Happy Mental Health Awareness Week! Semana feliz de conciencia de salud mental! Woche des gesunden psychischen Bewusstseins für psychische gesundheit! Semaine heureuse desensibilisation à la santé mentale!*
What do foreign languages have to do with mental health? Well, research has shown that learning another language can benefit our wellbeing.
As we learnt from the previous blog on learning, there are many benefits to learning as adults such as increased self-esteem, self-confidence and giving us a sense of purpose. This in turn can help us feel more optimistic and satisfied with life – key factors of positive wellbeing.
But this is 15 minute wellbeing, how can we learn a language in 15minutes?
We can’t be expected to be fluent in a new language in 15 minutes, but we can learn something small in a different language, or alphabet. There are currently 8 main different alphabets used across the world (with at least 62 other alphabets known to have been used throughout history), each using different symbols and shapes to represent letters and words, and each beautiful in their own way.
The top alphabet is Tifinagh and the bottom is Korean (hanguel and hanja). Both translate to ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.’ (Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Today’s activity is designed for you to have a bit of fun with your initials. What do your initials look like in an alphabet different to your native language? Use the worksheet to draw your initials in another language or alphabet. As well as learning what they look like, try pronouncing them in the different language too.
Click the link below to download the worksheet. You can fill it in using the ‘fill and sign’ tool or alternatively print it off and fill it in by hand.
May 13th to 19th is Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK. The purpose of Mental Health Awareness Week is to start conversations about mental health to reduce stigma, help people get the support they need and to save lives.
To celebrate Mental Health Awareness Week, I will be posting a blog and 15 minute activity to improve your wellbeing every day this week. So you get an extra six wellbeing activities this week! I hope these activities improve your wellbeing and encourage you to have healthy, meaningful conversations about mental health and wellbeing.
Reflection rather than rumination
As we learnt from the first reflection blog post, the ability to learn from past events can improve our current and future wellbeing. Taking time to reflect can:
Often, when we feel low, we may ruminate which is bad for our wellbeing. Repeatedly focusing on problems or negative events we’ve experienced can lead to increased depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. Today’s activity therefore encourages us to reflect on the positives rather than ruminate, even when we have a bad day.
Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day
Alice Morse Earle
Today’s activity was inspired by the quote above – one of my favourites which I come back to time and again. When you’ve had a bad day, or things are getting you down, it’s important to remember that good things do still happen and that we should not give up.
On days when it all feels a bit too much, reflecting on positive events (no matter how small) can help us feel better about ourselves and maintain our wellbeing.
Whether you’ve had a good, bad or a somewhere in-between kind of day, spend 15 minutes reflecting on three good things that have happened. When you do have a bad day, try repeating this exercise to keep your spirits up and remind yourself that there is something good in every day.
Click the link below to download the worksheet. You can fill it in using the ‘fill and sign’ tool or alternatively print it off and fill it in by hand.
“If a medication existed which had a similar effect to physical activity like walking, it would be regarded as a ‘wonder drug’ or a ‘miracle cure’”.
England’s Chief Medical Officer (2010)
Is going for a stroll really a miracle cure for poor health and wellbeing? GPs in the Shetland Islands in Scotland seem to think so. They have started prescribing rambling and beach walks to help treat mental ill health, stress and other health conditions.
In aid of National Walking Month this May, today’s post and activity explores how going for a walk can have multiple benefits for our wellbeing.
The physical health benefits of walking
Brisk walking has the most benefits for our physical health. To tell if you are walking briskly, you should:
Physical activity such as walking briskly can improve the quality of sleep we get due to feeling more tired at the end of the day. Regular brisk walking can lower our blood pressure and help us feel less stressed and regularly walking at any speed can help manage our weight.
‘Walking is the nearest activity to perfect exercise.’
Morris & Hardman (1997)
For many of us, walking is one of the easiest ways to increase the amount of physical activity we do, because:
It’s free – there’s no need to join a gym or pay club membership fees
We can go for a walk anytime and anyplace that suits us
Walking is a low impact exercise, which means the risk of injuries and accidents is low
There’s no need to just focus on walking, we can enjoy our natural surroundings or chat to the person we’re walking with or people we encounter on our walk
No training is required, just get up and go!
