Mental Health Awareness Week: Tips for Supporting your Mental Wellbeing

In recent weeks, many of us have been confined to our homes, unable to see loved ones and barred from our usual routines. In fact, ongoing lockdown measures have disrupted almost every aspect of life as we know it.

This upheaval of our established ‘normal’ has affected mental wellbeing across the globe, with many individuals feeling out of place and unsure of what the future holds – and this is completely natural. Like our physical health, our mental health is constantly evolving which means that some days will be more difficult than others. However, to ensure that we can best identify and manage these feelings, it’s important that we have the tools and means to do so.

This Mental Health Awareness Week we want to help you do just that, so take a look at our top tips for supporting your mental wellbeing:

Maintain a balanced sleep schedule

Often individuals are surprised to find that their physical wellbeing, including their sleeping patterns, play a pivotal role in their mental wellbeing also. However, research has found that poor sleeping habits have been linked to feelings of stress, low self-esteem and difficulty to complete everyday tasks. So, it’s vital that we establish, and maintain, a balanced schedule.

Why not set a time where you begin getting ready for bed – perhaps have a bath, brush your teeth, and read for thirty minutes. This will signal to your body that you’re preparing to clock out for the day and allow regularity. However, what we’d most suggest in this respect is giving yourself time away from any technology. Staring at a screen can make it more difficult for us to fall asleep because of the reflected light, so switching our devices off can help us switch off in tandem!

Hold your diet accountable

Diet is something that we are constantly advised on, however, it’s important to reflect on how they can impact our mind and this exceeds food alone. Self-isolation has given many of us more spare time than usual and as a result, many turn to alcohol or nicotine to pass the time or celebrate the end of the working day. Whilst this isn’t a bad habit on occasion, we shouldn’t be accustomed to it being a daily binge.

Enforcing guidelines of some description can be a helpful tool in which case. If you’ve become used to a few drinks to mark the end of the day, why not change this to celebrate the end of the working week!

Connect and Communicate

Amidst this period of isolation and uncertainty, a prime worry for many is loneliness – either theirs’ or that of a loved one. However, this is an issue that we can actively combat!

We now have access to an abundance of resources that allow us to engage with our loved ones on a daily basis if required. From social media to phone and video calls to distanced walks, it’s vital that we recall all the opportunities that are available to us at present rather than those that are not.

Once we adapt to this mindset, it’s much easier to be optimistic about our circumstances rather than downhearted. If you don’t believe us, give one a try!

Identify and Manage Stressors

This may seem a deceptively vague step, but it is helpful to consider.

Stress is an innate reaction that triggers our fight or flight response. It exists to keep us safe in troubling situations. However, in the modern-day where stressors are more figurative than literal, this can be an issue as our bodies don’t have an immediate physical response to many situations. By identifying the exact causes of our stress we can then manufacture a physical action that resolves these feelings.

For instance, if you feel overwhelmed by your work-life intruding on your home-life, a direct physical action could be logging out of professional platforms in your free time or perhaps a different action entirely.

Practice old hobbies or find new ones

If lockdown has taught us anything, it’s that we are becoming extremely creative in how we entertain ourselves – from baking bread to knitting to writing. And, luckily, these hobbies are a great way to give your mind the break it needs from reality.

Why not resume a hobby that you had years ago? If not, why not choose a completely new one!

Ask for Help

Whilst self-support can be useful, it’s vital that everyone understands that there is wider help available should you need it. If you feel overwhelmed or out of control or can’t comprehend how you’re feeling, then contact your GP or a mental health organisation and ask for help. You won’t be the first and you certainly won’t be the last.