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Kind To Your Mind

Feeling flat?

When you’ve not been feeling yourself consistently for more than a couple of weeks, you might want to start thinking about what you can do to improve things. You could feel nervous, irritable, have low energy levels or find it difficult to relax. There are small steps you can take to feel better.

Self-help tips and advice

Breathe

It’s amazing what a difference a few minutes of breathing exercises can make to your stress levels. This calming breathing technique for stress, anxiety and panic only takes just a few minutes and can be done anywhere.

Be active

Being active does wonders for your physical and mental wellbeing. We often think that mind and body are separate. But what you do with your body can have a powerful effect on your mental wellbeing. For tips, advice and support to get active in and around the home for the whole family click here.

Stay connected

Staying in touch with family and friends is important for our mental wellbeing. You could try phone calls, video calls or social media instead of meeting in person.

Be positive

When you’re feeling stressed it’s easy to focus too much on the negative and forget the good things that happen. If something good happens, make a note of it, celebrate the little wins and focus on the positive. Thinking positive helps you to feel positive.

Make time for you

Sometimes a busy life can mean that we neglect ourselves and don’t spend enough time doing things that we enjoy. This can lead to a build-up of stress that can be relieved by setting aside a couple of nights a week for some quality ‘me time’ away from work / family. Take time for yourself doing the things you enjoy such as going for a walk, cooking, spending time doing hobbies, watching a favourite TV programme or taking a bath.

Set yourself a goal

Setting yourself a goal like walking more, doing a 10 minute online home workout or learning a new language can be a great stress reliever. If you don’t feel in control of your life at the moment, taking control of a new challenge can be really empowering.

Accept you can't change everything

There are some things in life you can’t change. Fighting against these things will only end up making you feel stressed and frustrated. Instead, try to focus on the parts of your life that you can control and make it your mission to make these things the best they can be. Accepting that you can’t change everything will help release you from a lot of unnecessary stress.

Help others

Helping others can give us a sense of purpose, improve our feelings of self-worth and make us feel good.

Money worries

Particularly at this time you may feel worried and stressed about money. Free advice on money, debts, benefits and work issues is available from Citizens Advice.

Look after your body

Move more

Find a way of being active that you like. Almost any form of activity can act as a natural stress reliever. Being active releases feel-good hormones called endorphins into your blood stream, which can ease stress by helping you feel happier, more relaxed and sleep better. Going walking, jogging or running are famously good ways to clear your head and lift your mood.

Drink less

Some people turn to alcohol, smoking or caffeine when they are feeling low. Alcohol is a depressant, so although initially it may make you feel more energetic or cheerful, this feeling fades quickly; leaving you feeling down, tired and dehydrated.

Eat well

You may not realise just how big a role your diet plays on your mood. Eating a healthy diet and staying hydrated can give you the strength and energy to cope more easily with everyday life. The benefits that come with a healthy balanced diet can help you feel good and get more out of life.

Stop smoking

Stopping smoking can actually reduce your stress levels. Smokers often experience more stress or heightened stress due to nicotine withdrawal between cigarettes. Removing cigarettes from your life also removes these smoking-related issues and helps give you more control over your mood.