Kindness – Mental Health Awareness Week 2020

Kindness

The theme for this year is kindness. With the current Corona virus pandemic we need kindness more than ever. For many of us our mental health may be the worst it has ever been. Others may be struggling for the first time. Then there are the people who are thriving.

Self Kindness

Firstly, are you being kind to yourself? If not, why not? Try talking to yourself as if you were talking to your best friend. I think you will be less critical, more tolerant and kind. Please don’t beat yourself up if you are struggling. Acknowledge that this is a very challenging situation none of us have experienced before and that we are all just doing our best.

I feel that I am lucky because I am an introvert and need lots of time by myself to recover my energy. I had a conversation with my friend at the weekend and she is an extrovert and she really needs company to recharge and energise herself. She is finding lockdown harder because she really needs to be with people.

Be Kind

Please try not to judge yourself or others. We don’t know what other people are going through or having to deal with.

Check in with friends, family and colleagues. A text message, phone call or video call can all help someone feel less isolated and lonely. They may need more contact than they usually do. They may want to talk more than they usually do. Ask them how they really are. Check if they need anything or if you can do anything for them. Be open, curious and kind.

It is also good to check in with neighbours and even strangers. Maybe that person you see on your walk would appreciate a chat rather than the usual quick “hello”. I have been regularly checking in with my neighbours and sharing cakes with them. We received a couple of scones and cream on VE day from one lovely neighbour and it made my day!

“Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits, Take care of your garden And keep out the weeds, Fill it with sunshine, Kind words, and Kind deeds.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

How Can You Be Kinder?

Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

  • How can you be more kind to yourself?
  • What kind things can you do for yourself?
  • How can you talk to yourself more kindly?

Spend some time answering these questions and then do them!

Kindness

Resources

You can read a lot more on the topic by going to the Mental Health Foundation website. I also wrote this blog on the Corona virus.

Louise

Mental Health Awareness Week

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week this week. I think it is very important for us to talk about our mental health and for the stigma surrounding mental health problems to end.

Mental Health Awareness Week
Mental Health Awareness Week 2018

This year the focus is on stress, something we all experience in life!

  • It’s ok to not be ok
  • It’s ok to ask for help
  • It’s ok to say you’re struggling

We all struggle with stress at some point in our life. We all need help from time to time. If we had a physical illness we would probably be ok with telling people and asking for help. With mental health it’s usually different and it’s time that changed.

We can all do our bit and be there for friends, family or colleagues when they need us. We can offer kindness and support. We can let people know that they are not alone.

There seems to be a culture nowadays where we are expected to be stressed or we feel we should say we are stressed. If we’re not stressed, we can feel guilty and take on extra things.

I would like the culture to develop where we don’t have to be stressed. Where taking care of ourselves is given a higher priority and never seen as selfish.

There are lots of things we can do to reduce our stress, e.g.

  • Exercise
  • Meditation / Mindfulness
  • EFT (Tapping)
  • Reiki or other therapies
  • Massage
  • Eating well
  • Getting enough sleep

When we are stressed though, we often feel we don’t have time for these things and we need to make the time in order to stop ourselves getting overwhelmed by stress.

I know from personal past experience just how bad stress and anxiety can feel. That is why I am so passionate now about helping people overcome stress and anxiety.

It’s good to talk, so if you’d like some help please get in touch.
Louise

Mental Health Awareness Week

MHAW-round-stickerm-png-300x300

This week has been mental health awareness week in the UK. I was very pleased to do a presentation on Monday at the RSPB in Exeter.

I spoke about stress – what it is and how it affects us. I introduced the staff to a short Mindfulness meditation that can even be done at your desk at work. I also demonstrated EFT and how that can be used to help with stress at work and helping you achieve a better work/life balance. Which is something most people can relate to.

There are many tools out there can be very helpful for our mental health. For more info on EFT checkout my website http://freeflowingenergy.com/eft/. There’s also a great deal of helpful info at https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/

EFT and Mindfulness are two tools that help keep me on an even keel. I wouldn’t be without them now. Having suffered from stress and anxiety in my previous career as a Software Engineer, I know from first hand experience how horrible it can be. Fortunately I now have the pleasure of teaching these amazing tools to other people.

Here’s to your health & well being!
Louise

 

 

World Mental Health Day

It was World Mental Health Day yesterday, 10th October. I was tweeting and posting on my Facebook page about it. I thought I’d write a blog post too, to help raise awareness.

There is still a lot of stigma attached to mental health issues, yet 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem in any given year (1).

For many people they are too scared of admitting a problem for fear of the consequences (e.g. at work) or the lack of understanding (“just pull yourself together” – it only it was that easy!).

So please, know that you are not alone.

There is plenty of help available.

It will get better if you seek and are willing to accept help.

In the first instance, it is advisable to contact your GP. They can diagnose and advise.

EFT is very effective at helping with stress and anxiety and even depression.

For more info, check out the following websites:

Mind

Mental Health Foundation

The more we talk about it the less stigma there will be! I used EFT to help me overcome my anxiety. I use it to help me manage my stress levels. I use it daily for my physical, emotional and mental well-being. I wouldn’t be without this incredible tool now.

Keep tapping
Louise

(1) Mind – Mental Health Facts and Statistics – http://www.mind.org.uk/mental_health_a-z/8105_mental_health_facts_and_statistics