10 Ways to Improve Your Mental Health

Hello, to celebrate World Mental Health Day here's Office Om's first Blog. Do you ever feel stressed, overwhelmed, anxious or low in energy? Or maybe you feel generally pretty good and you want to feel even better? Here’s ten tips from Office Om to help look after your mental health.

1. Talk talk talk talk talk about how you’re FEELING. Feelings can be pesky things when we keep them inside. And how often do we have this conversation: “How are you?” “I’m fine.” And it is fine to have this conversation. But it’s SO important to speak about how you’re feeling as well sometimes. I’ve seen first-hand in the counselling room how often just speaking feelings out loud can have an incredible transformative power. And if someone is telling you how they feel, listen, really listen, they may really need you to just to hear them. Anyway, how are you?
2. STOP, yes that’s right, STOP what you’re doing every now and then. Just check in with yourself, at intervals during the day, and ask yourself what you need. A cup of tea? A stretch? To close your eyes for a minute? Paying attention now and then to what you need in a given moment can be incredibly powerful for your mental health.
3. Get moving. You might have heard the phrase ‘sitting is the new smoking?’ It’s getting easier for our lives to be increasingly sedentary and this can prove harmful both for our bodies and our minds. Whether it’s going for a walk in your lunchbreak, hoovering, dancing in your kitchen or some office yoga, moving can make us feel so much better. How can you move more today?
4. Gratitude. Think of one thing you can be grateful for today? How do you feel when you think about this? An attitude of gratitude has been linked to good mental health. Try listing things you are grateful for once a week and see how your mood improves.
5. Bring your mind to the here and now. Often if we aren’t feeling so good, our minds are stuck in the past or in the future. You may have heard of mindfulness, the practice of deliberately focusing our minds in the present moment in a non-judgmental way. Whilst this could be (and will be) a whole Office Om blog post in itself, just try noticing when your mind drifts to the past or the future, and gently guide it back to the present moment. Notice how this makes you feel.
6. ​Building relationships. Good relationships have been linked to good mental health. Whether you are feeling lonely or feel you have millions of people in your life, we can all do something to improve our relationships with others. What one thing could you do to improve a relationship this week?
7. Ask for help. We all need help sometimes. I used to think I was Miss Independent and it has taken me years to realise I do need to ask for help. Whether that’s help from people around you or professional help, recognise when things are getting too much and ask for what you need from someone who is able to give that to you. You have a right to ask.
8. Does something need to change? Sometimes, however much we are looking after our own mental health, external factors can cause problems. Whether it’s bereavement, a difficult work situation or a printer that’s jammed. What, if anything, can you do to help yourself with this situation? Who else can help you? Sometimes whatever we do internally, external action is needed.
9. Karuna –compassion. Many of us have an internal critic who has a special talent in telling us what we do isn’t good enough or needs to be different. Notice how you are feeling when you listen to this critic. There is a yogic concept called Karuna, meaning compassion, which is echoed in different forms of counselling. Developing an internal compassionate voice can be a welcome alternative to our critic. What can you say to yourself today to be more compassionate to yourself?
10. Try a different perspective – sometimes we can keep things in our heads and see the world a certain way, which can keep our thoughts trapped in a certain space. If something is stuck in your head, try seeking out a different perspective. Talk to someone you wouldn’t normally speak to about it. Or write about it and see how things look then. Try looking out of a window when you think about it. Sometimes looking at the world in a different way helps us feel better.​

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​So what works for you? Share your ideas in the comments below, and like Office Om on Facebook (www.facebook.com/officeom) or follow @OfficeOm on Twitter for more inspiration in the future.​

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Cathy Bailey

I'm a qualified counsellor and yoga teacher who's founded Office Om, to help people decrease their stress and increase their wellbeing, using a mixture of mindfulness, office yoga and wellbeing. I love helping people by teaching simple strategies to help them feel great.