Mental Health Week - A Few Simple Ideas

I have written three short pieces for work, but thought that they might be useful beyond that audience.

How many times have you heard someone saying that being outside is good for you? Usually, it is accompanied by something relating to fresh air and not being in front of a screen, phone, the TV and so on. It might be in relation to walking or gardening.

That's the 'what', but more important is the 'why'. For those of you that have kids you'll know only too well that saying that something is good for you is all well and good, but it usually falls on deaf ears unless you can answer the inevitable question "Why?".

Stress and anxiety have a way of taking over our minds, forcing themselves front and centre at the most inconvenient time; the middle of a meeting, or a detailed discussion on an important subject. When it happens, it can be incredibly challenging to overcome it and get back to normal. If there are deeper problems relating to debt, family problems, redundancy or bereavement then it can be overwhelming, and the temptation is to bury it deep, hide and keep going. I can tell you from personal experience that this doesn't work. It will come and bite you at some point, you cannot hide from it, it will follow you like a shadow. It is corrosive and will slowly eat away at you too.

So how does going for a walk combat something so enormous? It isn't just walking. Doing something creative like painting, gardening, or writing achieves the same end result. For me it is photography and making upcycled bird boxes from old wine corks. This is for two primary reasons.

Firstly, and very simply, being creative means that you have to concentrate on what you are doing for a while. That in turn gives your mind time to rest from whatever is causing it a problem. It's still there afterwards, but it isn't wearing you down constantly. Oddly, doing something very simple like walking or taking a photo has a disproportionately large positive impact.

Secondly, being creative or even just walking uses both sides of your brain alternately because the left side of your brain controls the right side of your body and vice versa. So, when you prune the rose bushes, hold the stem in one hand and cut with the other. This is called bilateral movement. Regular exercise is known to reduce blood pressure and the 'fight or flight' response. By using your brain in this way for just a simple process it allows your brain to process whatever is troubling it at a sub-conscious level. Moreover, if you walk with someone else, you will slowly match their pace - movement synchronicity - which in turn, and the science is a little less proven here, improves memory and recall as the act of being in sync with someone else improves self-esteem and well-being. Regular exercise may also boost mood by increasing the production of a brain protein called BDNF and that helps nerve fibres to grow.

These simple techniques aren't a silver bullet and should be part of a wider package of support, but it is very easy to do.

If you have someone working for or with you that is struggling with mental health issues, in whatever form, then why not just have a chat and suggest something like these techniques to help them start to understand what is happening? Maybe give them a creative task to do that is work-related? Design a new poster for staff meetings? Draw up a new tweet? Create some planters for the office? If they have hobbies like photography or writing, then encourage it. It will cost you very little or nothing but could reap huge rewards.

#showyoucare