Eight ways you can care for your mental health
While there’s certainly a lot of important conversations happening right now, it’s of the utmost importance that you take care of your mental health as a priority. Mental health isn’t something you should only focus on when you’re feeling down; good mental health often comes from checking in frequently and looking after yourself on a daily basis.
Particularly at the moment, your mental health may be particularly struggling, depending on your situation. Perhaps taking time out from the stresses of normal daily life to spend with your loved ones, to have time to read, cook, bake, and relax has done wonders for your mental health. But for many others, the effects of the US presidential election, the Black Lives Matter movement, the impact of job losses, pay cuts, loneliness, fear of the pandemic itself, anxiety of what’s to come, grief and much, much more can all be incredibly detrimental to your own wellbeing. So it’s more important than ever before to make sure that alongside all the healthcare precautions you are currently taking, that you look after your mental wellbeing too.
Here are eight easy-to-follow ways to keep your mindset in check. But remember, if you’re struggling in any way, or experiencing anxiety, depression or stress that’s difficult to manage, please speak to your GP. Also check this help page from the NHS, which includes some helpful videos, tips and tricks to help you on your way.
Reframe negative thoughts
Our thoughts, feelings and behaviour are all linked together, and sometimes we can develop patterns that aren’t helpful to our mental health. Learning to recognise when you have negative thoughts, and then learning how to think about those things differently, can improve your mental wellbeing.
An example might be that you’re feeling sad about staying home and not seeing your loved ones, but if you reframe it to thinking that staying home is protecting yourself and your family, then you will learn to see it differently and therefore feel differently about it.
Try mindfulness
Living in the past is something many people do when they feel anxious - we’ve all worried needlessly about something we said six months ago, or how we might have done something differently. Equally, constantly looking to the future and panicking about what’s to come can also be unhelpful for your mental health.
Whenever you feel yourself spiralling into thinking about what happens next, or worrying about something that happened last week, try to bring yourself back into the present moment. Think about what you can see, smell, hear, touch. Practice breathing exercises or listen to a podcast, to bring yourself back to the present and gain a more balanced perspective.
Get plenty of sleep
Sleep is essential to good mental health, so try and get your eight hours every night. This article has some great tips on improving the quality of your sleep to help you wake feeling refreshed.
Practice a healthy lifestyle
Your mental wellbeing can be drastically impacted by your lifestyle. It’s best, for all-over health, to make sure you lead an active, healthy lifestyle, which includes plenty of exercise, time outdoors (at a safe social distance), eating a balanced diet, and cutting down on bad habits like smoking and excessive alcohol or caffeine consumption.
Soak up some sunlight
Vitamin D, which we most often benefit from in sunlight, has a huge impact on our moods, as it encourages our brains to release mood-boosting chemicals like endorphins and serotonin. We may all be lacking in vitamin D at the moment, without as much time outdoors as we’d usually have, so it’s important to try and bring it back into your life where you can.
Try to go out in the sun when you can, but keep your skin and eyes safe with SPF and sunglasses - as little as 30 minutes a day can make a large difference. Our article on the subject will also give you some top tips on supplements and other ways to try and increase your vitamin D intake.
Do something you enjoy
It’s so important to do things that make you happy, and is a great way to help look after yourself mentally. Whether it’s reading, baking, cooking, sewing, painting, or just watching a great TV series—if it makes you feel good, get stuck in!
Connect with others
Lockdown has all made us much more au fait with video-call technology, and by now you’re probably a dab hand at a Zoom call or Skype catch-up. And whilst it won’t ever match up to seeing your favourite people in person, some time spent chatting to friends and family can do wonders for your mood and mental wellbeing.
Ask for help
One of the biggest and most important ways to care for your mental health is to recognise when you’re not feeling good, and knowing when and how to ask for help. There is absolutely no shame in asking for support if you find yourself feeling low, anxious or stressed. Try speaking to friends or family, or if you think that your mental health might be getting on top of you, you can make an appointment with your GP. There are millions of resources online too, all of which can help you on your journey to mental wellbeing.