How Thrifting Can Help Improve Mental Health
Thrifting can be a great coping skills for our mental health. It is an easy place to score deals and shop sustainability, but it is also it is an amazing place to practice mindfulness. Here in Akron, Ohio we are some pretty amazing thrift stores, there is not shortage of places to go to score a great deal. Below I will tell you three ways thrifting can be your next super coping skill.
1. You can practice mindfulness while you shop
Mindfulness is in short just using your five senses to connect with the world around you. The thrift store is an amazing place to practice this because there is so much to take in. You can go around and feel the different fabrics, you can notice color or shapes you have never seen before and you can *smell* all the new smells (just kidding, but you could!) The thrift stores around Akron usually are blasting oldies music so you can take in the new sounds or you can pop headphones in and listen to some music of your choice. I typically go to the thrift store and I listen to one of my favorite podcasts.
2. You can act in alignment with your values
If sustainability is a value that you hold than secondhand shopping should become first nature for you. When we shop second hand we are saving clothing items from the landfills. One of my absolute favorite ways to thrift is to go to “the bins” which is located on Waterloo Road in Akron at the Goodwill. The bins are basically clothing items that are about it be sent to the landfill and are sold by pound instead of by item. Basically you can get items that cost next to nothing and you are saving these items from a landfill. Be warned that clothes can be harder to find in the bins, but you can often find many great housewares.
3. You can get dopamine from finding great deals
Dopamine can be released when finding an amazing item at the thrift store, while this is not going to “fix” any mental health issues you have, it can serve as a mood booster and serve as a bright spot in your day. Just remember that any coping skill can be done it excess. In therapy with my client’s we talk a lot about coping skills. We find what works and what doesn’t. Even the best coping skills can become maladaptive. Take exercise for example, exercise it the holy grail of coping skills. It does great things for our body and our minds. However, if done in a restrictive or unhealthy way exercise can become “bad coping”.
Below I have compiled a list of my favorite thrift store in the Akron area.
- The Village Discount Outlet- State Road, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
- Goodwill- Waterloo Road, Akron Ohio
- The Bins at Goodwill- Waterloo Road- Akron, Ohio
- The Salvation Army- Fairlawn, Ohio
- The Goodwill- State Road, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Therapist Akron, Ohio
I hope you found this post helpful. Please reach out to me if it seems like we could be a good fit, I am an Akron based therapist who is passionate about serving our community. I am a therapist who works primarily with young adults. I have experience helping young adults navigate the stressful college years and I very much enjoy counseling college students. I see a variety of people in my Akron, Ohio counseling office. I treat people with depression, anxiety, religious trauma and gender dysphoria. Still have questions? Get answers to common questions about counseling here or simply schedule a counseling session today to get started!