As We Near World Mental Health Day โ Tips For Looking After Our Mental Health ๐
Mental health and wellbeing are very close to my heart. Therefore as we approach World Mental Health day, I also wanted to reshare some tips from an earlier post for looking after our Mental Health which have been helpful for me personally. ๐
Looking after our mental health shouldnโt just be something we do when things are bad, but something we should proactively invest in. By doing this, it will help us to cope with difficult times we then do arise. It can also help to benefit our physical health.
Below are some tips to help improve our mental wellbeing. These have been sourced from various places including the NHS website.
Reframe unhelpful thoughts ๐ง
How we think, feel, and behave are linked. So it's easy for us to develop patterns of thought or behaviours that are unhelpful. By identifying these patterns, and taking steps to change them, we can improve our mental health. If you'd like to learn more about how you can achieve this, here is a great video -ย Reframe Unhelpful Thoughts - YouTube
Get good sleep ๐
A decent nightโs sleep is hugely important. If youโre getting the right amount of sleep and going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, your mental and physical health will be better.ย NHS tips for better sleep
Live a healthy life ๐
Each of us are unique, and so how we do this will differ based on our own needs and capabilities. But where possible, being active, such as enjoying a walk outdoors and a healthy balanced diet both contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Cutting out bad habits such as smoking and drinking will have a positive effect on our mood.
Moderate social media ๐ฒ
Social media can be a great way to stay connected to people, but excessive use can fuel feelings of anxiety, depression, and isolation. If you want to look into this in more detail, then Social Media and Mental Healthย is a great source.
Connect with others ๐จโ๐ฉโ๐ง
Spending quality time with people you care about, talking to them about our feelings, and helping others can help us to feel less lonely. This doesnโt always have to be in person. It can be online like here with our wonderful online community, or a chat with a loved one over the phone. But if you are able to get out for a walk or some lunch with a friend, thatโs great!
Be in the present ๐
Sometimes known as being mindful, itโs when we are aware of our thoughts, feelings, and the world around us in the present moment. This can help us gain better perspective. A great way to improve mindfulness is by breathing exercises -ย Mindful Breathing
Do something for yourself ๐
This is one of my favourite ways to improve the way we feel because it doesnโt have to require a lot of energy. It doesnโt always need to be something extravagant; it can be something small and simple. From enjoying your favourite hobby, starting a new interest, or even relaxing with a cuppa tea, itโs important to do things that make you happy.
Take an inventory of how you feel ๐
It can be helpful to regularly take an inventory of your feelings, using a notepad or journal, focusing on the strongest emotion you feel at that time (i.e. happy, stressed, anxious, etc.). Acknowledging your emotions will help you be more aware of your emotional health, and provide you with something to look back on. A few months down the line, youโll be able to track the ebb and flow of your mental health.
You can find some more tips that might be helpful here -ย Emotional Wellness Week! ๐
If you have any suggestions or tips for how to improve mental health, please share these in the comments. We'd love to hear from you! ๐
Comments
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Limiting social media has certainly been good for my mental health! Thanks for the super tips there Holly. ๐
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Thank you @Holly_Scope for the reminder. I see it's International Mental Health Day this Friday, October 10. I haven't celebrated the day in many, many years. So I'll be sure to celebrate this Friday, though I don't know how yet. How are you going to celebrate the day? Does anyone else have any plans?
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Morning @StarryEyed and thank you. That's a really good question. For me, it's a really important day for personal reasons. I think I'll be taking a bit of time to appreciate how far I've come and also just revisit the coping techniques and things that can help to improve mental health day to day. ๐ How about you?
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That's a great idea. I feel a lot more refreshed and clear headed after a bit of time away. It's healthy to do sometimes especially with how easily accessible things are now as we saw with the Green Paper and a lot of false scare-mongering news. I hope a little time out helps you to feel a bit better and I hope you're doing ok at the minute @Catherine21. ๐
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That's ok @Catherine21, sometimes it can be like that. Just remember to make the most of the good days, and be kind and patient with yourself on the not so good. I'm doing ok thanks. I've got lots to focus on recently so that always helps keep me distracted ๐ค
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I always try to have "digital holidays" @Catherine21 keeping away from all social media for a week can really do wonders for your mental health.
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@Holly_Scope I really love all your ideas on how to celebrate. I've decided on the idea "connect with others" by spreading the word to friends and family with mental illness about this special day tomorrow. I will also be connected by watching a YouTube conference event for this special day on YouTube, which will be chaired by the Queen of Spain.
