Take some gentle exercise to improve all round health
You don’t have to join a gym to achieve a healthier body, which in turn will give you a healthier mind. Exercise will make you feel more tired at the end of the day, so that you sleep better. It releases endorphins, which gives you more energy, and cortisol to help manage stress.
But you don’t have to go from no exercise to lifting weights! Take a walk every day. Chloe Webster is a meditation teacher and slow living advocate and started a free mindful morning club with 10 minutes meditation in the morning. “I now regularly get up early and the habit has had a knock on effect. I get outside first thing for a 1 mile walk every morning”.
Rosaria Barreto is founder of Vitality Hub for older people with health conditions. She says “Stimulating your eyes and brain whilst surrounding yourself with nature’s beauty immediately boosts your mood. Breathing in fresh air can also boost your mood, reduce anxiety and worry. The social element to walking has significant impact on loneliness and can encourage and promote stronger feelings of self-purpose and self-value.”
Check your council or search Wellness Walks and Every Step Counts Gentle Walking for groups to join near you.
Take exercise a little further
If you are a little more adventurous, Dr Watson suggests wild swimming. She says “It’s bonkers, life affirming, joyous and freeing. It shocks you into being aware of your body and you meet other people who are similarly bonkers along the way. The best bit – it’s no longer only a playground for steely-abbed triathletes or hardcore cold-water swimmers. Many are middle-aged, wobbly-thighed, potty-mouthed women like me!”
Look at Bluetits for swimming near you.
Similar to wild swimming in that it’s outdoors, parkruns are free, weekly, community events all around the world, 2 kilometres or 5 kilometres and available for children aged 4 -14 years old on Sundays. There’s everyone from beginner runners, to families, to hardcore triatheletes and marathon runners that go along. It gives you something to aim for at the end of the week. –So, even if it’s been a shocking week mental health wise, getting out to a parkrun on a Saturday, to run or walk round a park with others, will only make you feel better. Find out more at Parkrun.
Do something new and out of your comfort zone
Nicki Bass, a resilience and leadership coach, runs Resilience at Work. She says “Resilience is the ability to come back from and grow as a result of challenge and adversity. It’s about managing difficult experiences, learning from them and ultimately being able to thrive.” She undertakes every day adventures, as simple as standing barefoot in a stream or taking a new dog walking route. “The cumulative effect can be as powerful in building resilience and confidence as the bigger ’life changing ones’ !”
Check out simple and free NHS mental health guides
There are numerous free resources on the NHS website. These include calming breathing exercises, guides for helping with sleep and various activities.
Learn new skills
Learning new skills could be a hobby or make you money by turning it into a side hustle or job. For example, take a free month’s trial of Skillshare and choose from thousands of hands-on online courses. This will help boost your self-confidence and sense of purpose whilst connecting with other people.
Take on a volunteer role
Dr Watson says “sometimes the best thing to do when we’re struggling, is actually to look outwards instead of inwards. It can re-set our brains, help us realise all the things we have to be grateful for, and also giving back to others is great for that fuzzy happy dopamine feeling.” Volunteering has numerous benefits for health and wellbeing (e.g. better self-rated health, reduced levels of depression, improved wellbeing, self-esteem, and quality of life). Creating and sustaining social bonds is essential in battling loneliness and depression.
Explore options which you would enjoy and feel able to contribute to with skills and/or time. For example, if you have children see if the school would like volunteers for reading, or join the PTA.. Check out community groups and projects for gardening and conservation work.
Check out your local Volunteer Centre or Do-it.org which is a database of more than a million UK volunteering opportunities. You can search by interest, activity or location and then apply online.
Sing and dance like no-one is listening or watching!
Paying attention to the moment and being more aware of your body and thoughts is often referred to as mindfulness. Singing and dancing allows you to turn off your stream of consciousness and live in the moment. Sing and dance along to the radio, when cooking or cleaning. Sing in the car or shower or join a group.
Write a journal
It can take many forms – from simply writing thoughts down like in a diary, to a more structured approach – using prompts to pick apart a specific challenge you’re facing – eg: low confidence, anxiety etc. You can do it on your phone, pc or a book.
Similarly, try “gratitude journaling”, starting the day with feeling grateful. Alex Birtles, who has managed depression for 20+ years, changed her daily gratitude practice and found it helped hugely. She finds positive impact in anything from smiling to a stranger to working in a community garden. “I find focussing on doing something good for someone else gets me out of my head”, she says.
There is, however, a place for ranting too! Writing it down can help get issues out of your head. Dr Watson suggests “Let it out” journaling, to explore difficult emotions, rather than pushing them down and being grateful for ordinary things, even the negative ones. Those feelings need to be acknowledged and accepted, too. I regularly do a rant on Instagram. I say it stops my head exploding! It’s just on everyday stuff but often people say it’s so real and like they feel!
Take some “me time”
Finding “me time” may feel easier said than done. Clare Flaxen is a psychotherapist and advises making a conscious choice to laugh every day, staying playful and curious. “Spend time with people who support and inspire you. Identify the things in your life that make you feel happy and content, a nice cuppa and biscuit with a friend… and actively choose to bring them into your days.”
Do something you enjoy at any time, even whilst doing the chores. Sarah Birchall says “Eating dark chocolate daily brings me happiness, and listening to comedy podcasts, too.”
Wellbeing is an individual phenomenon, so what works for one won’t for someone else. Try to find what you enjoy and helps you to feel well.
