A Conversation About Parent/Carer Mental HealthGood afternoon.
How are you this week? What have been your biggest wins? What hasn't gone so well? What lessons have you taken away from these experiences? Are you ready to let them go now? Today, I wanted to talk to you about how to manage your mental health as a parent or caregiver, So, what is mental health? Well, according to the WHO, mental health is, "... a state of well-being in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community." We all have a level of mental health, just as we do a level of physical health. In order to maintain good physical health, we might eat our greens, exercise and drink lots of water… And looking after your mental health is very similar. You simply need to feed your mind more of what it needs to stay healthy… Like sleep, connection, self-belief, joy and purpose. Does that make sense? Since we've now defined what mental health is, I thought we might explore some of the common reasons why parents or carers may be struggling at the moment. Can you identify with any of these?
Do any of those feel true to you? Perhaps more than one of them? The truth is, there are hundreds of reasons why you might be struggling at the moment, and this is going to feel different for everyone. To help you combat some of the challenges you may be facing at the moment, here are some of my top tips for trying to improve, and to maintain, a good level of mental health:
Please remember you aren't alone. You are welcome to contact me and the HappiMe team, or check out some of the amazing organisations that are also there to help you. They can be found here. If you’d like some useful tips for building confidence, self-esteem and self-worth in your children, please feel free to contact me here. I hope this blog helped you in some way. I aim to post every Tuesday, but don't worry - if you're following us on our socials, you will get a reminder there. Follow us Instagram. Like us on Facebook. Check us out on Twitter. If you aren't already, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn too, for more on children's mental health. Take care, Abby and the HappiMe Team x
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A Conversation About ConfidenceHey, lovely.
How are you this week? What have been your biggest wins? Trust me, you can think of at least 3… What hasn't gone so well? What lessons have you taken away from these experiences? Are you ready to let them go now? Since it's something we work with young people to improve daily, I thought it was about time with had a chat about confidence. So, what is confidence? Well, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, confidence is "the quality of being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans or the future." What do I think about confidence? Confidence is how you feel about yourself intrinsically… Not what other people think of you. Just because someone once said, “she’s doesn’t seem very confident”, doesn’t mean it’s true! I also feel that confidence has nothing to do with the external world, and everything to do with your own thoughts. If you keep saying to yourself, “I’m not very confident”, guess what? You will never be confident! Lastly, confidence doesn’t necessarily mean you’re loud, love being the centre of attention or have to be the “class clown”. Confidence is being brave enough to be quiet when appropriate, to listen, and to share assertively when you have something to say. Confidence works very closely with vulnerability! Now we're clear on what confidence is (and is not!), here are some of my top tips for improving yours... 1. Journaling (with a twist!) – “What’s the twist?” I hear you ask! Our ‘Confidence Journal’ is all about sharing your real thoughts and feelings about specific situations that may have happened that day. We suggest listing every key event, numbering them, then on a separate page writing down all of the things you thought or wanted to say. The point of this is to be vulnerable with yourself, and to learn to trust your own thoughts and feelings. 2. Mirror Work – Once you have written your journal for the day, head over to your nearest mirror and say some of the things you’d liked to have said, as assertively as you can. Speak clearly, smile and allow your inner confidence to shine through. Your voice is so important, so let it be heard. 3. The Power Pose - Stand upright, hands on hips, chest puffed, chin up and legs parallel to your hips. Take a deep breath, smile and recite a short mantra that makes you feel happy. For example, “I am strong”, “I am confident”, or “I am brave”. Try to do this for 2 minutes at the beginning of each day. 4. Helpful Thoughts - This is a great first step towards changing your beliefs. They are NOT super positive, because if you currently believe something like, “I have never been confident”, it’s unlikely your brain is going to listen when you start chanting, “I am super confident”. A small step in the right direction could be reciting something that is equally true but just a tiny bit more helpful. For example, “I am capable of being more confident”, or “with practice, I could be more confident”. Remember, change doesn't happen overnight, so pick what you'd like to try and give it a go for at least 30-days. I also suggest that you rate your confidence level out of 10 today and again in a month's time. If you’d like some useful tips for building confidence, self-esteem and self-worth in your children, please feel free to contact me here. I hope this blog helped you in some way. I aim to post every Tuesday, but don't worry - if you're following us on our socials, you will get a reminder there. Follow us Instagram. Like us on Facebook. Check us out on Twitter. If you aren't already, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn too, for more on children's mental health. Take care, Abby and the HappiMe Team x A Conversation About Self-CareHi-de-hi.