In case anyone is interested, here is information on World Mental Health Day in Spain (Google Translate add-on works like a charm):
And here is the YouTube channel that will be streaming the conference from Madrid starting at 10:40H tomorrow.
Also, as I have posted in another thread, I'm looking for an international forum for disability support (mental and physical), and I'll dedicate up to an hour tomorrow in looking for one.
A week off social media would make me suicidal ๐คญ๐คญ๐คญ๐ Hats off to those of you with such a strong backbone!
Again, Holly, thank you for the reminder ๐๐ผ๐
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I absolutely love your idea's to connect with others - thank you so much for sharing. I can't wait to hear all about it! ๐
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Hi all. I try to be pro active in all I do, planning ahead in my diary to shape the day, week, month and look back at what I have achieved to motivate me to continue. Having a diary is key in keeping a record.
I do have a secret joy of finding faces in the most peculiar places. They present themselves and make me smile, a bit of sparkle to lift my day. Here are a couple of recent ones. The unhappy avacado
and the 'hello' sponge.
My garden is an ongoing project. To be immersed in natural beauty always has a therapeutic effect. I keep a photographic journal of the seasons. It motivates me with my ongoing projects. I always celebrate whatever 'wins' I have along the way.
Creating a tranquil space in which to sit helps settle me into a deeper state of relaxation.
Be present in all you do. Each task fills a day and carries you through. It all counts.
๐คฉ
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thank you for sharing
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Mental health is close to my heart also. But unlike normal people mine is horrifically bad. I live alone with 2 cats and have no family or friends so I am totally isolated. Most of the time I feel like dying because life is not worth anything to me.
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@ChristineC1 love your creative thinking!
@Jampa ((hugs)).
The theme of the day this year is "access to services - mental health in catastrophes and emergencies". In the past year I've been in two catastrophes - loss of power throughout Spain and a widespread flood in Spain. In both situations I fell apart emotionally particularly because I'm practically immobile. I'm a sitting duck. In catastrophic emergencies, the emergency services are overloaded. So I am going to set up my own emergency services through family, friends and neighbours. I started the conversationon on how to do this yesterday with one of my cousins. I'm wondering if other people here have an emergency plan.
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Hi Jampa,
Hugs back to ya! I may not be physically immobile but I am the equivalent psychologically with my agoraphobia. I was housed by the council because I couldn't function in the outside world when my parents were retiring and downsizing. So any repairs or emergencies I just call them, even out of hours. I'm essentially trapped in the house but do see my therapist once a week for one hour. Family live hundreds of miles away and the neighbours are vile. So I have nobody to call on for help. You're so lucky to have a network around you, whoever they are. Kindness has such a massive impact on how we feel, and the reverse of that is also true. My next door neighbour drilled out a section of the adjoining loft wall so he could climb down into my home through the ceiling hatch. I only discovered what happened because I'd ordered flooring for the loft. He has stalked me since he moved in approx 15 years ago.
It must be wonderful living in Spain. No cold winters ahead of you. I have lots of big fig leaves waiting for me to bag up today. If I don't do a bit every time they wall I'd have to tunnel my way out to feed the birds and foxes. My cat will be skipping up the garden with joy when she sees me out there. Need a boost with all the cancer stuff going on.
Take care hun and I'll pop back again. If you get everyone on a list to share they will hopefully extend it. The more the merrier. Good deeds are filled with the feel good factor. And being part of a group helps motivate others.
๐xxx
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@ChristineC1 now you have us virtual neighbours on this forum. ๐ I can't imagine having agoraphobia. I'm sorry you have that experience.
My birth family (Mom, sister and brother) is a long way away too - in Canada. We communicate with WhatsApp text and videocalls. It's a life saver. Have you tried that with your family?
Fig leaves are spectacular! They're so boldly shaped and incredibly strong and unapologetically large.
Just the word "Spain" is like opium to the masses, with people believing it is a paradise apart from the world where all problems magically disappear. Lol! Yes, some aspects are better (like the climate except June to September). Other aspects are a lateral move. And other aspects are like going from the frying pan into the fire. And sometimes simply the confusion of trying to make comparisons knocks me out (apples and oranges, you know).
I totally agree, from experience, that good deeds are contagious. Could you please explain your vision of a list? I'd love to hear it!
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Good afternoon @ChristineC1, I'm so sorry to hear about the situation with your neighbour. You mentioned he's been stalking you since he moved in and drilled out a section of the loft. Can you tell me if you've reported this to the police at all?
