Detox Your Mind: A Comprehensive Guide

“How do I detox my mind?”

It’s a question that is often asked but rarely answered. There are many detox methods out there, from detoxing your body, your house, your closet, fridge, but what about detoxing your mind?

In this post, we’ll talk about the importance of detoxing your mind, its benefits, and we’ll give you a few ideas on how to get started.

Why detox your mind?

You most likely heard about cleansing or detoxing your house. Makes total sense if you think about it, you are exposed to all kinds of fumes and chemicals from products you use.

Or your refrigerator, filled with all kinds of artificial chemicals to preserve food.

At some point, you need to remove all this.

Your mind is no exception, and while it can also be affected by harmful chemicals and bad foods, there are negative thoughts, toxic relationships, and environments that can increase anxiety, fatigue, lack of focus, etc.

Benefits of detoxing your mind

It is so important because a mind detox can help you…

• Keep your mental and emotional stability
• Reduce stress
• Increase focus
• Stay in the present moment

But, when do you need to detox your mind?

There is no specific period of time or number of miles, like an oil change for your car, but there are symptoms you can identify and will tell you that you are in need of a good mind detox.

Ask yourself if you are…

• Constantly checking your mobile, email, or social media
• Having trouble focusing
• Increasingly forgetting things
• Feeling anxious

How to detox your mind

Now, let’s look at the practices that will bring you that mental stability and clarity to help you achieve a sense of fulfillment and a greater life/work balance…

1) Engage your mind intentionally

Exercise is a great detox method for the brain! There are many ways that you can exercise your mind – from solving puzzles to reading a good book.

The more active and engaged you are mentally, the less likely it is that negative thoughts will be entertained in our minds.

In order to detoxify your brain through physical activity, try to engage your mind intentionally.

2) Time without technology

Stop the never-ending stream of notifications, messages, emails, calls, and media updates that keep you trapped in a sea of distractions and a series of social demands and expectations to react.

You are now at the mercy of someone else’s agenda.

Set up a time to step away from any electronic devices, have your own thoughts.

3) Meditate

If you let your mind run free, you’d probably have a thought around every 1.2 seconds, and the mind is totally capable of taking it from there and keep generating endless thoughts.

Meditation is probably the most effective way to slow down your mind.

The benefits of meditation are too many to list here but to keep it simple, let’s just say that, focusing only on breeding for a period of time helps you learn how to focus on the subject at hand, instead of having to react to the many thoughts arriving constantly.

If you are new to this, I recommend trying guided meditations from apps such as Headspace or Calm, they’re very user-friendly.

4) Journal

I always say journaling is like a lite version of therapy, just the simple act of getting all those thoughts out is very satisfying, even if it is on paper by yourself.

Journaling is very convenient, you just need to allocate a bit of time, preferably in a quiet room at home, and a journal. If possible, do it in the morning to cleanse that busy mind of yours before starting the day.

If you like paper I recommend a Moleskine, if you prefer a digital format, you’d love Day One.

5) Spend time in nature

Nature is so good for detoxing the brain, it’s really a science.

There are many studies that show how time in nature can help us detoxify our minds and reduce stress levels.

Unfortunately, not many people spend time outdoors.

If you don’t live near mountains or green areas, just hit your local park for a quick getaway.

This is easy to overthink, don’t.

6) Letting go

I love the concept of letting go and, while most people like to complicate this, it’s very simple and necessary.

This is also great for those key moments in your life when a chapter is ending and a new one is starting. Simply revisit your goals and let go of the ones that are no longer aligned with you or don’t serve you.

But really, you can let go of anything, goals, values, ideas, relationships, material items, etc.

7) Learn to say NO

This is one of the most important detoxes to master because it’s all too easy to say YES, and then you’re overloaded with commitments.

Saying NO doesn’t make you a bad person or mean that you are not understanding, in fact, if anything it means just the opposite. Saying no takes courage, but will allow your time for more creativity.

Sometimes, saying NO means protecting your mental space.

8) Ask yourself powerful questions

Sure, it doesn’t sound that important, but…

Powerful questions make you think about life in a deep way and because of that, it’s also helpful in removing what it’s no longer important.

Some examples:

• Who am I becoming?
• What do I truly want?

9) Create routines

You will have meals today, you’ll also have the little rituals you do during the day.

The trick is not to overthink it, just have your meals at the same time, exercise, and sleeping habits are also things you can totally organize in a way that always happens at the same time.

I’m not suggesting adding or eliminate things, but rather do those same things mindfully.

10) Consume brain foods

Your brain works at its best with a healthy diet consisting of fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants, Omega-Oils, B Vitamins, and protein.

A few examples are

• Fatty fish
• Blueberries
• Turmeric
• Coffee
• Broccoli
• Nuts
• Dark chocolate
• Avocados

I recommend adding these to your diet and not just detoxing for a week, these are foods that you should be consuming daily in your life.

Conclusion

The detoxing of our minds is not a physical process, but one that needs to happen in order for us to be able to enjoy all the other things we are doing.

Image credits: Thought Catalog, Alex Tim, Marcus Aurelius, Alizee Marchand.