Eat healthily

Eating healthily can reduce the risks of diet-related diseases

 

There is a growing amount of evidence showing how food affects our mood and how eating healthily can improve this you can protect your feelings of wellbeing by ensuring that your diet provides adequate amounts of brain nutrients such as essential vitamins and minerals, as well as water

 

Be aware of smoking and drinking alcohol

Try not to, or reduce the amount you smoke and the amount of alcohol you consume

 

Even though they may seem to reduce tension initially, this is misleading as they often make problems worse

 

Exercise

Try and integrate physical exercise into your lifestyle as it can be very effective in relieving stress

 

Even just going out and getting some fresh air, and taking some light physical exercise, like going for a walk to the shops can really help

Take time out

Take time to relax

 

Strike the balance between responsibility to others and responsibility to yourself, this can really reduce stress levels tell yourself that it is okay to prioritise self-care 

Are you needing time out but saying 'I just can't take the time off', if so read more about how taking a break is important for good mental health

Be mindful

Mindfulness is a mind-body approach to life that helps us to relate differently to experiences. 

It involves paying attention to our thoughts and feelings in a way that increases our ability to manage difficult situations and make wise choices

 

Try to practice mindfulness regularly

 

Mindfulness meditation can be practiced anywhere at any time research has suggested that it can reduce the effects of stress, anxiety and related problems such as insomnia, poor concentration and low moods, in some people

 

Get some restful sleep

Are you finding you are struggling to sleep? This is a common problem when you’re stressed

• Could your physical or mental health be impacting your ability to sleep?

• Could you amend your environment to help improve your sleep?

• Could you get up instead of staying in bed when your mind is worrying at night?

• Could you make small changes to your lifestyle to help your get a restful sleep?

Don’t be too hard on yourself

Try to keep things in perspective.

 

Remember that having a bad day is a universal human experience when your inner critic or an outer critic finds faults, try and find truth and exception to what is being said If you stumble or feel you have failed, don’t beat yourself up Act as if you were your own best friend: be kind and supportive take a few minutes each day to appreciate yourself