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"Kindness has such a massive impact on how we feel, and the reverse of that is also true."ย
Christine, thank you โค๏ธ
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World Mental Health Day 10/10
We'll remember this date with great sadness.
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Hi Adrian_Scope,
Yes, I reported my neighbour to the police and they did nothing, saying it was a council matter (housed as a vulnerable person because of my agoraphobia). Council said I had no proof because I didn't have cameras in the loft to record him drilling out the wall, and then in the kitchen where he was climbing down through the ceiling hatch. I now have cameras in every room and every window looking out in every direction, including the street and my back garden. He is creepy beyond words and clearly a danger to women. He created a raised platform at the top of his garden fixed to my fence so he could stand on it to watch me. I am currently lining the entire fence with massive plastic sheets to raise the height so his vision will be blurred. This is a middle aged 6 foot man. The number of things I have discovered are too many to mention. The other really freaky thing was when he followed me to my therapy with his mate and I couldn't get parked so had to drive around. I followed his van watching him circle the street 3 times before he realised I was behind him and then he sped off. I do not know whether it was to sabotage my car, wait for me to go back to the car to do something to me. I do not know what he is capable of. He is limited in following me now because I only go to therapy once a week. He was following me to the local CO OP, swimming and Sainsbury's. He openly discusses what he is doing to me with other neighbours. It's the most bizarre situation I have experienced. And the nightmare continues.
๐
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Hi @ChristineC1, please excuse me interjecting on your thread. I've read your posts last week but not replied I'm sorry (recovering from Covid).
I'm so sorry for what you've been going through but seen you've had some very kind and helpful comments.
I just wanted to add have you heard of The Suzy Lamplugh Trust? They have a National Stalking Helpline. If you need it, their number is 0800 802 0300 it's open from 0930 to 2000hrs on Mon and Weds, and from 0930 to 1600hrs on Tues, Thurs and Fri. They're often very busy and ask if you can't get through to complete their online form and they will come back to you.
It goes without saying that you should have the absolute right to peaceful and non-intrusive enjoyment of your home and garden, and not to feel menaced when you're out and about either. I think the police response was appalling (but I don't know their policy etc).
Your posts today about your parents and Porscha were very moving. Being mostly housebound I'm trying to get to grips with improving my garden, being out in nature definitely helps.
Take care of yourself and my very warmest wishes to you.
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Hi Adrian,
Thank you for your kindness and info about the stalking. So many of the established helplines are relationship based. I did have a stalking group who did the risk assessment and it was at the highest level, now reduced because of everything I done to create boundaries, and just don't leave the house now apart from therapy. I don't have anyone to call on locally apart from my therapist. My isolation creates a 24/7 access for him because he lives next door. It all came down to my word against his. He knows how to play the game of not getting caught. Even cleared away all the rubble after the drilling of the brickwork. But the guys who repaired the wall discovered he'd laid a piece of carpet over the bricks to make his access easier. I was infested with rats from his loft. He stole my identity too (passport, birth certif and NI card) but I only realised much later when I needed them for renewing my disabled badge. He is obsessed. When I was up a ladder doing the fencing his sensor light came on and I turned round to see him **** at his window, holding his bits. He has sat in his van waiting for me to arrive home with my sister when she was staying with me for my hospital appts. He was **** apart from a pair of shorts. He listens to my conversations and so I cannot have a private telephone conversation at home. I know this because he gossips about me. I find it odd that this is not a secretive behaviour. The other neighbours are just as vile but he has gone to great lengths to intimidate me. He left me a freaky sticker on my old fridge plug - STIRRER and burned my wall paper next to the boiler. If I had not been decorating I would have never discovered it. I still hear his door open when I turn off my tv to go to bed. He waits in the dark outside until I turn off my laptop. I then hear his door close. He cannot possibly see me with the double layer curtains and blinds I have at all the windows. I love in darkness because of him. It doesn't matter how many times I recall the details it just reinforces my situation.
Hope you are on the mend with the dreaded covid and can get out into the garden. Even sitting watching Nature helps, though it is rather chilly and threatening rain out there. My cat, Sweetie, is nestled in a blanket waiting for me to serve her treats. We have been watching the birds feast on fat balls. Squirrels scamper and spiders survey their webs as leaves fall. I've been gathering another heap of fallen fig leaves. So satisfying banging the branches to get more to fall. Will get back out and potter, moving pots to sheltered spots and making plans for the Autumnal season ahead. Whatever you do, even sitting at a window looking out, being connected will fill you up. It does me.
Getting back out there before my Sweetie comes looking for me.
Lots of love xxx๐
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