My top tips for better mental health
I don’t know about you, but I always feel really downbeat during the colder months, it could be SAD (Seasonal affective disorder) or it could be that I’m a reincarnated cat who just wants to stay at home and snuggle up while somebody tickles my back! Either way, over the years I’ve become quite good at spotting the early signs of when my mental health starts to suffer.
Why is mental health important to me?
Mental health is extremely important to me, because I’ve been a sufferer literally all of my life.
I had a really terrible childhood (Sympathy not necessary, but cake is well received!). This was amplified massively when I had a traumatic brain injury at the age of 9. This left me with a lisp, a tick and some paralysis down my left side. Over the years I’ve been depressed, suicidal, paranoid and what can only really be described as a mental mess!
Am I qualified to give advice on how to cope with mental health issues?
Formally qualified? Definitely not!
But I can offer a unique insight, based on my own personal real life experiences. Given that I have first-hand experience of living with mental illness, I believe I really do understand mental health issues more than most.
Now I’m at a point in my life where I can recognise those spiralling moments of insanity and the dark thoughts creeping in and I’m much better at coping with them. Over the years I’ve sort of created my own mental health survival tips.
Let me take you on a guided tour of how I created these tips:
Once upon a time I was in a secure psychiatric unit. (More than once actually, but I don’t need to make this sound any worse than it already is!)
Whilst in there wondering why this was happening to me and how long it might take to ‘cure’ me, I was sat in the gardens with a psychiatric nurse and he gave me some amazing advice that I’ve held onto dearly.
He said to me “You’ll never be ‘cured’ there is no cure, for mental illness. You have to learn to look after your mental health and looking after it is like flying a plane. One minute your floating above the clouds and everything is beautiful and serene, the next minute your screaming MAYDAY MAYDAY as your plane is spiralling towards the ground preparing for a crash landing.
Your plane will never be free from problems
and the occasional crash landing is inevitable, but the trick is to get back in that plane and get it back in the sky as quickly as possible.”
Honestly this one piece of advice has really served me well over the years.
And I really do get that plane back up in the clouds.
The other things I can tell you are pretty obvious really but still worth mentioning.
Nutrition: Try and eat a balanced and healthy diet, it’s no good eating junk food every day, you’ve heard the saying; ‘you are what you eat’ haven’t you?
Try and eat fruits and vegetables and drink about 2 litres of water every day, it’s really not as difficult as it sounds.
Sleep: Again this sounds so obvious, but it’s absolutely essential to a sound mind. I’m not going to start giving out sleeping tips, a quick google search can do that for you.
Meditation: This is overlooked by many, but again is great for your mental health. Don’t worry I’m not asking you to shave your head, wrap up in your nans curtains and start chanting!
But do me a favour, just try this: find a bit of quiet time, type into YouTube meditation music, sit in a relaxed position and take deep breaths in through your nose and breath out slowly through your mouth, this stimulates the vagus nerve and helps you to relax. There you go you’ve just meditated!
It really is that simple, you can find guided meditations online and I suggest you try some and find the ones you like.
Exercise: Any form of exercise is great for anybody feeling a bit mentally fatigued, for me it was lifting weights and martial arts, although now I’m older the weights are a lot lighter and I no longer enjoy getting thumped in the face, so no more martial arts!
Even a brisk walk in the fresh air will do you good, if you lack motivation consider getting a dog then you’ll be forced to take it for walks, dogs are great for people suffering mentally. It has been proven that pets (especially dogs and cats) can reduce anxiety and stress. Pets really do have an ability to just make you feel better about life.
Hobbies: Hobbies are a great way to take your mind off worries and problems, when I was younger I had magic but as I’ve said before, this took a back seat for a number of years. I rediscovered my love for magic some years later and I’m so glad I did, the magic community has been a real lifeline for me.
I’ve also recently discovered that writing is really good for me, it’s kind of like a mental release. I think everyone should try writing, if I can do it then trust me, you definitely can.
Don’t believe me? I was kicked out of school at the age of 13, I went to work in a Thai restaurant washing dishes. I didn’t think I could write until a few years ago when I joined a theatre workshop to try and help me with performance anxiety (no, not that one!!!) and somehow I got roped into the writing class. I had to write 1-2 pages for the class and once I sat in front of the computer and started to type I was transported to another world of memories and imagination and the writing just flowed, I rocked up at the writing class with 10 pages for them. I even surprised myself!
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t consider myself to be anything special.
I’m not about to start wearing a cravat and smoke a pipe but from all the feedback I’ve had, I do think I might be ok at it.
That’s it for my tips, I do hope you find something of use in there.
Now go Fly that plane!
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