Good Mental Health

I’ve found writing is really good for mental health! It can be really cathartic and help you to express yourself, and take you away from daily worries. I attended a creative writing class throughout December 2020 which was really fun and interesting as it gave you the opportunity and inspiration to write creatively, something I wouldn’t normally do off my own back. Here I wrote a couple of poems. Below are two poems I came up with:

Lost and Found:

See the changing colours of the trees

Lost are the long summer days

Green, vibrant, emerald turned to

Scarlet, burnt orange, red

Lost are the long hot summer evenings

Balmy, baking, blistering turned to

Chilly, cool, crisp

But found are the festive celebrations

Halloween, bonfire night, thanks giving leading to celebratory Christmas cheer

Found are the cosy autumnal nights

Warm fires, hot chocolate, xfactor

Grateful for this time of year

Here is the second poem:

On the table:

On the table a lifetime of memories

29 years young

All those nights out partying in my late teens and twenties

They were lots of fun

Happy memories of the best family holidays

Australia, Thailand, Croatia and so many

more

I can even remember holidays right back to France when I was four

My table littered with photos of memories from the past

Good times with family and friends I love so much

These memories I hope will last and last

How has writing helped with your mental health?

Not one for OVER sharing on social media, but I have experienced difficulties with my mental health for pretty much all of my life and I still continue to struggle. But on the bright side I don’t let it stop me from living my life, and it’s all character building. It makes you a stronger, wiser and a more understanding person. And every cloud has a silver lining! Here is what I have learnt through my experiences:

Don’t take happiness for granted- mental health affects us all and happens at some point to some degree in EVERYONE’s lives, be it in childhood, as a teenager, adulthood or old age or a combination of all four. You don’t know how different negative life experiences will affect you.

Mental health myth- staying in bed is NOT good for mental health. It’s not a physical illness. Getting out and about and out of the house and living your daily life (though not necessarily working, as this may be too much for some people) is what you’re supposed to be doing. Doesn’t mean there aren’t days when you literally can’t get out of bed, can’t leave the house, or don’t want to go out and socialise or struggle looking after yourself.

Just because you haven’t experienced mental health issues personally, doesn’t mean it’s not real. BELIEVE what the person is going through because to them it is 100% real even if it may not seem it to you. (You can never really fully understand what someone is going through unless you’ve been in the exact situation, at the same time, and even then it’s not exactly the same. So just believe what they are saying is true and be KIND and show empathy.)

Talking therapy is the best therapy. Just talking to someone who will really listen, without judgement or trying to ‘fix’ things makes the world of difference. At school I never talked to ANYONE about what I was going through (bullying-particularly in year 7) and didn’t have anyone close to me and was one of THE worst dark, dark times, especially when I found it so difficult talking. When I struggled with seriously poor mental health later in life (a mental breakdown after I dropped out of university) thankfully I was able to talk to close friends when I was going through a hard time at university and later was able to talk to family, the professionals etc and now am definitely a talker!

Too much stress is no good for anyone’s mental health. A little may make you perform well (in education/at work etc) but too much stress in lots of areas of your life can literally tip you over the edge. Make sure you’re living a balanced lifestyle.

It’s important to care of yourself- talk about your feelings, exercise, eat well, relax, drink sensibly, keep in touch with family/friends, ask for help when needed, do something you’re good at etc etc to live a healthy life both physically and mentally.

At the end of the day, what is normal? Everyone has something or will have something in life whether it be mental or physical or both, so, be kind, you don’t always know what someone else is going through.