Written by Deputy Head Students Hannah N and Mazin E.
Self-care is vital in maintaining positive mental well-being. It is the process of caring for your individual needs and allowing your body to relax by doing things you enjoy. As discussed within school during Mental Health Week, a healthy mental state is vital as it impacts on all aspects of our social and intellectual lives.
With the holidays near approaching, whether you are celebrating during the Christmas period or not, having a break from school can be a positive way to spend time with friends and family, catch up on work, mentally recover from the demands of school and prepare for the new year.
With lockdown measures no longer in place, we can venture out more than we have done over the last two Christmas periods. It is also important to make sure that whilst out, meeting up with friends, we stay safe.
Mental and physical health is important to be cared for holistically. Positive physical health, such as through exercise, can also have positive impacts on mental health as endorphins and dopamine are released giving us that ‘feel good’ factor.
Here are some ideas that you may find helpful to try in promoting more positive mental health:
- Going on walks
- Trying a new hobby
- Watching shows or films that you enjoy
- Setting revision boundaries and allocating time to rest
- Getting involved in sports or clubs
Our mental well-being is a core principle of our daily lives. It impacts on how we function in a plethora of activities and therefore, we must sustain a good work-life balance and avoid the harmful effects of neglecting this.
Sometimes we can feel anxious and display behaviours due to the circumstances surrounding us. We can combat these ‘down’ feelings by having a routine, whereby you can, for instance, work for a few hours a day with regularly timed breaks and then reward yourself when you have finished by partaking in a fun activity such as going out with friends to the cinema.
Sustaining your mental health in this way increases the overall efficiency of your work so you get the best of both worlds. Additionally, there are many activities after school that you can take part in such as puzzle club, sports and many more.
We hope you may have found interest in the points that we have raised to outline the importance of mental health and caring for your self-care. Perhaps this blog has allowed you to spark more interest in you being able to discover something you can do to help improve your overall mental health.
Links for support:
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/
https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/talk-us-phone/
https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/your-feelings/mental-health/
Links for further reading :
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/https://www.youngminds.org.uk/
