How to lift your spirits
Pat Hagan finds ways to help lighten the lockdown load and the simple tricks to boost your wellbeing
This past year has not just scarred our physical health, it has also left its mark on our mental wellbeing. A recent survey revealed that UK businesses lost around £14billion in 2020 just from stressed workers taking time off due to pandemic-related mental health issues. And absences due to depression, anxiety and stress were 10 per cent higher than normal. Helplines say they are having to cope with a surge in calls, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists has warned that the rise in severe mental illness in recent months has become a “serious cause for concern”. However, with services stretched, there are many do-it-yourself therapies and simple steps you can take to keep the pandemic blues at bay. Some are high-tech, others more conventional, as part two of our guide to spring-cleaning your mental health shows.
CLEAR THE MIND WITH MEDITATION
Centuries-old meditation is still one of the best drug-free ways to combat feelings of depression and low mood. Research carried out at Michigan Technological University in the US found volunteers’ mental health started to improve after just one solitary session of meditation. Research leader Professor John J Durocher says: “There was a clear reduction in anxiety in just the first hour after the meditation session.” You don’t need to see an expert in person – online meditation programmes, such as Headspace (headspace.com) have proved popular and effective.
BEAT THE BLUES WITH YOUR LAPTOP
Cognitive behaviour therapy, a kind of talking therapy, has proved very effective for some people struggling with anxiety and low mood. It works by changing unhelpful reactions to troublesome thoughts and gives sufferers coping strategies to dampen down their agitation. Some NHS authorities provide free access to a popular online CBT programme called Beating the Blues (beatingtheblues.co.uk), which involves eight weekly sessions, each an hour long, that can be done from the comfort of your home. Research shows Beating the Blues can help soothe psychological woes.
TIDY UP YOUR HOME
Spring cleaning your home can help spring clean your mind. Scientists at the University of California Los Angeles quizzed homeowners to see how they described their living conditions, searching their replies for key words indicating lots of clutter, as well as words pointing to stress. The results revealed that those living in lots of mess were much more likely to be mentally under pressure.
TREAT YOURSELF TO SOME FLOWERS
Buying flowers doesn’t just brighten the home – it also brightens the mind. Scientists at Rutgers University in New York found that people who were given flowers experienced an instant surge
Meanwhile, researchers at Wage ningen University in The Netherlands found that restaurant diners who had flowers on their tables were in better moods than those whose tables were bare.
DRAW UP A WELLNESS PLAN
Millions have been forced to work from home during the pandemic and it’s likely many may continue to do so for some time to come. But it can be a mental struggle.
The Mental Health charity MIND has a guide to drawing up what it calls a “Wellness Action Plan”, designed to minimise the risk of becoming depressed and isolated when working from the same place you live. The plan helps you identify the triggers that affect your mood, recommends several short breaks throughout the day and even getting dressed as if you were going into the office, as it can boost your self-esteem. The guide says separating work from home is vital. “Create a home workstation. It’s important to have boundaries that will help delineate your work time from your leisure time.”
GET UP EARLY
People who are naturally early risers are less likely to develop mental health problems than night owls, according to research by Exeter University. It looked at the genetic profiles of 250,000 people in the UK and found that those burning the midnight oil were much more prone to poor mental health. Meanwhile, a 2017 study in The Lancet Psychiatry found that taking measures to tackle insomnia – such as using online counselling – significantly reduced the risk of mental illness. MIND says: “If you are having problems sleeping, you might be more likely to feel anxious, depressed or even suicidal. “It can also leave you feeling lonely or isolated simply because you don’t have the energy to see people.”
KEEP A DIARY
Our first reaction to stressful events is often to try to shut them out of our minds to avoid being overwhelmed. But research shows writing about them in a diary can actually reduce the psychological strain. A study carried out by the University of Texas found that expressive writing, voicing anxieties over stressful problems, not only reduced intrusive thoughts but also improved working memory. The theory is that by documenting our worries, we free up more of the brain’s cognitive resources for other mental activities, including the ability to cope more effectively with stress. Researchers found that the people who benefit most from keeping a diary were those who express more emotion in their writing – rather than just recording events.
LOOK THROUGH AN OLD FAMILY ALBUM
Looking through old photo albums makes you happier than snacking on chocolate, listening to a much-loved tune or watching a favourite film, according to a study by psychologists from the Open University. They tested the idea on dozens of volunteers and found that old photos improved their mood by an average of