All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Mental health: How to take care of your mental health this summer

Megan Wilson
By Megan Wilson
Multimedia Journalist·Bay of Plenty Times·
30 Dec, 2022 10:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌

Subscriber benefit

The ability to gift paywall-free articles is a subscriber only benefit. See more offers by clicking the button below.

Already a subscriber?  Sign in here
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Good mental and physical health should be number one on everyone’s list. Photo / 123rf
Good mental and physical health should be number one on everyone’s list. Photo / 123rf

Good mental and physical health should be number one on everyone’s list. Photo / 123rf

Meditation, going for walks, spending time with loved ones and taking on a new hobby are just some ways people can keep their mental health in check this holidays. After a year plagued by Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis, experts share their tips on how to de-stress and take care of ourselves mentally this summer.

The cost of living, finding somewhere affordable to live, the impacts of staff shortages and global warming have been some of the main causes of anxiety this year, Tauranga clinical psychologist Bronwyn Moth says.

She says we are now living in a world with "a heap of stresses" and as a recovery strategy, Moth says it is important to focus only on what we can control, despite invitations to focus on things we cannot.

One way of looking at it was through three concentric circles - in the middle were things within our control, the next circle out was things we can influence and the last outer circle was things outside of our control.

"We bang our head against the wall, but we won't make any difference because we can't."

Open up the latest news from Rotorua

Get daily headlines from the Rotorua region straight to your inbox.
Please email me competitions, offers and other updates. You can stop these at any time.
By signing up for this newsletter, you agree to NZME’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Moth said our brains got caught in a "fight or flight" response when dealing with ongoing stress, which narrowed our focus.

"So that's when we get caught in just getting stuck on ruminating about the things we can't change."

Moth said being in nature, exercising, spending time with friends and family, and turning off electronic devices were other ways to recharge mentally this summer.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Get into nature - even 20 minutes of nature will make a difference in your mental health. "Even if you're a gym jock, do some of your training outside ... being near water benefits our brain."

Other things include learning and growing.

Discover more

Matt Cowley: Take the daily relaxation challenge over summer

28 Oct 09:00 PM

"That could be a skill, it could be a hobby, it could be watching a YouTube video of a particular home improvement thing you want to do over summer. Our brains like to learn.

"Any time that we can hold our brain into the now - instead of worrying about the future and ruminating on the past, spending time in the now."

She also advised to "get off electronics".

"Have some periods in time where ... it's agreed as a family, turn your phone off, turn computers off, go outside because one of the things we're learning more and more is our brains can't actually cope with the amount of information we're processing all the time."

Asked what people had been most anxious about this year, Moth said global warming and the effects it would have on businesses, particularly farms and rural communities.

Other reasons were the cost of living and people struggling to find an affordable place to live.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There's work pressure and one of the big ones ... in a lot of different companies is a shortage of staff and so existing staff being asked to cover more and so there's a ripple effect of the existing staff that are spread thinner are getting fatigued."

Moth said it was tricky as those who worked in teams wanted to help their colleagues by doing extra shifts.

"Unfortunately, though, it just means that more and more people are getting fatigued."

Wellness expert and co-leader of Mindful Moments Retreat at Polynesian Spa Rachel Grunwell. Photo / Maryana Garcia
Wellness expert and co-leader of Mindful Moments Retreat at Polynesian Spa Rachel Grunwell. Photo / Maryana Garcia

Wellness expert and co-leader of Mindful Moments Retreat at Polynesian Spa Rachel Grunwell said meditating, even for just two minutes a day, was beneficial and could "really reset your stress nervous system".

"Meditation doesn't have to be cross-legged in India with no noise - you can meditate on a short walk.

"If you're stressed out during summer, it's quite overwhelming being around family or you need some moments, even if you lie down on your back and meditate watching the shifting of the clouds for a couple of minutes and just breathe slowly, then that can really help you unwind and feel a bit calmer as well."

Grunwell said there was nothing more "uplifting" than being in nature.

Experts say getting out in nature is a great way to help with mental health. Photo / Andrew Warner
Experts say getting out in nature is a great way to help with mental health. Photo / Andrew Warner

"Going for a walk somewhere like the Rotorua Redwoods ... it actually really natures your mind, body and soul.

"You slow down, you pause, you look at those mighty beautiful trees and it calms your nervous system. You're in this kind of slowed down more mindful pace."

Born and raised in Rotorua, Grunwell said she understood the "power of the beauty in Rotorua".

"It really is paradise. And I think stopping, pausing, breathing and soaking up the beauty of the now is a skill to being happier and not a lot of people can do it so if you can learn it, it'll help."

She also recommended learning wellness techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing "which can calm your nervous system in just a matter of a few short breaths".

“Maybe it’s signing up for a retreat so you can really learn this big skillset of wellness de-stress techniques that you can utilise for the rest of your life.”

Subscriber benefit

The ability to gift paywall-free articles is a subscriber only benefit. See more offers by clicking the button below.

Already a subscriber?  Sign in here
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

80,000 books: Library service reaches schools, rest homes and young offenders

28 Jun 06:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Free spirit': Artist who paints using his mouth is flying high

28 Jun 03:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Claim councils 'bullied' into pursuing joint water services

27 Jun 06:00 PM

Kaibosh gets a clean-energy boost in the fight against food waste

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
Elisabeth Nicholls not the first dementia patient rest homes have lost this year
New Zealand

Elisabeth Nicholls not the first dementia patient rest homes have lost this year

29 Jun 02:29 AM
Kiwi Kai Kara-France challenges for UFC flyweight title
UFC

Kiwi Kai Kara-France challenges for UFC flyweight title

29 Jun 02:05 AM
Couple must pay architect $33k for house sketches they didn’t like
New Zealand

Couple must pay architect $33k for house sketches they didn’t like

29 Jun 02:00 AM
Late Glee star's parents dead within a month of each other
Entertainment

Late Glee star's parents dead within a month of each other

29 Jun 01:54 AM
Central African Republic exam stampede death toll lowered to 20
World

Central African Republic exam stampede death toll lowered to 20

29 Jun 01:36 AM

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

80,000 books: Library service reaches schools, rest homes and young offenders

80,000 books: Library service reaches schools, rest homes and young offenders

28 Jun 06:00 PM

Some customers have been using the service for more than 20 years.

'Free spirit': Artist who paints using his mouth is flying high

'Free spirit': Artist who paints using his mouth is flying high

28 Jun 03:00 AM
Claim councils 'bullied' into pursuing joint water services

Claim councils 'bullied' into pursuing joint water services

27 Jun 06:00 PM
'A win for Tarawera': Sewerage connection cost lowered to $36k per household

'A win for Tarawera': Sewerage connection cost lowered to $36k per household

27 Jun 07:39 AM
Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style
sponsored

Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search