Do you priorities your own Mental Health?

 #Mentalhealthawarenessmonth 

The COVID-19 pandemic put unprecedented strain on our mental health. It has increased stress, anxiety, loneliness, depression, substance use, self-harm and suicidal behavior – yet access to support, especially trained support, has never been more difficult. The overload of stress & the lack of availability in services is causing many individuals with existing symptoms of mental illness to experience an escalation of symptoms while creating the addition of new symptoms too. 

As anyone who has been diagnosed with a mental health condition will know, investing in our mental health is essential to returning to our full potential. From time to time, most of us face unusually stressful situations in our lives, whether because of illness, grief, unemployment, financial or legal problems, or another many other factors. The phrase "𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃 𝒶 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝑒" is true, however protection is a better stance to embrace. Protecting our mental health is our own responsibility. It's in our control. We have the choice to strengthen our mindsets and/or to allow social & environmental influences to cause us impact. Your mind its yours, and yours alone. Making simple changes in how you live, to protect your mental health doesn’t cost a fortune or take up too much time; it's a lifestyle amendment.

Here are some key tips in how & what you can do individual to protect your own mind right now. I use these 10 points to just check in with myself weekly & note where I could make improvements;

1. TALK - Talking about your feelings can help us stay in good mental health zone and deal with the times of trouble.
2. KEEP ACTIVE - Regular exercise boosts your self-esteem and can help us concentrate, sleep, and feel better. Exercise keeps the brain and your other vital organs healthy, and is also a significant benefit towards improving your mental health. Sometimes it is hard to get off the sofa and get out, but DO IT!
3. EAT WELL - Your brain needs a mix of nutrients in order to stay healthy and function. A diet that’s good for your physical health is also good for your mental health. Don't limit or restrict yourself as this leads to moments of binging but little & often is balanced.
4. DRINK - There is no doubt that alcohol changes our mood. Some people do drink to deal with fear or loneliness, but this effect is only temporary. We all feel worse because of the way the alcohol has affected your brain and the rest of your body. Drinking is not a good way to manage difficult feelings, talking is!
5. KEEP IN TOUCH - There’s nothing better than catching up with someone face to face, but that’s not always possible. Give them a call, pop a card in the post or send a 'check-in text'. Keep the lines of communication open: it’s good for you!
6. ASK - No-one is superhuman. We all get tired or overwhelmed by how we feel or when things don’t go to plan. If things are getting too much for you and you feel you can’t cope, please ask for help. To you all, I can offer a listening ear.
7. TIMEOUT - It could be a five-minute pause from cleaning your kitchen, a half-hour lunch break at work, or a walk exploring somewhere new. A few minutes can be enough to de-stress your mindset. Give yourself some ‘me time’.
8. HOBBIES - What do you love to do? Enjoying yourself can help beat stress. Doing an activity you enjoy probably means you’re good at it, and achieving something boosts your self-esteem.
9. ACCEPT - We’re all different. It’s much healthier to accept that you’re unique than to wish you were more like someone else. We don't need anymore fake clones.
10. HOBBIES - Feeling good about yourself boosts your confidence to learn new skills, visit new places and make new friends. Good self-esteem helps you cope when life takes a difficult turn.
11. CARE - Caring for others is often an important part of keeping up relationships with people close to you. It can even bring you closer together.

Personally, the last couple of years have really been a challenge, in ways I could never have dreamt of. I had to do some really hard work to understand myself and deal with many demons. I identified triggers around my own mental health that I had spent along time avoiding & just sticking plasters over; enough was enough. I had to break the cycle.

I was introduced to Brené Brown. I now call her my (pretend) fairy godmother and I am pretty obsessed with her work. Officially, Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston and has spent the past sixteen years studying courage, vulnerability, empathy, and shame. Informally, she is a storyteller, queen of personal development, and overall boss. And, she’s the author of the book I think everyone should read — Daring Greatly. This book targets tricky topics but pushes you to fully understand your vulnerability; which can be a difficult emotion to learn to embrace and live with. Brown defines vulnerability as uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. Essentially, it is act of doing something with no guarantee of the outcome.

𝒱𝒰𝐿𝒩𝐸𝑅𝒜𝐵𝐿𝐸; 𝑒𝓍𝓅𝑜𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝑜𝓈𝓈𝒾𝒷𝒾𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝒷𝑒𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓉𝓉𝒶𝒸𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝓇 𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓂𝑒𝒹, 𝑒𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓅𝒽𝓎𝓈𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝑜𝓇 𝑒𝓂𝑜𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 -Oxford Dictionary

I didn't realise how vulnerable I had become. I listened to her Ted Talk & so much clarity was found. So my peace was found in understanding. I knew I had to deal with my past experience which were clearly contributing to my mindset. I have spent my life constantly worry about being a failure; in all areas of my life. After reading Daring Greatly, I had to challenge this. Thanks to Brown I had a life epiphany; I will miss out on so much life, happiness and joy by playing small and skipping on experiences because of a 'possible' outcome, which could never happen. We all have to be vulnerable if we want to craft the life we all deserve to have. Daring Greatly goes into depth about what vulnerability is, myths about the subject, and what to do when being vulnerable doesn’t end well for you. We all HAVE to be vulnerable at different points in our lives, it is critical to fully understand ourselves and to know what to do when vulnerability leads to pain - You all need to read this book!

"I believe that you have to walk through vulnerability to get to courage, therefore . . . embrace the suck. I try to be grateful every day and my motto right now is 'Courage over comfort' I do NOT believe that cussing and praying are mutually exclusive. And, I absolutely believe that the passing lane is for passing only" - Brene Brown

The message that was echoed out on World Mental Health Day 2020 was loud and clear “ It is time to invest in our own mental health; protection is prevention” This was before our world changed forever in the weeks to follow. Now, with the increase in Mental Health referrals hitting an all time high, extra support services are needed now, more than EVER.

In Feb 2021, I decided I needed to do more with my profession. I wanted to use my own personal experience and clinical knowledge to support others, outside of a clinical environment. I have spent years gaining a wealth of knowledge in a field which now has such a high profile. Others can benefit so much from from me thinking outside the box and developing a platform that enables me to coach, share and council others. I became a MH professional because I wanted to help others and that will forever continue.

As a coach, I dedicate time to helping and supporting others to feel more empowered and mindful in life. Despite living in an increasingly high pressured world, everyone of us should be given the tools to become aware of their Mental Health; focused on gaining a positive mindset and truly understand their life stresses. Investing in ourselves results in fulfillment. Every coaching plan is tailored to each individual, as no person is the same. Everyone comes with their challenges, triggers & experience. As a skilled Coach and with an extensive career within Mental Health services, I'll work with you to dive deep and explore your mind; unleashing your true vibrancy and creating calm.

𝒜𝓃𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝑔𝒶𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒹𝒻𝓊𝓁𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 & 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓉𝑒𝒸𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝑀𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓁 𝐻𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓉𝒽. 𝒮𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒿𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓃𝑒𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝓊𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 & 𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻 𝓇𝑒𝒻𝓁𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒹𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼 𝒶𝓂 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝓊𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝑜𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒾𝓃𝓃𝑒𝓇 𝒿𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓃𝑒𝓎 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒.

... It won't change unless you change 💙