As well as being easy to do, we can incorporate other wellbeing themes besides physical health and connection into our walks. For example:
Mindfulness – going for a mindful walk, smelling the flowers or feeling the texture of the leaves we pass on our way
Creativity – if you’re a budding photographer, going for a walk can provide you with new scenes and moments to capture
Learning – you may walk somewhere with an interesting history, or spot something that captures your interest. Walks can be used to spark our curiosity and learn more.
Reflection – walking can help us reflect on events that have happened recently, or process experiences
This week’s activity is – you guessed it – to go for a walk. Though there’s more to it than that. Remember when you were a kid and you used to walk along walls, jump in puddles and clamber over rocks? On your walk, try harnessing that exploratory nature and go off the beaten track. If you come across a tree trunk, why not climb it? If you see a pile of leaves, kick your way through them. Really embrace your surroundings (but please make sure you are safe while you do it).
My friends and I walking on Hampstead Heath, making our way off the main path into the wilderness
Click the link below to download the worksheet. You can fill it in using the ‘fill and sign’ tool or alternatively print it off and fill it in by hand.
If you enjoyed walking off the beaten track, please do get in touch and share your story.
I share wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram inbetween weekly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms tokeep up to date.
Back in March I wrote a blog post about choosing the right exercise for you. Whilst writing the post, I thought of a former colleague of mine, Richard, who had taken up running and really fell in love with it. Before he started running, he had overhauled his diet and lost a lot of weight. Once he started running, I noticed that Richard was not only healthier, but happier too.
I invited Richard to share his story with me for 15 minute wellbeing, because I think his journey is really inspirational. Richard has a real passion for running and has run distances that I couldn’t even imagine running, but like all of us, he had to start somewhere by putting one foot in front of the other. Read on to find out about his running journey and the great mantras he uses – these can benefit us in all aspects of our lives, not just exercise. I hope it inspires you to start or persevere with the exercise that is right for you.
Can you tell me about what your life was like before you started running?
“I’d gone through my weight loss and eating healthily and the next step for my wellbeing was some exercise. I started walking. I walked to Hounslow station which was 40 minutes away.
What really got me started with running was the running group at work. Jason said he’d come with me, just running one lamppost to the next. But I didn’t want to inconvenience him.
It took me 3 months of building it up until I could run 5km without stopping. I’ve kept the date when I went for my first run and refer back to it so I know how far I’ve come. It’s easy to forget what it was like before.”
Richard then went through the key dates in his running journey. I put these into a graph to show how Richard built up his endurance over time and the milestones he has achieved so far.
“My first run was on 7thMarch 2015 and first 5km on 31st May 2015, the bank holiday weekend which continues to be significant through my running journey. My first kilometre of running took just over 7 minutes.”
As you can see from the graph, Richard completed his first marathon on this bank holiday weekend in 2017 and his first ultra-marathon running from London to Brighton on the very same weekend last year.
This was soon after completing my first 100 km ultra-marathon
“This year on the May bank holiday weekend I want to run the 78 mile capital ring – 3 marathons in 3 days! Just get up in the morning and get on public transport to the starting point. I’m hoping to get some of my friends to join me.”
I found it incredible that it took Richard 3 months to run 5km without stopping and that he never gave up. Many people would, but he persevered. So what was his first run like?
“I remember the straight tarmac path was 150 metres and I ran that and my legs were like ‘what the hell are you doing?’ After 700 metres my legs were hurting and I had to stop and did lots of stretches. I eventually managed 3km on that first run.
I didn’t feel too bad, otherwise I wouldn’t have gone back. So each run thereafter I tried to get round the same distance a little bit faster. I didn’t make it too painful and unpleasant. I remember when I would really push it, my eyes would lose focus. Probably fight or flight kicking in. At the time I thought this couldn’t be normal.”
What motivated you to keep running?
“My approach has always been to keep improving, whether it’s running further or faster. There’s no point comparing myself to others – I want to be the best I can whilst fitting it into the rest of my life.
