October 10th marks World Mental Health Day where this year, the Mental Health Foundation are encouraging people to open up and talk about their experiences with their awareness campaign, ‘If this speaks to you, speak to us’. Alongside this, the theme for this year is ‘Make mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority’. To recognise this, we have gathered some mental health wellbeing tips to provide you with some useful coping mechanisms for when you may need some additional support.
Find time in your day to do something that relaxes you
To help combat mental health struggles, Mind have suggested incorporating something into your day you find relaxing. For example, having a bath or going for a walk outside – both can drastically help to lower your stress levels whilst also giving you a moment to take a break from an overwhelming situation. Alternatively, doing an activity to distract yourself from a current situation can also be an effective solution to relaxing yourself. This could be something as simple as baking, listening to music, watching a film, or even listening to a mental health podcast to provide you with relevant advice and help you navigate through similar situations to the on you may be experiencing. All these activities are great tools to deflect from your current situation by having a change in scenery or task and helping you to de-stress and relax.
Learn something new
Another great way of coping with your mental health is to learn a new skill – especially in a group environment. By learning a new talent with others such as dancing, playing an instrument or even pottery, surrounding yourself with others and building an encouraging community around you is vitally important for support. To find out what’s going on in your local area, contact your local Mind to join a class/activity!
Enjoy nature
Many people find spending time outside in nature very calming and it has also been proven to help reduce stress and anger. You could spend time at your local park and have a picnic with friends or family to get some fresh air – which ultimately releases high levels of serotine (your ‘happy hormone’) into your body to ultimately help improve your mood. On the other hand, if you’re lucky enough to have one, you should spend time outside in your own garden. You could find solace in sprucing up your garden by planting flowers, fruits or vegetables.
If you’re struggling with your mental health, remember there are plenty of support services available 24/7 for a free and confidential chat, such as the Samaritans. The Samaritans are there for anyone, regardless of what you’re facing to listen to you, so you don’t have to face it alone.
Another free resource you can use is the NHS’ Mind Plan where you can take a short 5 question quiz to get your personalised mental health action plan. This provides specific tips that cater to your needs that can help make a big difference to your day-to-day life.
Are you someone that has a desire to help others with their mental health struggles? Working as a psychiatrist provides you with that opportunity! At Athona, we have an abundance of psychiatrist vacancies that need filling, and you may be the perfect candidate.
As well as checking out our vacancies on our website, get in touch with our psychiatry team and they can find you your perfect role!
