down, I can attest to the importance of it. I will be dedicating a future newsletter to talk about this because this involves figuring out pre sleep routine (no blue screens, unwind routine etc.), sleep timing and sleep quality and these are all things that can be dialed in to make sure you are sleeping optimally to feel your best!

• PHYSICAL HEALTH - It’s no shocker that mental and physical health are so closely intertwined (“mental health hot girl walks”). Exercise releases norepinephrine in the body and this helps mental health positively. For a while I worked out mainly to change how I looked - but changing the mindset to working out because it’s fun, to see and feel yourself get stronger, to live a longer, healthier and happier life all have made this even more enjoyable. I love changing up what I do to get my daily movement, and currently I am really enjoying weight lifting + hot yoga.

• THERAPY - I grew up in a world with a lot of stigma around mental health and seeking help for it. I love that the world is slowly changing it’s views on therapy and it’s more openly talked about. I will say that therapy is a little like dating, it takes a while to find the right person you click with. I have been through five therapists till I found my current one and she has changed my life. One key factor when accessing a therapy session according to me is, is it feeling fun and easy or is it sticky and yucky and tough to work through? You want a therapist who will be your safe space but also not let you get stuck being comfortable. For a while I thought I wanted it to be easy (like talking to a friend) but a real therapist you click with offers so much more!

• DOING THINGS I DON’T WANT TO DO - I did a lot to stay in my comfort zone where I felt safe and avoided doing things that made me anxious or uncomfortable. My past abuse made me crave the known and safe feeling. Being in a situation that makes you slightly uncomfortable builds new neural pathways that build on overall confidence and changes your mental health immensely. This is something I have learnt from Boomer to do as well. It is important at this step to take it easy but also remind yourself that growth and confidence and ultimately happiness comes from doing things you don’t really want to do. (Get this - bigger anterior mid-cingulate cortex means more will to live, and it grows when you do something you don’t want to do!)

• NOT USING MY PHONE ON WAKING - We are so locked into the online world - emails, social media, texts etc and after speaking with so many friends, I know we all struggle with not checking our phone as soon as we wake up but we all end up doing it anyway. When you go from deep sleep to awake, your brain is giving off theta waves but when you reach for the phone, it wakes your brain and enters the beta frequency. Your brain needs that calm theta state, but skipping it puts you in a more reactive instead of proactive state. I typically avoid using my phone for the first 15-30 mins on waking and either meditate, journal, hang out with Boomer, get morning sun exposure and/or read a non fiction book. I can say this one simple (not so simple to implement) step has had tangible impact on my mood through the day! I can feel the difference on the days I don’t do it.

I hope that you are able to try these tips and see if it has an impact on your overall mental health as well. If there are any topics you would like me to expand upon, I am happy to. I want this newsletter to be a valuable resource to you with tips that you can take with you on your daily journey so all feedback is welcome.

In talking about doing things I don’t want to do, I went camping with Boomer. Camping is something I never thought I would voluntarily sign up to do but here we are. It’s something that makes me uncomfortable; there are moments during it when I miss my warm comfy bed, or the ability to turn on the light to look for bugs (or monsters lol). But everytime I have gone car camping with Boomer, I have left feeling content and learning more about myself and finding moments of peace and happiness during it.

If you are in a similar situation of not really wanting to go camping but curious on how to / want to try here are my tips

CAR CAMPING IN MALIBU :

STEP 1 : Find a campsite close enough to where you live so if you have to leave, you know you can be home in a few hours

STEP 2 : Find a campsite that has running water / flushable toilets - some of them even have showers and are cleaned regularly. This is the one we went to.

STEP 3 : If you haven’t camped before I recommend car camping to start. You can also rent out tents / sleeping bags at REI if you want to try it out too. For car camping, the two most important things are the air mattress (Tesla model Y) that fits your car + privacy screens. This inflatable air mattress works for most SUVs. Don’t forget to pack your pillows and blankets or a fluffy pup to keep you warm.

STEP 5 : I would one day like to make a pizza at camp (lofty goals I know) but the easiest way to start with camp is to have a water boiler and some freeze dried meals for easy food options! This pad thai is my favorite.

STEP 6 : You MUST make a campfire. No camping experience is complete without one. Watch a youtube video before you get to camp though so you don’t have to hope you have phone service to learn at the campsite. But essentials include : firewood, fire starter, lighter and don’t forget to add in some kindling!

STEP 7 : Bring a book, or a board game to play and enjoy the sounds of nature, savor in the slower moments and be proud of yourself for getting out of your comfort zone!

life.with.a.landcloud

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Reply back to this email with what you want to see in the next newsletter and I will send a puppy Boomer picture as a thank you!

I hope you have a fantastic week ahead and do something for yourself to find a little more happiness.

Here’s one quote I would like to end this with for you to carry into your week ahead : “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will” – Suzy Kassem. Do something this week, even if it scares you! I believe in you!!

With fluffy hugs,

Charishma + Boomer (@life.with.a.landcloud)