I very rarely run more than 4 or 5 times a week. My body gets to the point where it says ‘give me a rest’. It’s important to listen to any niggles and rest so they don’t get worse. That’s where not comparing yourself to others really comes into play.”
Richard then went on to tell me about the social aspects of running and how the variety of running events on offer keeps him motivated:
“I have completed three marathons and am training for my fourth in Boston, Lincolnshire. It’s an opportunity to go and stay with my sister. Every time I’ve done a marathon, I’ve done the parkrun the day before. You then get to meet other people you’re running in the marathon with. Then, when you’re running it, you spot someone from the parkrun!
“Last weekend I ran just short of 50km in total. What keeps it interesting is the variety. I’m doing a bit more trail running: meet at a tube station, someone plans a route and run on trails, it makes a nice change to pounding the streets of London. It usually finishes at a nice pub!
This photo is with some friends made through running. This was taken after running the circle line before heading to the pub for lunch.
I’ve signed up to tower running for more variety. Broadgate Tower is 35 floors. There’s a group that run up and down it 12 times – a vertical mile! I’ve been training and I’ve managed it four times, I’ve got a bit of work to do to get to 12 times. You walk it but take two steps at a time but use your arms to pull yourself up. I’m doing the tower run in July.
There is always an event going, such as the green belt relay where you run 200 miles around London in a team of 10. There’s also so many inspirational people you come across – there’s an 85 year old man at parkrun every week. I’d love to still be running at 85.”
For some, running just doesn’t appeal at all. So why running over another form of exercise?
“The gym has never really appealed to me. I used to swim 5 evenings a week and was a good swimmer, but lost interest in my teens. I re-started [swimming] in my 20s but lost interest. When I was younger, running didn’t really appeal to me, I only did it at school.
All you need is a pair of trainers and a shirt and off you go. The social aspect of running at work, could have a chat. I don’t really go to my running club as people are focused on their time. The social aspect has kept me going, making friends…
I did do some swimming as part of my getting fit. I signed up for a 5km swim and then had a few goes training. Once I did it, I stopped. I still want to challenge myself with a swim. Triathlons interest me but they’re expensive buying all the equipment.”
15 minute wellbeing is all about mental health and improving our overall wellbeing through different activities. What impact (if any) has running had on your mental health?
“I’ve become much more relaxed, I don’t worry about things as much. I used to be a bit of a perfectionist and running a marathon has taught me that I can’t run the whole thing perfectly. I’ve applied it to the rest of my life – you can’t perform at your best every day, some days when you go into work you just have to do the best you can.
Running has probably made me a more positive person, building relationships with others, giving each other positive feedback on their runs and times which makes me more positive overall. In my last marathon I didn’t get the time I wanted, but when I look back I can get delayed gratification from knowing I did a good performance.”
Richard then told me that he felt running involved many of the 15 minute wellbeing themes. In addition to the benefits to his physical health and aforementioned connecting with others and giving feedback, Richard told me how running links with the other themes:
Mindfulness – “Running is my form of mindfulness. Sometimes I’ve been running for 3 hours and I haven’t thought about much apart from running and how my body is responding.”
Learning – “Running is a really good learning tool, you only improve if you put the hard work in. There’s no quick wins with running.”
“Reflection is an important part of my running – reflecting on what went well, was the training right, did I rest well?
What advice would you give to anyone is a similar position as you were?
“Never outrun the joy of running.”
“Start off being realistic. Start off slowly and build up. Enjoy it. Never outrun the joy of running, that’s my current mantra. My previous mantras were ‘Get comfortable with discomfort’ and ‘If I believe I can achieve’.
“If I believe I can achieve.”
Find people to run with. If you’re in London there’s so many social running groups. Running shops often have running groups. Midnight runners in central London with music playing.
This photo shows the great running community at my local sports shop. The community is very supportive and provides a couch to 5 km group on a Monday evening.
Parkrun is great as you get to know regular runners with the same time as you. Parkrun is ideal for people starting out. They [the parkrun organisers] want the average time of a 5 km run to get slower as they want to attract more people who want to walk 5 km. Parkrun operates all over the country.
