Make yourself a priority.
Mental wellbeing doesn’t have one set meaning. We might use it to talk about how we feel, how well we’re coping with daily life or what feels possible at the moment.
Good mental wellbeing doesn’t mean that you’re always happy, or that you’re unaffected by your experiences.
Having good wellbeing doesn’t always mean that you don’t have a mental health diagnosis. You may live with a mental health diagnosis, but have good wellbeing right now. There are many people with a clinical diagnosis who are happy and have good wellbeing because they are being supported or are managing their diagnosis well.
Or you might not have a mental health diagnosis, but be struggling with your wellbeing at the moment. It’s important to understand we all go through up’s and down’s.
Poor mental wellbeing can make it more difficult to cope with daily life. So it is important to be aware, develop a mental health tool kit and reach out if you need support.
Tips for improving your mental wellbeing
There are lots of things you can do to try to take care of your wellbeing.
Try to relax and reduce stress
Find ways to learn and be creative
Look after your physical health
Apps
Chill Panda: Tasks include simple breathing techniques and light exercises to take your mind off your worries. http://chillpanda.co.uk
Worry Tree: Uses cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques to help notice and challenge worries and create an action plan for managing worry. https://www.worry-tree.com/
Thrive: helps prevent and manage stress, anxiety and related conditions. The game based app can be used to relax before a stressful situation or on a more regular basis. https://thrive.uk.com/
Anxiety app for meditation: Calm
Anxiety app for mindfulness colouring: Colorfy
Mood tracking: What’s Up? A Mental
Anxiety app for sleep: Nature Sounds Relax
Anxiety app for breathing techniques: Breathwrk
Anxiety app game: AntiStress Anxiety
Anxiety app for journaling: Moodnotes
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT): MindShift CBT
Low Mood
Ups and downs are a normal part of life, but for someone who is experiencing depression, negative thoughts, feelings of failure,
hopelessness, numbness or sadness may affect functioning over an extended period, having a significant impact on behaviour, motivation and ability to engage in day-to-day activities.
Apps
Catch It: Learn how to manage feelings like anxiety and depression with Catch It. The app will teach you how to look at problems in a different way. https:// www.liverpool.ac.uk/it/app- directory/catch-it/
MoodTools: A free app for man- aging depression with mood tracker, videos, meditations and thought diary. https://www.moodtools.org/
Daylio Journal – Daily Diary Mood Tracker, Health, Wellness.
What’s Up? – Mental Health App.
Happify: for Stress & worry.
CBT Tools for healthy living
Online Support
Hub of Hope: a mental health database of local, national, peer, community, charity, private and NHS support. https://hubofhope.co.uk/
ChildLine: information, advice, support and tools for children and young people up to 19 years old. 0800 1111 www.childline.org.uk
The Mix: advice, blogs, articles and 1-2-1 online chat and messenger options for older teens and young adults. 0808 808 4994 www.themix.org.uk
Shout: a free, confidential and anonymous text support service. Txt 85258 https://giveusashout.org/get-help/
Try self-help CBT techniques
Use one of the Apps or look at the short video guides and practical strategies using the link: https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind- matters/mental-wellbeing-tips/self-help-cbt- techniques/
Be Kind
Helping others can also improve our support networks and encourage us to be more active. This, in turn, can improve our self-esteem. There is some evidence to suggest that when we help others, it can promote changes in the brain that are linked with happiness.
Talk to someone
Trusted friends, family and colleagues, or contacting a helpline, can help us when we are struggling.
Get better sleep
Low moods can make us feel tired, and tiredness can also have a bad impact on our mood, and create abetter routine.
Embrace Gratitude
Taking a moment to be thankful causes physiological changes in your body that initiate the para- sympathetic nervous system — the part of your nervous system that helps you rest. Gratitude helps with overall relaxation. See page 12 for gratitude challenge.
Exercise.
Being active releases chemicals in your brain that make you feel good – boosting your self-esteem and helping you concentrate as well as sleep well and feel better.
Anger
We all feel angry sometimes, often when there’s a good reason. Uncontrolled anger can be harmful, but you can learn to manage it. Anger is one of a range of emotions that we all experience. It’s ok and perfectly normal to feel angry about things that you have experienced.
Anger can start to become a problem when you express it through unhelpful or destructive behaviour – either towards yourself or other people. It can also contribute to you developing mental health problems, like depression and anxiety, or make existing problems worse.
- If you find yourself doing these sorts of things, it might be a sign that you need some support:
- hitting or physically hurting other people
- shouting at people
- breaking things
- losing control
- spending time with people who get you into trouble
- constantly ending relationships or getting in trouble at school
Relaxation
Over time, you’ll learn to manage your anger better yourself. When you feel angry or stressed you can try out different relaxation techniques to help you calm down, such as:
- going for a walk
- listening to music
- taking deep breaths
- doing some exercise
- doing something you enjoy – skate- boarding, painting, swimming
- talking to someone about how you are feeling
- playing computer games to take your mind off it
- reading a book
- having a hot bath
How to help a friend
How to respond when a friend opens up to you?
If a friend has shared how they are feeling, it might be the first time they have spoken to someone about their mental health and they may struggle to put their thoughts into words.
They might not go into lots of detail and say something like ‘I’m finding things hard right now’ or ‘actually, I’m not fine’. Or they might share things they are struggling with at home, school, university or work.
Listen
Listen carefully when someone opens up to you about how they are feeling. Try to let them share without interrupting or judging them, or making any assumptions. This can help make your friend feel more comfortable. You can show you are listening by nod- ding, or repeating what they say to show you have understood. If they are finding it overwhelming, you can suggest they write it down in a text or on a piece of paper to make it easier.
Reassure
Often, when someone has opened up about how they are feeling, they might immediately feel worried that they’ve said the wrong thing or shared too much. The first way you could respond to them is to reassure them that they have done the right thing by speaking about it. You could say, ‘I’m really glad you told me this’, or ‘it might have felt difficult but it’s good that you spoke to me about it’.
Validate
No matter what they are struggling with, their experiences are valid and it can be helpful to remind your friend of this. You could say some- thing like ‘its okay to feel like that’ or, ‘what you’re going through sounds really tough’. Sometimes when you are struggling with your mental health, it can feel very lonely. By letting them know how they feel is valid, you are letting them know that they are not alone.
Positive Action
Sometimes all it can take to let your friend know that you are there for them is a hug, or just taking the time to sit with them. It doesn’t have to be a big gesture, you being there lets them know that you care. After someone has shared with you how they are feeling, they might be worried that you won’t want to spend time with them. Simple gestures can re- mind them that you are still their friend, and you can still do the things you used to do together.
Celebrities breaking the silence
Dwayne Johnson
“I found that, with depression, one of the most important things you could realize is that you’re not alone,” “You’re not the first to go through it; you’re not going to be the last to go through it. And often times—it hap- pens—you just feel like you’re alone. You feel like it’s only you. You’re in your bubble. And I wish I had someone at that time who could just pull me aside and [say], ‘Hey, it’s gonna be OK. It’ll be OK.’ So, I wish I knew that.”
Selena Gomez
“I’ve discovered that anxiety, panic attacks and depression can be side effects of lupus, which can present their own challenges,” she told People. “I want to be proactive and focus on maintaining my health and happiness and have decided that the best way forward is to take some time off. I know I am not alone by sharing this, I hope others will be encouraged to address their own issues.”