World Mental Health Day 2022
The theme for World Mental Health Day 2022 (10th October) is ‘Make Mental Health and Wellbeing for all a Global Priority’.
We think nothing of starting our day by doing something that supports our physical wellbeing, for example eating breakfast, showering, or perhaps going to the gym. But most of us don’t think about starting our day by doing something that supports our mental wellbeing.
As we continue to juggle our busy lives in the aftermath of the global pandemic; keeping busy at work, balancing a healthy social and home-life, facing increases to our cost of living, it might well feel like you are spinning plates, juggling balls and dropping a few here and there. We often find ourselves beating ourselves up for not being able to manage all the things we ought to be able to, or at least used to do without having to think too much about it. You might well begin to feel overwhelmed.
It comes as no surprise at all, if you find that your sleep suffers, it’s a challenge to switch off, or perhaps you’re getting irritable with those around you.
Give yourself a break. The good news is, you are not alone.
Once you begin to look after your own mental health, it will begin to have a positive impact on those around you, and even further, you might find yourself inspiring others globally.
In-line with the Five Ways to Wellbeing, here are a few tips that you can try to incorporate in your life. They may feel slightly weird to begin with (after-all, you may have been ‘coping’ for some time), but they may really help you to begin to look after your own wellbeing.
It goes without saying that getting physical has a huge impact on how we feel about ourselves. We’re not talking about running marathons, even a short walk before work, while noting the sounds around you, the smells, the sights, can help you to begin your day in a positive frame of mind. Just make sure your walk isn’t done with your head glued to your phone, answering messages or emails!
Social connection is another one of the five steps. Even something as simple as talking to someone can help. When people ask us how we’re doing, most of us find ourselves saying ‘I’m fine’ even though we may not be. In times when you’re perhaps not feeling okay, try being honest, tell them, “Actually, I’m not too good at this time” – you might be surprised at the response, in some cases something like, “Thank goodness you shared that as I’m feeling the same”.
Keep learning. Why not take up a new hobby or interest of some sort. Maybe a physical or mentally-stimulating activity you always wanted to do? Keep it simple though, if you put too much pressure on yourself to learn new things you might adversely impact your mental health.
Make someone else’s day better and give a little. You might think this step is counterintuitive, but it has been proven that giving to another makes YOU feel better. Even something as simple as a smile goes a long way. Give way to another driver on the road, hold the door open and watch the effect it has on the other person. These small kind gestures will boost your mood and theirs… Woohoo!
But most importantly it begins with you. The last step is all about paying attention to the present moment, being mindful. Taking a little time out to discover what you really need is so important and cannot be underestimated. Is it some time to yourself? Is it a hot shower or a relaxing bubble bath? Is it a tea or coffee or going for a short walk? This is where becoming mindful will help. Self-awareness is the first thing you should do in becoming more mindful. Becoming more mindful may influence so many other areas of your life, your relationships, your family, colleagues and beyond.
To help you get started, why not try out this short mindfulness practice below:
The 3-Step Breathing Space
Step 1: Pausing and Checking In
Drop into the present moment and shift into a purposeful posture, decide whether to sit or stand and if you can, bring your attention to the contact of your feet with the floor, noticing any sensations or temperature.
Check in with yourself and ask, “What is going on for me at the moment? Is there something on my mind, is there tension in my body?” and if so, can you locate it? And can you soften it? How does it feel?
Once you have identified what’s here, turn your attention towards the experience. Accepting the experience as it is and become curious... in the body and mind noticing any emotions or thoughts and stay with it for a few moments, just noticing any and all experiences either pleasant or unpleasant and just allow them to be, if that feels ok.
Step 2: Gathering Focused Attention
If it feels ok, you can close your eyes, but feel free to open them whenever you want. Gently gather your full attention and bring awareness to your breath, just the natural flow of breath, not deep breathing as such, just the normal breath, wherever you sense your breath as your anchor. This may be either in the nostrils, the chest or deep in the belly. If there are feelings of overwhelm, stress or discomfort then you can count the breath for a little while. Try counting in for 3, out for 4 - or silently saying “I’m breathing in… I’m breathing out.” Once you are feeling calm you can return to normal breathing).
Stay with the physical sensations of the breath as best as you can, tether the attention to the full duration of the in - breath and the full duration of the out- breath as they follow one after the other, stay with the breath until you feel more in control. This is your anchor to the present moment and will help you to tune in to a calmer state of awareness and stillness.
If the breath is uncomfortable in any way for you – don’t worry, lots of people find this to begin with, so try focusing attention on sounds around you, or the contact of your feet with the floor.. Every time your mind wanders, and you have noticed this, congratulate yourself as this a moment of mindfulness.
You can remain in Step 2 for as long as you like…
Step 3: Expanding Awareness
Expanding your awareness now, to include the breath and the whole of your body breathing. Open up to a sense of your surroundings too, sounds, sights, colours, light and shade.
Now you can go forward with this calmness into the next part of your day.
This whole sequence can be done anywhere; it is completely transportable. In a queue, before you turn on your computer at work, the possibilities are endless. It follows the shape of an hourglass, a wide focus followed by a narrow focus, and then wide again.
The 3-Step Breathing Space provides a way to step out of autopilot and be able to reconnect with the present moment.
Tor Walmsley (Guest Contributor)
MSc Mindfulness Based Approaches, MBSR Teacher, MBCL Trainee Teacher, Trauma Sensitive Informed Mindfulness Teacher (TSM), MISP Trained
Learn about neurodiversity and mental health, take a look at our blog post: Mental Health and Neurodiversity in the Pandemic