Find out what works for you. Some people are content going for a leisurely run and talking with the same group of friends. Others need a target to work towards.”
Huge thanks to Richard for sharing his story – he really is inspirational and his passion for running is contagious. Since meeting with Richard I have started running again, taking it slowly and building my way up to 5 km non-stop. Richard has reminded me that it doesn’t matter how long it takes to do it, as long as I’m enjoying it.
I hope you have taken something from Richard and he has inspired you. If you would like to share your wellbeing-related story on 15 minute wellbeing, please do get in touch.
You may have got one in your work secret Santa. A (not so close) relative may have bought you one for your birthday because “you were always into art at school”. You may have the Doctor Who one to tide you over until the next series starts. Whatever the reason,adult colouring books are very popular and it’s likely that most of us own one.
Whether you’re a fan of colouring in or are dubious about it, these books can help us cope with stress and improve our wellbeing. In the final post of National Stress Awareness Month, here’s 8 reasons to keep colouring or pick up those colouring pencils for the first time.
2. It’s a mindful activity, which is beneficial for our wellbeing.
Colouring in can put us in a meditative state and help us become more mindful. As we learnt in a previous blog post, mindfulness can reduce stress and anxiety and even pain. Just focusing on one thing that is happening in the here and now – i.e. colouring in part of a picture – can help us take a step back from stressful and emotional situations.
3. Mindfulness colouring books can reduce symptoms of depression
If you’re suffering with a low mood, colouring may be able to help. Research has shown that after a week of daily colouring in, participants showed significant reductions in symptoms of depression and anxiety. Those who completed logic puzzles over the same time period did not show these reductions, suggesting that colouring in for a short period on a daily basis can improve our mental health.
4. Colouring can improve our problem solving skills
Deciding which colours we want to use in each part of an image relies on our creative, right side of the brain and logical, left side of the brain working together. Creative activities such as colouring provide good opportunities to practice our problem solving skills as they often involve thinking differently. Continued practice can also help us become more resilient in the face of stress.
5. It gives us a sense of control
When we feel stressed, we often feel like certain aspects of our lives are out of our control. Engaging with colouring in books can help us regain that sense of control, because we are the ones choosing the colours. When given the choice of how to colour in an image versus being instructed to copy the colours of a pre-coloured image, participants were more likely to persevere with the task and show reduced levels of anxiety.
7. Different themed books can help us engage with our interests
It’s important to do something we enjoy every day. As well as making us happier, doing something fun can improve our skills, enhance our creativity and increase our ability to learn. Due to the popularity of adult colouring books, we can combine the benefits of colouring with our own interests. There are colouring books for every interest – Ryan Gosling (my personal favourite), cats and Game of Thrones, among many, many others.
8. With all this in mind, why don’t you give this week’s activity a go?
I’ve designed a pattern for you to colour in, reduce stress and improve your wellbeing. Spend 15 minutes colouring it in and see how you feel. If you’re able to, spend 15 minutes each day on it until you’ve completed colouring it in to enhance the benefits to your wellbeing.
Click the link below to download the worksheet. It’s recommended for this exercise that you print it off so you can colour it in! If you don’t have a printer, you could draw your own design and colour it in.
If colouring in has helped improve your wellbeing, please do get in contact and share your story!
I share wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram in between weekly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms to keep up to date. I’d love to post your colouring online, so get in contact and share your work 🙂
Sometimes it feels like we’re surrounded by stuff, with nowhere to put anything. How much of this stuff do we actually need? Have we used or worn it all in the last year? If the answer to these questions is ‘not all of it’ then all these things may be cluttering your life unnecessarily.
Clutter can contribute to feelings of stress and not being able to achieve our goals. Mess around the house can make us feel stressed as we may perceive it as another task that we haven’t been able to complete. This adds to the feeling that there isn’t enough time in the day to accomplish our goals, which can make us feel even more stressed. In this third post during National Stress Awareness Month, we will be exploring the benefits of tidying up, getting rid of things we don’t really need and donating them to charity.
