Take Time for Mental Health

Time is one of the most valuable commodities that we live with today; and finding time as we navigate through our busy lifestyles, commitments, routines and interests can be challenging. This year, the COVID19 lockdown forced many of us to slow down and notice time more, it also challenged us to be more aware about our mental health. There was collective acknowledgement of the pressures to mental health and social encouragement to engage with activities to help manage our mental health. Messages to reach out to others, go on walks, practice mindfulness, enjoy our gardens, finish puzzles, read books, and spend time with love ones filled our inboxes, social media feeds and TV screens.  

Many of us made plans to continue to engage with the activities we had adopted during the lockdown period for mental health management. However, as life has returned to a state of normalcy, many of these behaviours have fallen again by the wayside. Life has become busy again, we prioritise other activities on our schedules and feel the pressures of time. 

This year the Mental Health Week theme is to ‘Take Time for Mental Health’. This is a great opportunity to have a think about what activities or behaviours might be helpful to get back to, or to build new habits for good mental health engagement.  How can you make time for good mental health behaviours?

Here a are few helpful suggestions of where to start:

• Connect with a friend
• Embrace nature for a walk – not walking as fast as possible but noticing what is happening around you
• Practice mindfulness
• Engage with a psychologist or counsellor to check in with your mental wellness
• Engage with a new activity or build a new skill
• Reengage with helpful behaviours or strategies that have been helpful in the past.

Written by Mates4Mates Psychologist Hannah Lupo