09 Oct 2020

2020 has been such an unbelievably tough year for everyone so far. According to Mind, over two thirds of young people (68%) have said that their mental health has become worse during lockdown. It is more important than ever to make sure we make time for ourselves.

Let’s all come together on World Mental Health Day to do something positive for our own mental health. This could be just one small change or action that encourages healthy behaviours, such as relaxing, eating well, getting active, trying something new or connecting with others.

By practicing healthy behaviours, we are experimenting to find ways to help build our resilience. If we continue to repeat these behaviours regularly, then we will feel more able to overcome challenges in the future.

Here at Future Quest we have been thinking about what we will do on the 10th October to improve our mental health:

“I’m going to create my own list of feel good activities that I can tick off when struggling while shielding as a high-risk, vulnerable person. This will help give me some structure to my day and motivate me.” Sarah, Future Quest Co-ordinator.

 

"On 10th October I will be going for a walk with my sister and my mum - fresh air and lots of time to talk!" Svenja, Future Quest Co-ordinator.

 

“I will spend some time with my guinea pigs and cats having hugs and sending people pictures of them.” Sian, Future Quest Outreach Hub Officer.

 

“The thing that helps me the most is to stop thinking about all the things I have to do, turn off my annoying inner voice and just relax (mostly by watching rubbish TV and cheesy movies." Laura, Future Quest Co-ordinator.

 

“I’m going to go for a walk in the countryside and take photographs of anything I find beautiful or interesting. I like exploring, I like fresh air in my lungs and it feels like escapism.” Gemma, Future Quest Outreach Hub Manager.

 

Here are our top tips for what you could do for World Mental Health Day:

• Take our Healthy Behaviours Quiz to learn more about how to improve your wellbeing and build resilience.
• Try and do something away from a screen that helps you to relax and ‘switch off’, such as a jigsaw or something creative such as drawing or read a book.
• Go for a walk in nature.
• Speak to a friend you’ve not spoken to for a while.
• Buy yourself something nice.
• Watch a stand-up comedian or a funny film.
• Cook a healthy meal.
• Write three good things about yourself and stick them on your wall to remind yourself of how great you are.
• Create a playlist of your favourite tracks or discover a new upbeat playlist on Spotify.
• Do some mindful colouring.
• Do something for someone else.
• Learn a new skill. Try one of our Future Quest online activities.
• Find useful sources of support. Check out our Mental Health & Wellbeing Support pages, or read the YoungMinds guidance on how to deal with Coronavirus & Mental Health.

 

What will you do for World Mental Health Day? Let us know what you will be doing by sharing it on Instagram and tagging us @Future_Quest_