You may have heard of the ‘KonMari’ method popularised by the TV show ‘Tidying Up with Marie Kondo’. This method encourages us to get rid of items which no longer ‘spark joy’ in us. This is similar to the quote by William Morris: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” Focusing on the items that make us happy and removing those that are no longer of use to us can result in a transformation of not only our homes, but also our emotional wellbeing.
Is Marie Kondo onto something? She could well be. Living in a messy, cluttered house can have a negative impact on our wellbeing. If we feel like we live in a cluttered home, we are more likely to feel stressed, as shown by increased levels of cortisol (the stress hormone).
Why we are reluctant to declutter our homes
Although clutter and mess can cause frustration and have a detrimental effect on our wellbeing, many of us do nothing about it. Why is that? Tidying up and throwing things away is an unpleasant, often time-consuming activity for many of us to do, so we avoid it and spend that time procrastinating instead. For those of us who avoid throwing things away, or even hoard objects, we may keep hold of things because we believe that:
We just need more time to sort things out
We don’t have too much stuff, we just need more storage space
We need to keep them for the future, ‘just in case’
If we throw things away, we may harm the environment
If you are concerned that you may have a problem with hoarding, the Clutter Image Rating may be useful. Also, speak to your GP or a mental health practitioner for advice and support.
We can also become overly attached to our personal items, which makes it hard to get rid of them, resulting in a build-up of objects in our homes and lives. We then add to this ever increasing amount of objects because we believe we actually need the things we want, which is rarely the case. Do we want three different types of black ankle boots? Yes. Do we need three different types of black ankle boots? Almost definitely not.
How getting rid of clutter can improve our wellbeing
In comparison, if we feel like we live in a home that is tidy and in order, we feel less stressed. When decluttering we use our problem solving skills, giving us a sense of mastery and control, which helps us feel better about ourselves and increases our belief in our ability to achieve our goals.
One of the positives of tidying up is that we can see the difference we have made straight away. When our things are out of place, this can cause us to feel anxious. Putting things in order can relieve anxiety relatively quickly. Additionally, decluttering can involve three of the key wellbeing themes we’ve covered in 15 minute wellbeing:
Physical health – tidying is a type of exercise, which can improve our mental and physical health
Mindfulness – concentrating on just decluttering a space can keep us in the here and now, which in itself can help reduce stress
Giving – giving our unwanted items to charity can not only pass on joy to others, but also increase our self-worth
This week’s activity is a seemingly simple one – declutter a space in your home. It may sound daunting –and it’s ok to feel that way – but in line with all the other activities, you only need to spend 15 minutes tidying a space. Pick a small, manageable space such as a bedside drawer or the pile of bits and bobs on the stairs. Take a picture of how it looks before decluttering, then take another when you have finished.This will help you see what a difference just 15 minutes of tidying up can make.
Once you’ve finished tidying, bag up those items you don’t need and donate them to your local charity shop. Giving to others can further enhance our wellbeing by giving us asense of self-worth and purpose.
Click the link below to download the worksheet. You can fill it in using the ‘fill and sign’ tool or alternatively print it off and fill it in by hand.
If tidying up had a positive impact on your stress levels or wellbeing, please do get in touch and share your story.
I share wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram inbetween weekly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms to keep up to date.
Do you devour a pack of chocolate buttons when you’ve had a bad day? Do you pour yourself a glass (or two, or three) of wine when it all feels a bit much? Does smoking a cigarette take the edge off your nerves? If you answered yes to any of the above, then you may be using food and drink (and even other substances) to help you cope with stress and negative feelings you experience.
Last week, we covered a short-term way to deal with stress – bagging up our worries and throwing them away (how did you find that activity? Do let me know!) In this second post during National Stress Awareness Month, we will be focusing on a longer-term approach to cope with stress: what we eat and drink.
How food and drink can affect how we feel
Everything we consume has an effect on how our bodies function. However, some food, drinks and other substances can affect our mental functioning and wellbeing because they produce a psychoactive effect. That is, some of what we consume can contribute to us feeling happy, sad, calm and anxious.
