To some people, ‘Wellness’ has become a bit of a joke… But there’s nothing funny about improving your mental health, feeling good and enhancing your wellbeing. It’s not all about showing off your avocados! This Mental Health Awareness Week, here are some healthy practices that could help you maintain a positive outlook on life and they won’t cost a thing…
1. Build up that self-esteem
Being able to see the potential in your abilities as well as accepting that you have some weaknesses is all part of a healthy self-esteem. Use your confidence to reach your goals, rather than comparing yourself to others.
If you feel pretty good about your self-esteem, how about spreading some of that confidence? It only takes one small comment or gesture to make someone feel sky high, or low as can be. So use your powers for good and let’s start helping to build each other up!
2. Build positive support systems:
Take your time to build trust within your relationships. Relationships include those with friends or family members. Making the conscious decision to let someone in takes courage and effort. A solid support system is a very important aspect of healthy mental wellbeing.
When you’re at uni, it can be hard to balance home friends and uni friends – but real buddies make you feel like you’re able to pick up where you left off even if you’ve been away studying. Remember, if someone doesn’t make you feel good about yourself, you don’t have to have them in your life…
3. Get involved:
Being a part of something provides a great sense of belonging. Getting involved gives you the opportunity to connect with others who share the same interests as you. It can also help you build confidence and to learn new things. Team sports, joining a team at a part-time job, climbing with your buddies, starting a pub quiz team, joining a poetry group… you get the point! Feeling connected makes you feel supported too.
4. Build resilience:
Resilience is the ability to bounce back from disruptive change without being overwhelmed, or behaving in a self-destructive manner if it becomes stressful. Resilience enables you to make conscious decisions to let go of situations out of your control and recover from them.
If you’re likely to hit the bar running after something stressful happens – and you know that’s not going to make you feel any better in the long run – try doing something that you find more difficult, but could make you feel better eventually such as baking, running, talking to a friend etc.
5. Embrace your emotions:
It’s okay to feel angry, anxious or sad. We’re all human! Emotional wellbeing involves the ability to express yourself. It doesn’t help to keep your feelings locked up, and lashing out all the time isn’t a good thing. The ability to recognise what affects your emotions, the influence they have on our actions and our responses, are all parts of emotional wellbeing.
Smash that glass case of emotion and allow yourself to really feel whatever you’re feeling… and hey that goes for happiness too, if you’re feeling grand let everyone know. A smile really is catching!
