Beyond “Looking After Your Mental Health” Plantmarket Feb 2017 Greg Stynes, Slánú Department Reflections on focussing on looking after your mental health versus striving for wellness Huge topic – tried to pick the most relevant based on the research Have included some tips Worksheet and exercises - interactive

What does it mean to have good mental health? Ask the group – what does it mean to you to have good mental health? 5 mins

Wellbeing “Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.” (WHO, 2014) “Wellbeing is more than just happiness. As well as feeling satisfied and happy, well-being means developing as a person, being fulfilled, and making a contribution to the community.” (Shah and Marks, 2004) Recent focus for research

Russ Harris – You Tube – 3 Happiness myths Discuss views and comments afterwards. What do people think of the message in the video clip? How does this tally with their own experience? Make the point that similarly, wellbeing does not mean a blissful state of peak health necessarily as this is not possible to sustain. Make the point that equally mental health recovery and wellness does not mean never experiencing difficulties and challenges. If time, lead discussion on this.

Five Ways to Wellbeing “ A mental health equivalent to your 5 a day!” Give background to Five Ways to Wellbeing…. adoption in different locations globally 15 mins

Provide worksheet for people to capture thoughts after each section

Connect… With the people around you. With family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community. Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day. We are Social Beings When are the times we have really enjoyed ourselves – have these occurred with other people? Mostly? Social support is a stress buffer and a protection for our mental health Recovery research – connection is crucial – making time for and nurturing our relationships

Versus ….but can be a challenge in modern day living Busy lives Digital connection is not the same as face to face interaction How is this area for you? Is there any action you need to take? 25 mins

Be active… Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy; one that suits your level of mobility and fitness. Exercise and activity is probably the single lost important thing we can do for our mental and physical wellbeing Stress buffer, sleep, fatigue, cardio, strength, blood pressure, anxiety, depression…….etc. As we get older, protection against decline in our thinking skills and anxiety and depression. Make it fun, do it with someone. Some studies have shown that engagement with nature increases mental wellbeing so try to get out and about – good news for budding horticulturalists!!

Can require a good deal of motivation as it is a new behaviour and a new habit. Habit is a very strong pull! Lots of resources out there. How much exercise? 30 minutes a day, five days a week.

Useful resources

Dr Mike Evans “Let’s Make our Day Harder” Lead discussion. Anything you need to note down for this section? 40mins

Take notice… Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are on a train, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you. As I have been talking the chances are that for each of us at different points in time, our minds have wandered for at least a split second (maybe longer). Might have been listening to me and then….! You will no doubt at least have made some judgements about how this is going, comparing it to other presentations etc. That’s what our minds do. Think about yourselves during the day. How often are we fully engaged in the moment versus thinking about either the past or the future? We might be worrying about something that’s coming up, reflecting on a memory, making judgements, comparisons, etc. But look at all around us that we are missing when we are engaged in this. Also, studies have shown that becoming more aware of what is happening to us in the present moment has a direct impact on our sense of wellbeing.

If you are like me, then frequently your mind disappears off into memories, ruminations, plans, future scenarios. There are some tools we can use which will help us take notice of things… Exercise: Mindfully eating a raisin or completing an outdoor sensory activity for five minutes Take Back 55 mins

Meditation: anyone experience?

What is Gratitude? “noticing and appreciating the positive in the world” (Wood, Froh and Geraghty, 2010) Research suggests a link with… Wellbeing Lower levels of depression Social relationships Lower levels of stress Another tool to take notice and appreciate the good in life is by focusing on gratitude….the things we are thankful for. Straightforward – counteracts negative bias.

Keep a Gratitude Diary Example of a gratitude diary Any examples here? Have a think about the topic of Take notice – note down anything that is important for you and any ideas you have. Tal Ben Shahar (Harvard Psychologist) – “When you appreciate the good, the good appreciates”

Keep Learning… Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident, as well as being fun to do. The good news for all of you is that you are all over number 4! Learning a new skill is associated with greater wellbeing, optimism and life satisfaction.

Now of course, learning doesn't necessarily mean going back to school…. What other sorts of things do you think you would be interested in learning? Take a moment to reflect on what we have discussed. Is there anything you need to note down for yourselves.

Give… Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and will create connections with the people around you. Feelings of happiness and life satisfaction are strongly associated with participation and contribution to our communities. Mutual cooperation is associated with increased neural activity in the reward part of the brain.

Volunteering is associated with greater positive mood and more meaning in life. Giving back to others appears to promote wellbeing.

Studies have shown that committing an act of kindness once a week for six weeks is associated with an increase in wellbeing.

Here are some ideas to get the ball rolling Here are some ideas to get the ball rolling. What sorts of random acts of kindness do you think you could do? So, in terms of ‘Give’, have a think and note down some ideas for yourselves.

And finally…. Mix things up – variety is the spice of life!! Set specific goals – making a change (and breaking habits) requires focused effort. Use your strengths Identify your strengths and find opportunities to use them www.viacharacter.org