How does this work? Key to the relationship between what we eat, drink, take and our wellbeing are different chemicals in our bodies:
Dopamine – our reward system, this contributes to us feeling good about ourselves
Noradrenaline – influences how alert, anxious or calm we are
Different food, alcohol and drugs can affect these chemicals, leading to changes in our mood and wellbeing. Today’s post and activity will explore how what we consume can affect our levels of stress and wellbeing. We will also look at how making small changes to our diets can have a long-lasting impact on our mental health.
Why we use food and drink to cope with stress
Many of us eat, drink, smoke or take drugs to help us cope with stressful situations and negative feelings. There are many reasons for this, but over 90% of our serotonin receptors (the chemical that makes us feel happy) are in our guts. This may be why we associate feeling happy with eating and resort to food and drink when we feel stressed or unhappy.
Sugar – when the level of sugar in our blood increases quickly (i.e. after eating some chocolate) a chemical called cortisol is released to stabilise it. When our blood sugar is unstable, we can feel frustrated and angry.
What can I eat or drink to help me feel less stressed?
Cutting down on sugar and junk food can increase our resilience. Limiting our alcohol intake can have a positive impact on our wellbeing and reduce the paranoia (and consequent stress) experienced after a big drinking session. Only consuming caffeine in the morning or in smaller doses can reduce anxiety and improve sleep.
One thing we can increase in our diets is protein. The amino acids found in protein are used by our brains to protect against low mood and feeling angry. Foods high in protein include fish, meat, beans, lentils and nuts.
This week’s activity requires you to look at your diet and see if you can make any changes to it to reduce your stress levels and improve your wellbeing. The worksheet provides further information on protein, caffeine and alcohol, along with some questions to help you explore whether you can improve your diet and your wellbeing.
Click the link below to download the worksheet. You can fill it in using the ‘fill and sign’ tool or alternatively print it off and fill it in by hand.
If changing your diet has reduced stress and helped improve your wellbeing, please do get in contact and share your story!
I share wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram inbetween weekly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms to keep up to date.
Stress. What a horrible feeling and unfortunately so many of us experience it. Whether it’s work, Brexit, travel, relationships, not being able to switch off or just having too much on our plates, stress is becoming a frequent, unwelcome visitor in our lives. During a typical week, 72% of us feel stressed at some point – this is not good for our wellbeing and frequently feeling stressed can also lead to problems with our mental and physical health.
Let’s change this. April is National Stress Awareness Month, so each 15 minute wellbeing blog post throughout April will focus on how stress affects our wellbeing and provide a range of activities aligned with the seven wellbeing themes to help us feel less stressed and anxious. Stress doesn’t have to be a part of life that we just accept, we can overcome it and feel better within ourselves.
What is stress?
Stress is how our bodies respond to an event or situation that is new, unexpected, threatens us or something that we have little control over. When we experience a stressful event, our bodies produce hormones that put us into ‘fight or flight’ mode. That is, these hormones prepare us to fight the threat, or run away from it.
Sometimes, this response is useful – it can help us respond quickly in high pressure situations and protect ourselves if we need to. If we only experience stressors and stay in fight or flight mode for a short amount of time, then we are unlikely to have any long-term, negative effects. However, if we experience stressful events frequently, or are constantly in fight or flight mode, our resilience to stressors reduces and we feel unable to cope. This leads to us regularly feeling stressed which can have a knock-on effect on our mental and physical health.
Why our lives are so stressful
Whereas our cavemen ancestors were mainly concerned with shelter, food and avoiding predators, a whole host of things can cause us stress in the 21st Century:
Work – over two-thirds of people in a national survey felt excessive pressures at work (i.e. having to take on extra work to compensate for staff absences, unpaid overtime) was their main source of stress. This, plus balancing our work and home lives can make us feel overwhelmed.
Money – although employment has risen, the amount of money we earn has not increased substantially since the 2008 recession. This means that many of us don’t always have enough money to make ends meet and more than 1 in 5 of us have experienced debt-related stress.
Stress can have a detrimental effect on our wellbeing. Experiencing lots of stress has been linked with depression and self-harm. In a national survey, 51% of respondents who felt stressed also felt depressed, with even more – 61% – feeling anxious as a result as stress.
