Use These Palm Beach Lifestyle Hacks to Improve Your Mental Health

Licensed psychologist Dr. Lauren Hazzouri shares what you can do to improve your mental health while living or vacationing in the paradise known as Palm Beach.

BY DR. LAUREN HAZZOURI

Now that we’ve all had time to settle into 2023, can we please ditch the idea of “New Year, New You”?

It’s hard to feel good about ourselves and our lives in a society obsessed with being more, getting better, and achieving our best selves (by the ripe old age of 30!). Telling ourselves that we’re not enough and must do better, year in and year out, doesn’t lead to positive personal growth. Instead, such nasty inner dialogue adds to the shame that keeps us stuck. This year, I challenge you to take responsibility for your mental wellness by using science-backed strategies that allow for increased emotional regulation, self-esteem, and mood.

To start, let’s focus on lifestyle—eating, sleeping, exercising, and limiting media/ social media exposure. Here’s the deal: What you eat, how much you sleep and move, and how often you scroll on your phone significantly affects how you think, feel, and behave. To increase your mental health baseline, lifestyle is key. Luckily, there are endless ways to improve your lifestyle patterns and boost mental health in Palm Beach (my happy place!) that will feel less like the hard work you’ve done in past years to get better and more like the self-care you require to feel good longterm. Here are four PB-specific lifestyle hacks to improve your mental health!

SNACK SMARTLY AT CELIS JUICE BAR IN ROYAL POINCIANA PLAZA.

You can’t expect to feel good without nourishing your brain and your body. Instead of overhauling your entire diet, start by eating more nutrient-rich snacks. My favorite late afternoon pick-me-up in Palm Beach is Celis’ Unbeetable fresh-pressed juice, which is made with beet root, carrot, ginger, and apple. With each sip, I feel like I’m doing something good for my brain and my body, because I am.

MOVE YOUR BODY AT THE YOGA SOCIETY IN WEST PALM BEACH.

Personally, I’m a runner and enjoy my boost of serotonin, the neurotransmitter that makes us feel good, through runs on the beach. However, my friends rave about The Yoga Society, and the benefits of movement and mindfulness on our mental health cannot be overstated. The Yoga Society is said to be “a society of loving people.” Just the thought of there being such a place yields hope!

JOURNAL DAILY ON PAPER FROM IL PAPIRO ON WORTH AVENUE.

Putting away your phone and making sense of yourself through narrative techniques like journaling can be helpful, especially in establishing identity. A social and emotional goal of adulthood is to be able to answer the question, “Who am I?” Start on beautiful paper from this store, which also offers Italian desk accessories, journals, frames, and letter openers made in Florence.

SLEEP SOUNDLY ON LUXURY BED LINENS FROM LORI JAYNE ON SOUTH COUNTY ROAD.

Sleep impacts mental health, and very few people get enough of it! To improve your sleep, ditch electronics two hours before bedtime and make yourself comfortable. Personally, I love Lori Jayne’s monogrammed bed linens because the underside of the duvet is the bed sheet— no more getting all tangled up! T