What can help build mental healthiness?
There are 5 ways the NHS suggest might be useful in building mental wellness:
1
Connect with other people
✅ If possible, take time each day to be with your family, for example, try arranging a fixed time to eat dinner together
✅ Arrange a day out with friends you have not seen for a while
✅ Try switching off the TV to talk or play a game with your children, friends or family
✅ Have lunch with a colleague
✅ Visit a friend or family member who needs support or company
✅ Volunteer at a local school, hospital or community group. Find out how to volunteer on the GOV.UK website
✅ Make the most of technology to stay in touch with friends and family. Video-chat apps like Skype and FaceTime are useful, especially if you live far apart
❌ Do not rely on technology or social media alone to build relationships. It's easy to get into the habit of only ever texting, messaging or emailing people
2
Be physically active
✅ Read about running and aerobic exercises to help get you moving and improve your fitness
✅ Read about strength and flexibility exercises to increase muscle strength, improve balance and reduce joint pain
✅ If you're a wheelchair user, read fitness advice for wheelchair users
❌ Do not feel you have to spend hours in a gym. It's best to find activities you enjoy and make them a part of your life
3
Learn new skills
✅ Try learning to cook something new. Find out about eating a healthy, balanced diet
✅ Try taking on a new responsibility at work, such as mentoring a junior staff member or improving your presentation skills
✅ Work on a DIY project, such as fixing a broken bike, garden gate or something bigger. There are lots of free video tutorials online
✅ Consider signing up for a course at a local college. You could try learning a new language or a practical skill such as plumbing
✅ Try new hobbies that challenge you, such as writing a blog, taking up a new sport or learning to paint
❌ Do not feel you have to learn new qualifications or sit exams if this does not interest you. It's best to find activities you enjoy and make them a part of your life
4
Give to others
Research suggests that acts of giving and kindness can help improve your mental wellbeing by:
✅ Creating positive feelings and a sense of reward
✅ Giving you a feeling of purpose and self-worth
✅ Helping you connect with other people
It could be small acts of kindness towards other people, or larger ones like volunteering in your local community.
Some examples of the things you could try include:
✅ Saying thank you to someone for something they have done for you
✅ Asking friends, family or colleagues how they are and really listening to their answer
✅ Spending time with friends or relatives who need support or company
✅ Offering to help someone you know with DIY or a work project
✅ Volunteering in your community, such as helping at a school, hospital or care home
5
Pay attention to the present moment
Paying more attention to the present moment can improve your mental wellbeing. This includes your thoughts and feelings, your body and the world around you.
Some people call this awareness "mindfulness". Mindfulness can help you enjoy life more and understand yourself better. It can positively change the way you feel about life and how you approach challenges.
Read more about mindfulness, including steps you can take to be more mindful in your everyday life.
Although we know these 5 areas improve our mental healthiness, often we cannot engage in these things as we might have other issues / health problems that affect our abilities to engage. Things stop us or impede our progression.
Each of the skills in this workshop will help you to better engage with the 5 ways to improve mental wellbeing and improve mental healthiness. You will see next to each skill which 5 ways to wellness topic it can help improve.
Drawing on tasks that improve our mental health and doing more of them is
one of the simplest ways to improve mental healthiness.
These are often tasks that are closely related to our values.
Let’s start with what helps you to better your mental health?
Skill Stop
Value direction (Connect, active, new skills, giving to others, pay attention) - How closely are you following your Values? Assessing where you are in terms of your values is integral to mental healthiness - if you are far away from a value then you are likely to feel worse than if you were near.