Stress and anxiety can become a vicious cycle: stress leading to anxiety and the worrying linked with anxiety resulting in us feeling even more stressed. Rumination (constant worrying) is one of the strongest predictors of negative wellbeing. If we can reduce how much we ruminate, then we can start to overcome stress and improve our wellbeing.
Common, unhelpful ways we cope with stress
We have all developed our own ways of coping with stress, some of these are helpful whereas many are only short-term fixes. To alleviate stress we may eat unhealthily, smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol or take drugs. While these can provide a momentary distraction from our worries, they don’t help us overcome them.
Bag up those worries
This week’s activity uses a short and cathartic exercise to help you overcome the stressors and worries you may be currently experiencing. It involves writing, drawing or sticking things that represent your worries in the bag on the worksheet and then scrunching or ripping it up. The purpose of going through this process can help you let go of your worries and realise that you have some control over your worries, they don’t have to control you.
Click the link below to download the worksheet. It’s recommended for this exercise that you print it off so you can scrunch it and rip it! If you don’t have a printer, draw your own bag and follow the instructions on the worksheet.
If bagging up your worries has helped improve your wellbeing, please do get in contact and share your story!
I share wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram inbetween weekly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms to keep up to date.
How often is your trainor tube delayed? How frequently does your bus drive straight past your stopbecause it’s already full? If your answer is “too often”, you’re not alone.
On the London Underground, there was an average of 5 signal failures per day between January 2016 and February 2018. In 2018, 43% of train passengers experienced a delay lasting between 15 and 30 minutes. Not only that, train delays across the UK and Northern Ireland totalled 283,904 hours, which equates to 32 years of delays!
How delays can affect our wellbeing
Not only are these delays frustrating, they can also have a negative effect on our health and wellbeing. Poorer mental wellbeing, increased blood pressure, poorer diet and less sleep are all associated with delays and lengthy commutes.
People who commute by bus report lower life satisfaction and those who take the train are more likely to experience stress and anxiety. In a survey of over 1,000 commuters, journey delays were the aspect of commuting reported to be most detrimental to their health and wellbeing.
Until public transportsystems improve, there is little we can do to control train, tube and busdelays. However, we can use this extra time to our advantage.
Using delays to improve our wellbeing
We often feel like we don’t have enough time – which we covered in a previous post – so let’s make more use of the time we would otherwise spend waiting around, getting more and more frustrated. We can do this by connecting with others – one of the simplest and most effective ways of improving our wellbeing.
Do not worry – this doesn’tinvolve striking up a conversation with your fellow commuters! (Though if wespoke to each other more on public transport, we may enjoy our journeys more…)It’s about using this time to invest in our relationships with family andfriends and build stronger connections with them.
We can’t plan for train delays, so we will have to use what we have on us – our phones. Not to scroll through Instagram or Facebook, but to actually connect with others over a phone call. Even though the majority of us own a mobile phone, the number of phone calls we make on them is decreasing. In 2017, the amount of phone calls made decreased by 1.7% and it’s possible this has decreased since. Why is this? The immediacy of text and WhatsApp (and other messaging systems) is convenient and can give us instant gratification. However, it’s difficult to invest time in our relationships and get closer to our loved ones over messaging.
Why speaking on the phone is good for our wellbeing
Talking to someone over the phone can be beneficial for our relationships and our wellbeing. Communicating over the phone can help us build intimate relationships, feel closer to others and reduce feelings of loneliness, which is one of the biggest contributors to poor wellbeing. Compared to texting, phone calls are better for expressing emotion through tone of voice, which helps us understand each other better and can reduce conflict.
Many of us have a desire to connect with others more, due to UK-wide surveys indicating that men and women would rather spend more time with friends and family as opposed to spending their time at work. Even though transport delays may be affecting that, this can be alleviated somewhat by picking up the phone and having a conversation.
Today’s activity is thereforeto pick up your phone and have a conversation. Even if you don’t experience atransport delay (and hopefully you won’t) you can still call someone. As thisis 15 minute wellbeing – and many transport delays last for 15 minutes – tryand speak on the phone for this length of time, or longer if you wish. After yourphone call, why not take the time to reflect on your conversation and how itmade you feel? There are some questions on the worksheet to help you do this.
