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Mental Health and Wellbeing

Relax

There are very few things that help relax you than when someone says "oh just relax". If anything it is counter-productive in the attempt to relax. However, once you have found something that helps you to relax, it can be a helpful way to improve your wellbeing. There are many activities that can help someone relax: 

  • Exercise is a great way to get your endorphins flowing and help to boost your mood. 
  • Reading a book. Take your mind away from the problem by getting lost in a good book. 
  • Meditate. Concentrate on your mind for a minute. Just take a seat, concentrate on your breathing and on the surround world. 

Take a Break

When you are feeling overwhelmed by a stressful situation, try to take a step back and give yourself a break.

  • Walk away from the situation and try to relax
  • Do something that helps you to relieve feelings of anxiety or nerves

Just remember, even a few minutes can make all the difference to relaxing your mind and tackling stressful situations in a calm manner. 

Hobbies

Sometimes it can feel impossible to find the time to do something that you enjoy however making sometime for yourself is one of the best ways to boost your mental wellbeing. Finding new hobbies or rediscovering old ones, such as reading or cooking, can help improve wellbeing.

Doing something creative can often prove to be a useful distraction, especially if you are troubled with some difficult feelings or thoughts. Finding a creative outlet such as baking, photography or crafts can be rewarding and bring a calming ease to a troubled mind.

Getting out into nature or even bringing nature into the home can help to boost mood and has been shown to reduce feeling of stress. Try having a walk in a local park and have a look at the plants and animals that call it home. Buy some plants and use them to decorate your home, or better yet, grow from seed and watch your work grow.

There are multiple ways that you can connect with others to improve your mental wellbeing. Try spending time with your friends doing something that you all enjoy such as going to a museum or the cinema. Alternatively, have catch ups in person at local cafes or restaurants instead of phone calls or texts, while they are convenient sometimes the personal touch is needed. Opening up to someone that you trust can help to work through the thoughts and feeling that are causing you some issues, otherwise a local peer support group might prove beneficial.

Find ways to make a difference to someone else’s life or work with local volunteer groups. Small acts of kindness could be something as simple as making a drink for a family member, holding open a door for a stranger or even posting a nice comment on a video or post online.

Physical activity is a good way to help boost your mental wellbeing, as it help to boost your serotonin, a happy hormone. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, no need to worry about running a marathon or spending hours in the gym. Just a simple walk outside can boost your mind and body. If you prefer to be indoors, look into video games that require some physical activity as they can be a good source of exercise while being fun and interactive.

Sleep

Sleep is an important part of daily life and when we have somethings on our mind, it can be difficult to get a restful night. Small changes can help improve the quality of sleep and make getting a decent amount of rest a little more achievable. Trying to stick to a routine when it comes to going to bed is often the best place to start when trying to improve your sleep as it helps to keep some regularity to your sleep pattern. Try to relax yourself before you head to bed, have a nice and calm bath or spend a little time reading something for pleasure. These can help to calm your mind after a busy day. Try getting away from tech in the last hour before going to bed or at least stop looking at the screen, put a podcast on and let it send you off to sleep. The most important thing you can do when looking at improving your sleep is to make sure that your sleeping environment is comfortable for you. Some people sleep better in darker rooms than others and some people like to sleep with the fan on while others can’t. Try some small changes such as new bedding, having a small light or some natural sounds playing. Interruptions while irritating, especially during period of mental unrest, don’t last forever and are completely normal