How are you this week? What have been your biggest wins? Come on, think of 3 if you can... What hasn't gone so well? What lessons have you taken away from these experiences? I thought I'd share some of my self-care rituals with you today, given that 2021 hasn't been easy for many thus far. I suppose I am one of the "lucky ones", in a sense that I find it reasonably easy to put my mental health first... However, it hasn't always been that way, and I know I'm probably a bit of an anomaly. It takes practice and discipline, but when you start to really take care of yourself, life just seems to feel just that little bit easier. Self-care can help you to be more resilient, more self-confident and better in control of your emotions and thoughts. Here are my top tips for looking after your mind, body and heart! - Mind - Meditation! I practice around 30-minutes of meditation each day, and after I made the commitment to do this, my mind was so much quieter throughout the day. It felt like a reset. There are great apps and guided meditations on YouTube, so just find what works for you. When I first started, I found Insight Timer a game-changer. - Heart - Joy! Do one thing each day that brings you joy, whether it's savouring a cup of coffee, a walk, time to read or a hot bath... Fill your heart with deliberate happiness for at least 30-minutes every day! - Body - Exercise! I'm not talking 90-minutes at Spin, but even a gentle walk, a short HIT workout or some fun in the garden... Exercise releases endorphins, as well as looking after your body, too! Give these a go for 30-days and see how you feel afterwards. The message that helped change my mindset on this when we first started HappiMe was... "There is one thing guaranteed in your life, and that is that you'll be stuck with you for the duration, so you just as well nurture that relationship." How true is that? So, do you think you can put yourself first? If you’d like some useful tips for building confidence, self-esteem and self-worth in your children, please feel free to contact me here. I hope this blog helped you in some way. Take care, Abby x A Conversation About Children's Mental HealthGood afternoon.
How are you this week? What have been your biggest wins? Trust me, you can think of at least 3… What hasn't gone so well? What lessons have you taken away from these experiences? So, it’s children’s mental health week. I know it goes without saying given that the HappiMe ethos is all about improving children’s mental health, but this awareness week couldn’t be more important. Why? As you can see, this is a growing problem… In fact, stats show that each year thousands more young people are diagnosed with mental health disorders, and that’s just the ones we know about. After a 2020’s events, I would imagine those numbers are going to soar higher than they ever have before, which is just so incredibly sad. As a young person, I really struggled with my mental health. Although we didn’t have a name for it at the time, I spent the majority of my teenage years with quite severe anxiety… I hid it well until it all came to a head in my early twenties – which was when I was finally ready to make a change. You see, whether you’re 12-years-old, or 45, keeping on top of your mental health is such a personal journey. This is why, when we started developing HappiMe coaching and therapy programmes, we did it with teaching clients how to take care of themselves at the core of every intervention. If you have tools and strategies to manage your mental and emotional health, imagine how much better life can be? As a not-for-profit, we think it’s important to ensure everyone is able to access good quality mental health support. This is why we send out a free resource pack to everyone who joins The HappiMe Club. But wait, what is The HappiMe Club? Well, it’s a place where all members get exclusive special offers, freebies and monthly tips and advice for supporting themselves and their families. Oh, and it’s completely free! Contact us to join The HappiMe Club today. I hope this blog helped you in some way. I aim to post every Tuesday, but don't worry - if you're following us on our socials, you will get a reminder there. Follow us Instagram. Like us on Facebook. Check us out on Twitter. If you aren't already, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn too, for more on children's mental health. Take care, Abby and the HappiMe Team x A Conversation About Active ListeningHi, lovely.
How are you this week? What have been your biggest wins? Come on, think of 3 if you can... What hasn't gone so well? What lessons have you taken away from these experiences? Shall we have a chat about active listening? As humans, it’s so easy to want to fix a negative situation a loved-one might be in… After all, we don’t want to see someone we care about struggling, do we? The truth is, learning how to listen actively can feel like a challenge. It’s in our nature to want to help others, so “just listening” when someone is in need can go against the grain - but how will they learn if we are always jumping to their aid? To help you see how empowering listening can be for both you and the person in need, here’s a little story we are sharing on social media next week… Jess is 15 and has been struggling with friendship issues in school. When she spoke to her Mum about it, her Mum jumped to her aid and gave her lots of advice, whilst also clearing up the house and preparing dinner… “Why don’t you pop them a message love?”, “we could go for a walk to take your mind off of things later?” … The truth is, Jess just wanted someone to vent at. She knew deep down that it wasn’t the end of the world, and that she wouldn’t feel this way forever, but she felt talking about it would help her to feel calmer… Of course, in the scenario Jess was in, it was clear that her Mum was well-meaning and just wanted to help fix everything for her. In this case though, Jess wanted a soundboard to help her reflect and come to terms with everything herself. She wanted to feel empowered and independent! What could Jess’s Mum have done differently?
What do you think? Could Jess's Mum tried to do any of those things? What else can someone do to show they are active listening? Well, they could...
If you’d like some useful tips for building confidence, self-esteem and self-worth in your children, please feel free to contact me here. I hope this blog helped you in some way. I aim to post every Tuesday, but don't worry - if you're following us on our socials, you will get a reminder there. Follow us Instagram. Like us on Facebook. Check us out on Twitter. If you aren't already, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn too, for more on children's mental health. Take care, Abby and the HappiMe Team x |
AuthorEach week, HappiMe's Lead Children's Coach, Abby, shares her advice on a new topic.
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