Click the link below todownload the worksheet. You can fill it in using the ‘fill and sign’ tool oralternatively print it off and fill it in by hand.
If you enjoyed speakingover the phone for a change, or feel that having a conversation with a friendor family member helped improve your wellbeing, please do get in contact andshare your story.
I sharewellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram inbetween weekly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms tokeep up to date.
Today is World Poetry Day, celebrating poetry in all its forms. From a couplet to a haiku, limerick or sonnet, poetry helps us express our thoughts, feelings and life experiences. As proclaimed by the United Nations, poetry has the unique ability to capture the creative spirit of the human mind.
This week’s post uses
World Poetry Day to introduce the seventh and final theme that can improve your
wellbeing – creativity. Creativity – or being creative – is the use of our
imagination or original ideas to create something. Here at 15 minute wellbeing,
the focus is not on being artistic or creating a masterpiece, but absorbing
ourselves in an activity that can stimulate our senses and temporarily help us forget
about our problems.
Theme 7: Creativity
Creativity is a key part of being human and can help us grow as individuals, groups and societies. Being creative stimulates the whole brain: when we do something creative, the left logical side and right emotional side of our brains work together and develop our thinking skills. This in turn, improves our problem solving skills. Continued creativity can help us practice these new problem solving skills and help us become more resilient.
Participating in creative activities can improve wellbeing and reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress in those of us affected by mental health issues. Creative activities can also improve our:
Communication skills
Stress management
Connections with others
Emotional intelligence
Health management
Self-confidence
Despite all these benefits, some people find engaging in creative activities stressful, particularly the pressure to complete an artistic task to a set standard. If we don’t have confidence in our artistic abilities or creative writing skills, the thought of doing something creative may not be so appealing. However, we could think of creativity as a muscle that needs strengthening – the more we practice it, the more confidence we will have. Over time, 15 minute wellbeing will provide different activities that can exercise and nourish our creativity.
There are many ways to
be creative – drawing, painting, singing and dancing (among others) – all of
which will be featured in the blog in the future. As today is world poetry day,
we are going to write a poem. Not just any poem, a rhyming one!
Why is poetry good for our wellbeing?
Practising poetry can contribute to improved wellbeing. It has been shown to be a useful therapeutic tool for people with a variety of mental health issues. Poetry can positively influence our:
Social relationships
Emotions
Sense of purpose in life
Personal accomplishments
Having a sense of achievement or personal accomplishment can result in a positive spiral. Achievement builds motivation and confidence, which then encourages us to take more positive risks and new challenges to achieve some more.
Poetry can help us make sense of the world and reflect on our experiences – which we already know from the last blog is good for our wellbeing. Writing poetry about stressful and/or negative life experiences can help us process emotions such as loss, anger and frustration.
When we become absorbed in writing (or reading) a poem, it blends in with our thoughts and imagination to rearrange our priorities: immersion in poetry can temporarily suspend feelings of anxiety, boredom or stress. The focus of this task (and all future creative tasks) is to absorb ourselves in the process of creating something new. There will be no marking or rating in any of the 15 minute wellbeing creative activities. The aim is to gain a sense of achievement and improve our wellbeing by creating something.
Today’s activity is
writing a rhyming poem. You can write your poem about any topic and it can be
of any length, it just needs to rhyme! If you’re stuck for what to write about,
use one of the following topics for inspiration:
Something that has happened in your day
The plot of a film or TV show you watched
recently
A friend, family member or pet
Click the link below to
download the worksheet. You can fill it in using the ‘fill and sign’ tool or
alternatively print it off and fill it in by hand.
If you enjoy writing a
rhyming poem, or feel that the process of writing poetry has helped improve
your wellbeing, please do get in contact and share your poem and/or your story!
I share
wellbeing-related research, news and stories on twitter and Instagram in
between weekly blog posts so do follow @15minwellbeing on both platforms to
keep up to date. As this week’s post is about poetry, I will also be sharing
poems and rhymes over the next week.
15 Minute Wellbeing 