Positive Mental Health

What does positive mental health look like?

As we near the end of mental health awareness week, it's made me think about my own mental health.


I consider myself to be extremely lucky in that I've never suffered from depression or any kind of mental health issues.  I'd go as far as to say that I believe I'm incredibly strong in terms of my mental health.  Why?  Is that down to my genetic make-up or is it the things I do in order to keep a positive mindset?  A combination of the two?  I simply don't know.  

 A number of years ago I lost both my own sister and my sister-in-law within 3 weeks of each other.  If that isn't a good enough reason to be depressed then I don't know what is.  But, even though I had some horrendously bad days and was incredibly sad, I don't think I ever felt depressed.  I remember one particular day where I sat in my dressing gown all day and cried.  I also remember thinking to myself "this is not going to happen again, I refuse to feel sorry for myself".  Of course, I had many bad days after that and there isn't a day goes by when I don't think of these two lovely people.  But the fact is that I firmly believe that I owe it to my sister and sister-in-law to carry on with my life and make them proud, which I hope I have.  To be honest, this horrible period of my life actually made me appreciate the small things so much more and I don't take anything for granted these days.

 I've spoken to a few people who have had periods of depression and one person described it as 'indescribable' and another person said it was like being at the bottom of a black hole and feeling like you were being dragged further and further down.  I imagine it means different things to different people.

 The one thing I do know, and studies have shown this to be the case*, is that you feel a whole lot better after a horrible day if you spend time outside in the fresh air.  I spent eight hours taking minutes in a meeting the other day (yes really!) and I was mentally exhausted when I got home.  So I put on my trainers and headed out for a walk.  It was a beautiful sunny evening, I walked along the trail and through the woods and all I could hear was the birds singing, the flow of the stream and numerous animals mooing, baaing, neighing and it was fabulous.  It was like nature was literally washing away the day and 'cleansing my mind' as well as getting some physical exercise as well.  The sleepy geese in the pic below also looked very content with life :-)

Something else I've been doing for a while now is meditating every day, even if I just have 5 mins.  Some days it's harder than others to switch off but it has got easier and it's like anything else, you have to practice in order to get better at it.

Top 10 tips to help improve your mental health:

  1. TALK - talk to someone and let them know how you are feeling.
  2. GET OUTDOORS - spend at least 10-20 mins outside every day.
  3. EAT WELL - include plenty of 'brain food' in your diet such as oily fish, nuts, seeds, dark green leafy vegetables.
  4. DRINK SENSIBLY - don't use alcohol to make you feel better.
  5. SPEND TIME WITH FRIENDS - plan something fun together.
  6. ASK FOR HELP - asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
  7. SAY NO - you don't have to be all things to all people.
  8. DO SOMETHING YOU ENJOY - and do it more often!
  9. SUPPORT OTHERS - knowing you've helped others can help you feel better and accept that you're not alone.
  10. ACCEPT YOUR FEELINGS - as we keep saying these days "it's ok to not be ok".  Find your own coping mechanisms and keep talking to others.
Spending time with friends is even better if it's outside ....


Stay strong and keep mashing it up in mash-up may #mashupmay
*https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/how-to-using-exercise

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