Tomorrow is World Mental Health Day and this year’s theme is Make mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority.
Mental health is of course as important as physical health, and often negative experiences of one can impact the other. For example, if you are stressed and anxious you may have physical symptoms like headaches or loss of appetite, and if you have a disability, visible or otherwise, this can have a massive impact on your mental health.
The impact on mental health for people with invisible disabilities can particularly be exacerbated by people not believing that they have an illness, or assuming that they’re exaggerating their symptoms and the impact they have on their life.
This World Mental Health Day, here are some simple ways you can take care of your own mental health and that of others around you.
Be kind
I ummed and ahhed about including this in the list, as it’s become a bit of a cliche recently, and honestly is often used by those who want to be smug about someone else’s behaviour and then in the next breath (or social media post) behave in an exact opposite way themselves. But being kind, both to yourself and those around you is at the core of improving our mental health. Self-care is key to being kind to yourself and showing empathy and understanding to other people is key to be kind to others. Maybe just don’t get on your high-horse and tell everyone else to be kind every time they do something you disagree with.
Use a mood tracker
I find mood tracking really helpful to keep an eye on how I’m feeling and how this changes in line with bad health days, hospital appointments, changes in medication and other factors. The Samaritans have a great free app which also offers practical ways to help if you are experiencing low mood or have an issue and aren’t sure of the best way to deal with it.
Exercise
If you’re able to do some exercise, this is really helpful for improving your mood and looking after your mental health long-term. Be gentle with yourself, and if you have any particular physical issues, speak to your doctor before proceeding, and most of all start small and build up.
Meditate
Meditation is a great way to improve your mental health and has a real impact long-term. You don’t need a teacher or expensive app to begin meditating. Just sit, take a deep breath, close your eyes and concentrate on your breath for a few minutes each day. Allow thoughts to come and go without judgment and, if you get distracted, which you will, just return to the breath.
Talk to the people around you
If you’re struggling with your mental health, or physical health, it can be a really lonely experience and you can feel like you’re the only person living with this situation. There is no shame in asking for help if you need it, and often talking through a problem is enough to help you see it from another perspective and make it easier to deal with. Social media has made it easier than ever to reach out and contact people if you don’t have any face-to-face support available for whatever reason.
I hope you have a wonderful week and, working together with those around us, we can improve the mental health wellbeing of all those around us, doing our bit to make it a global priority for everyone.
Take care,
Donna
Self-care snippet
Last year there was a lot going on and I left my Christmas shopping until the last minute and ended up getting really stressed panic buying. So this year, to prevent another situation like that, I’ve started really early and am even hand-making some gifts, which is a nice way to create something completely unique as well as do some creative activity which is relaxing and good for you.
Things I’ve seen, heard, read and talked about
Able’s life transformed after ‘miracle’ fundraising effort A lovely story about a community effort to help buy Able Sharp, who lives with spastic quadriplegia, cerebral palsy, bone deformity and epilepsy, a motorised standing device.
Consumers with disabilities ‘overlooked’ & ‘disempowered’ A look at a report by the Business Disability Forum which showed how disabled people are impacted by the advertising and retail industry.
TUC calls for Long COVID to be recognised as a disability An article arguing for Long COVID to be recognised as a disability to prevent the two million people living with the condition, the symptoms of which are in many ways similar to ME, being discriminated against.
Laura Nuttall: Woman given 12 months to live celebrates graduation A heartwarming story of a woman working her way through her bucket list after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
Sally Phillips: ‘I gave myself a headache doing fake laughter on Alan Partridge’ An interview which touches on Phillips’ experiences of caring and campaigning for people with disabilities.
‘I’m so angry’: UK model’s prosthetic leg edited out of Spain ‘beach bodies’ ad A piece about a Spanish campaign celebrating different body types ironically editing out the prosthetic leg of a model whose image was used without her knowledge or permission.