Looking After YOU!

How well do you look after your physical health? The majority of us will seek medical help if we have a persistent physical problem, we will take medication and, where possible, we will rest if needed. We will give ourselves the time and space to recover and get back to full strength.

Can the same be said for the way we care for our mental health? We live in a fast-paced society with so much to do in so little time. If we treated cars or mobiles the way some of us treat our mental health they wouldn't last long. Over worked, little or no maintenance and warning signs ignored. All resulting in problems with performance or worse. Thinking of a car or a mobile, it is obvious that not recharging the battery when needed will result in it not working. Surely, the same can be said for our mental health, if we don't look after it, we run into problems.

Let's look at stress and anxiety, it is something we hear often but what does it all mean?

Stress is a normal response to external factors in our life. In times of stress our body produces stress hormones which provide us with the adrenaline rush needed to either run away or to fight. In years gone by this flight or fight response worked well if we were confronted by danger while out hunting. I think it's safe to say that the majority of us are not confronted by a Woolly Mammoth or Saber-tooth Tiger on our food gathering trips today. Our body's stress responses remain today but the external factors causing us to respond are different. Busy shopping trips, traffic jams, family life, transport delays, financial issues, work pressure and expectations are only a few.

How well do you look after your physical health? The majority of us will seek medical help if we have a persistent physical problem, we will take medication and, where possible, we will rest if needed. We will give ourselves the time and space to recover and get back to full strength.

Can the same be said for the way we care for our mental health? We live in a fast-paced society with so much to do in so little time. If we treated cars or mobiles the way some of us treat our mental health they wouldn't last long. Over worked, little or no maintenance and warning signs ignored. All resulting in problems with performance or worse. Thinking of a car or a mobile, it is obvious that not recharging the battery when needed will result in it not working. Surely, the same can be said for our mental health, if we don't look after it, we run into problems.

Let's look at stress and anxiety, it is something we hear often but what does it all mean?

Stress is a normal response to external factors in our life. In times of stress our body produces stress hormones which provide us with the adrenaline rush needed to either run away or to fight. In years gone by this flight or fight response worked well if we were confronted by danger while out hunting. I think it's safe to say that the majority of us are not confronted by a Woolly Mammoth or Saber-tooth Tiger on our food gathering trips today. Our body's stress responses remain today but the external factors causing us to respond are different. Busy shopping trips, traffic jams, family life, transport delays, financial issues, work pressure and expectations are only a few.

By this flight or fight response worked well if we were confronted by danger while out hunting. I think it's safe to say that the majority of us are not confronted by a Woolly Mammoth or Saber-tooth Tiger on our food gathering trips today. Our body's stress responses remain today but the external factors causing us to respond are different. Busy shopping trips, traffic jams, family life, transport delays, financial issues, work pressure and expectations are only a few.

Ways to Combat Stress.

Ideally you need to look after your mental health and well-being before you hit crisis point. Making time for yourself in a busy day is paramount. 15 – 20 minutes a day is all that is needed in most cases.

• Checking in with yourself to ask is everything OK.

• · Recognise stress triggers and put measures in place to protect yourself.

• · Organise your workload by using lists with the following headings, Immediate, Can be completed another day, Can be put off until later.

• · Feeling overwhelmed? Try breathing exercises or completing a puzzle.

• · Do some exercise, such as swimming, walking, jogging.

• · Eat healthy.

• · Have a home pamper session…...just look after you!

• · Talk to others and get help if needed.

• · Try Complementary therapies such as, Hypnotherapy, Aromatherapy, Mindfulness, Meditation, Reiki or Yoga.

REMEMBER: Seeking help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength!