100 Day Mental Detox: Day 35
Introduction & Three Observed Benefits
No social apps, no shopping apps, no dating apps, daily fitness, strictly eating at home, and drinking only water.
Introduction
The lifestyle I was living was kind of reckless when you add the virus in the mix. I was out all summer long. Brunch with friends after another, date after date, drink after drink, coronavirus risk after another. I was aimlessly swiping, shopping, and going everywhere, but whatever I was looking for, I wasn’t finding it.
I wanted to write pretty bad, but I wasn’t. It’s not like I didn’t have time; if anything, coronavirus has given us is time. I wasn’t writing because I was aimlessly scrolling on my phone for hours—so many coronavirus hours at home wasted on basically breeding my own mental fog.
My twin sister and I created this challenge. She came from a terrible place. While I left for Marine Corps boot camp at 19 years old and never looked back, she didn’t. She stayed involved in family manipulation, hard work, and drama. She was abused in so many ways. She came here severely suppressed; no education, no life experiences, knowing only what was controlling her.
She didn’t know how to take care of herself; that wasn’t a concept she was ever exposed to or ever understood. Not only she wasn’t taking care of herself, but she also wasn’t taking care of my niece to her full potential. Their diet consisted of lots of sugar and frozen or processed foods; portion sizes were unheard of. Their only pastime was the couch all day in front of electronics.
Watching me effing off was one thing; watching my sister’s state and how bad she needed help was another. I am fairly accomplished, educated, and reasonably well off in my life, trying to adjust some habits and grow spiritually, but she needed so much more. It was breaking my heart.
I decided we needed significant lifestyle changes but she had no choice but to go along. I told her, “If you love me and you love yourself, you will see this through,” but the whole time, she thought I would be the one to crack. I don’t blame her; after all, she is my twin; I always indulged in everything in life.
So we put $300 on the table; whoever cracks first would have to pay the other. Now we mean serious business!
App withdrawal can improve your anxiety.
We quit social media because it’s the number one killer of time, but the toxic part is advertisements. I would see an ad precisely aimed at my insecurities. I wouldn't buy it most of the time, but it somehow makes you feel like you don't have everything you need. When you stop wasting time on these apps, you realize that you improve your sleep, your mood and reduce anxiety.
The dating apps were the worse on productivity, as anyone who has tried would tell you. It’s not just the time wasted swiping without much thought; it’s our mental health. Before you know it, you are lost in an empty cycle of quantity without quality, leaving you confused and empty.
Of course, I don't have that problem now. I am much happier and fulfilled without it. That's because dating apps are known to cause distress, depression, and anxiety.
The challenge started with no-alcohol, but what happens when you stop drinking alcohol? You begin drinking other things that are sometimes equally harmful. If I wasn’t having my bourbon, soda water, and lime, I was having a diet coke or something similarly nasty. So the rule of no alcohol had to be more than that if we were going to change bad habits.
The first couple of days were busy. Working, even from home, making all your meals, and carving time for exercise took up most of the day. Even with the team effort, I thought, how can someone do this, but when you have to figure it out, you figure out how to be more efficient.
Water improves cognitive performance.
Drinking water is super boring. I’m not going to lie to you; it gets old quickly. We allow ourselves bubbly water. I thought it was dehydrating me and that it should stop at some point, but it has been shown to hydrate better than regular water.
Over time, I found myself more focused and writing more than ever before. That's because drinking only water improves not only your physical health but also your mental health. Studies show drinking only water for a long period of time has been shown to improve your cognitive performance and mood.
We drink lots of money and calories.
Not to mention the money you are wasting on just-drinks alone. Here in Washington, DC, you could pay $5 for just a soft drink alone at some places, and don’t even get me going with the virgin cocktails fad happening; spending $15 for a non-alcoholic beverage. That’s just silly when you think of the money and the calories.
Lack of coffee in the morning is a real challenge but here I am at 4 am writing without it right now. Plus, since I stopped drinking coffee I feel calmer.
They knew my name at the local coffee shop because I was going every single morning. That was $5 for a small and $7 for a medium. This minor habit alone was costing me roughly $2.5k a year and who knows how many calories.
We have lost roughly 15 lbs each so far, but never once did we diet. We strictly cook at home, but we never deprive ourselves of eating what we want. Actually, I am shameful to admit the amount of chocolate that I have been eating; averaging half a bar a night.
We were looking to detox and find some creative time, but we realized so much more. The combined elements of this challenge have improved our cognitive, physical, and mental health tremendously.
We are going strong and planning to follow through but most of all we are making permanent lifestyle changes.
Breaking down the different elements to subsequent articles soon but welcome questions anytime.
