Christen Harper’s Go-to Grounding Practice for Better Mental Health
![Christen Harper](https://lifestyle.si.com/.image/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700/MTk3Njg2NTMwOTgwOTgwMDEz/christen-harper.jpg)
Christen Harper.
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During a panel discussion at SI Swimsuit’s “Be You Women’s Empowerment Series,” presented by Maybelline, at the University of Cincinnati on Sept. 21, Christen Harper opened up about everything from her career trajectory to her emotional well-being.
In addition to sharing the No. 1 mental health tip she’s learned from her fiancé, Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, the three-time SI Swimsuit model revealed how she stays grounded and gets herself out of a mental funk.
“I feel like for me, I need to like go outside, I need to literally touch grass,” Harper stated. “I need to go on a walk, no music, and if I can find a puppy hanging around, I’ll go to a dog shelter, pet some dogs. That’s what I need to do. I need to get back to nature, get back to what I feel like is the real world, just get grounded, literally.”
The advice is similar to Harper’s favorite thing to do when she finds herself in a new city: get out, get moving and explore on foot. At Miami Swim Week this summer, she reiterated that movement is vital to her mental health.
“Some girl time is always good, too,” Harper added of her favorite ways to stay grounded. “But I feel like for me, I can get stuck in a little hole, and I’ll just never go outside, and I’ll just be with myself, like, wallowing in misery, so I need to get outside of that.”