It’s Mental Health Awareness Week! And for the week Dizzy has been considering ways in which we can help to look after ourselves. 🙂
Dizzy’s found out that mental health affects a large amount of the population, with 1 in 4 people suffering from mental health problems every year. But when living with a chronic illness, such as MS, these statistics go even higher. It is estimated that 50% of people with MS will experience depression at some point during their lives. Mental health issues for people with MS can be due to a number of reasons:
- The emotional impact of living with a chronic illness
- Medication
- Damage caused by MS
Living with a mental illness can be really hard (me and Dizzy have it in the form of anxiety)! But there are things that can help, even if it’s just in a small way. 🙂 Dizzy has put together this little list of ideas. 🙂
- Exercise – Just doing a small amount of exercise can help improve mood and reduce anxiety. 🙂
The donkeys wanted to start skipping as a new form of exercise. We’ve been out there all morning with Dizzy nibbling and Bob sleeping…
2. Practice mindfulness and breathing exercises – Taking a few moments to breath and ground yourself can really help to slow things down and reduce stress.
3. Eliminate stress (if you can) – This one isn’t always possible. But if there’s a situation that’s causing stress that you can get rid of, get rid of it. 🙂
Dizzy’s now throwing away all the empty ginger nut biscuit packets as soon as she’s finished them. Seeing the empty ones upset her… :/
4. Acknowledge how you are feeling – Which most of the time doesn’t sound the most appealing thing to do. But just writing down your feeling or taking a moment to accept them can really help.
Dizzy likes this one, and has reminded me that we can also write down positive thoughts and feelings too. 🙂
5. Talk to people – This can just be in the form of talking to friends or family. Sometimes sharing thoughts and feeling with others can make them seem more manageable. It’s also important to keep in touch with people and surround yourself with people who care about you. 🙂
6. Seek professional help – This can be a hard step to take but getting professional help can make all the difference. This could be in forms such as talking therapy or medication. There are also help lines such as The Samaritans. Dizzy’s been very clever and found the number all by herself: 116 123 🙂 .
What are you top tips for helping with anxiety, stress or depression (or just for when you’re feeling abit blue)? We’d love to hear them. 🙂 xxx
Reblogged this on All About Writing and more.
Thank you so much for the reblog Henrietta. 🙂 xxx
You are welcome!
I know it may sound simplistic, but on my worst days no medication or therapy works as well as music! It motivates me to get up and get involved in life! 😉
I completely agree with this. xx I find putting some music on (and if I’m feeling up to it, having a little dance around the house) is amazing for lifting my mood. 🙂 xxx
Especially the dancing part! 😀 😀
Plants and cats. Plant some seeds and watch them grow then what a cat sleep!
I find being in the garden and watching plants grow is amazing for my mood. 🙂 I grew some strawberry plants last year and it made me so happy. 🙂 xxx
Watch, not what! I have slow clumsy fingers today.
Hehe, I did realise it was watch a cat sleep. In my case, it’s my dog Brock. 🙂 xxx
Cats, dogs and plants they all calm us down and remind us of the normal, non digital world. Hope you have a peaceful week!
It helps to know that others feel the same way at times too. We are never alone 💕
I find that helps too. x It’s another reason why it’s so important to talk to others, otherwise you may never know that other people you know also feel the same. xxx
🌹
Dizzy is quite right! It’s amazing how decluttering and cleaning can help mental health. I always feel better after I go around and throw away trash and straighten things.
It’s so true. I definitely need to do this one abit more often though. 🙂 xxx
Lots of wonderful tips. Thank you. I think writing and blogging are great for mental wellness. There is such great support in the blogging community. 🌼 xx
I find writing and blogging are great for mental wellness too. xx The online community is amazing and helps me so much, especially when I’m going through bad patches. I always feel less alone. 🙂 xxx
Me too. 😊
Great post, as always!! I have anxiety issues too! I try to “stay ahead”, in order to not fall behind, because being late and/or running close to dead lines get me going in a negative way. I set up nearly everything in advance! Cute pictures! 😉
I do the same! It does help but the only problem is, is when the plans change for some reason, or I do end up falling behind. :/ Still working on how to control the anxiety when that does happen. x And thank you for your comment on the pictures. 🙂 xxx
This is true, this method is only nice when it can actually happen. 😉
Reblogged this on Jo Ann Maxwell.
Thank you so much for reblogging. 🙂 xxx
You are welcome!
Dizzy is the perfect spokes-donkey in all of this – hugs to you, her and her herd!
Dizzy definitely agrees with you. 🙂 She also sends a big donkey hug back. 🙂 xxx
I never got a hug from a donkey before…those ears are really soft!
I totally agree with exercise being helpful. When I was in my 20s I suffered from a couple of bouts of depression and I found exercise helped a lot.
It’s amazing what a difference it can make. It’s the last thing you actually feel like doing but it really does help. I like dancing (badly) around to music. 🙂 xx
Another fantastic post from you and Dizzy! Thank you so much for sharing this excellent information. I am doing my best to keep control of my anxiety and stress issues, even though I do fail at it a lot! But your posts are always so helpful and give so much amazing advice!
I am constantly failing at keeping my anxiety under control, but it is less than it use to be. I think it’s important to remember the progress you’re making, even if it doesn’t always feel like it. Sending hugs. 🙂 xxx
Thank you so much for always being so understanding! It never fails, you always lift my spirits up!
Writing is my main form of relief. I connect with others on the Internet.
I completely agree. x It does help so much connecting with others online. 🙂 xxx
Fantastic ideas, and Dizzy isn’t alone at getting upset to see empty biscuit packets! I’d perhaps listening to music, something to nourish and soothe or to uplift and inspire, as it can be great ‘food for the soul’. I still struggle a lot with anxiety and overthinking, the latter of which can get to ridiculous heights sometimes, so it’s always good to be reminded to take care of yourself, focus on your mental wellbeing and that small, doable steps like what you’ve shown can all add up and help.
♥
Caz xx
I find music helps loads too. 🙂 My over thinking gets to ridiculous heights too, I spend so much of my life worrying about what might happen and that then sets of the anxiety. :/ But the little things do help. 🙂 xxx
This is a great list! I always find that going for a walk helps when everything seems overwhelming. It just helps me to think more clearly and calm me down.
Thank you! 🙂 xx I find going for a walk to be amazing too. 🙂 xx
plugging myself into my iPod helps. :0)
Music is a really good one! 🙂 xxx
Here’s my blog follow me 🙂 https://mywarrior177149354.wordpress.com/
Have done. 🙂 xxx
I’m glad that you wrote something so profound. It’s also very important because mental illness continues to get worse instead of better. So many people try to hide their illness and some do succeed, but at what price? It’s like any other illness that needs treatment. Take care
Thank you for your comment Eric, and I completely agree with you. Hiding any illness will never actually solve the problem, and by talking about it more, it will hopefully make it easier for people to be more open, others to be more understanding, and for there to be more help available. 🙂 Take care and sending hugs. 🙂 xxx
Thank you for your information.
By practicing yoga or meditation also we will enhance our mental health like mood, relieving stress and anxiety etc.
Thank you for your comment, and you are so right. Yoga and meditation have such a positive impact on all aspects of our lives. 🙂 xxx
Great compilation. I enjoy reading health blogs. So many amazing articles that truly useful for everyday living
Thank you so much Tammy. 🙂 xxx
Wow..amazing article…thanks for the information !!
Thank you. 🙂 xxx
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