Stress and Mental Health
Many people have become more aware of improving their physical health but mental health is just as important. Stress and mental health, stress can have a big impact on our mental health and well being. This week is mental health awareness week, so I felt now was a good time to put the spotlight on good mental health and what we can do to maintain and improve our mental health.
Why is mental health important?
Helps us:
- form and maintain good relationships with others
- show and manage positive and negative emotions
- cope with and manage change and uncertainty which although it has always been with us seems more urgent in the challenging times we live in
Did you know that 1 in 6 people experience mental health issues as a result of their work environment*? Stress is often a big factor in how we percieve our work/life balance . Interestingly women in full time employment are twice as likely to have common mental health problems as men in full time employment*. Possibly because they are juggling family commitments as well as work issues. Also older people are more prone to mental health problems. This means with an aging population in the UK more of us are likely to have mental health issues in the future.
So what can we do to improve our mental health?
Here are some helpful suggestions:
- Eat well – eating well helps our physical well being which in turn will benefits our mental health
- Keep active – exercise has been shown to boost self-confidence and self-esteem
- Make me time – sometimes life can seem one long round of work and chores – schedule time in your diary when you concentrate on yourself – read a book, have a relaxing bath
- Do something you love – doing something you enjoy can boost your self-confidence and self-esteem as well as helping to release the feel good endorphins
- Try acupuncture – acupuncture can help to relax and destress the body and mind – see acupuncture page for more information
- Attend a stress busting workshop – learning self help strategies such as breathing techniques and simple exercises can help you to feel more in control of difficult situations, especially in the work place –see stressbusting workshop page for more details
*statistics from mental health organization see https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week
