Mental Health Awareness Week, a discussion with our therapists at Cowdray Hall and Therapy Rooms.
This Mental Health Awareness week, we sat down with four people who practice at Cowdray Hall and Therapy Rooms to discuss differing approaches to improving your sense of wellbeing and the official theme of this year’s week, ‘loneliness.’
Dr Louisa McClean, (BSc, DClinPsy) HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist, working with children, young people and families.
‘A few words… ‘fancy a cuppa?’ could help to get you re-connected with friends.’
Loneliness is the theme for Mental Health Awareness Week 2022. What are the best ways to cope with loneliness?
It can be difficult to admit to feeling lonely, but it can affect us all. Try reaching out to others who might be experiencing this too. If you find talking on the phone hard then you could email or text. A few words… ‘fancy a cuppa?’ could help to get you re-connected with friends. Joining a group with a shared interest is another way to meet people and foster a skill or hobby at the same time. Listening to the radio can help on quiet days and people who have pets often say that they most value the companionship they bring.
What have you found to be the best way to improve your own mental wellbeing?
About seven years ago I started running three times a week and although I still don’t love it, it helps to clear my head and I never regret it after. I am a mum to three young boys, work at Cowdray and have a busy NHS job so I try hard to use the rest of my time for fun, baking (and eating) cakes and connecting with family and friends. Often, this means inviting a friend to run with me or phoning a friend on my commute home. It helps my mind if I’m organised for the week ahead, but I also book ‘treats’ into my diary. I look forward to lazy spa days with my favourite women and muddy adventurous days with my boys.
Dr Sarah Swan, (BSc, MSc, DClinPsy, AFBPsS), HCPC registered Consultant Clinical Psychologist:
What are your top tips to improve mental health?
Make sure you have got the basics right including balanced eating, sleep, and exercise. Then ensure you are doing things in your day that you enjoy and that give you a sense of achievement.
What are the best ways to cope with loneliness?
Loneliness is a normal human emotion when we are isolated. Sit with the feeling and just notice it, how it feels in your body and know that it will pass. Take steps towards building connections. Find out about local groups and try going along. It is normal to feel anxious about doing something new or meeting new people, but generally the reality is much better than what we imagine. So, give it a try even if it feels difficult.
What have you found to be the best way to improve your own mental wellbeing?
For me, I must ensure that I have a balance between supporting other people (through my work, as a wife and a mother) and having time for myself or to spend with people who make me feel good.
Karen Watson, (MBACP, UKCP and BPC Registered) Adult Psychodynamic Psychotherapist
What are your top tips to improve mental health?
Try to take some time to invest in yourself; get outside, go for a walk, lessen your time on social media, don’t compare yourself to others, and most important, talk to a trusted friend or therapist who can help you find healthier and more satisfying ways of thinking and relating.
What are the best ways to cope with loneliness?
Many think Covid lockdown is the cause of loneliness, but loneliness was here before the pandemic. Being able to explore your feelings, which often relate back to experiences in childhood, within a secure non-judgemental environment can bring immense freedom and relief. Putting words to feelings is key.
What have you found to be the best way to improve your own mental wellbeing?
For myself, a daily dose of being outside, and as part of my 6-year training, having weekly psychoanalysis has enabled me to understand how to live in the moment. As Aristotle famously said, “know thyself.”
Sandrine Cranswick, Mindfulness Teacher at Cowdray Hall
‘I recommend to ‘pause’ regularly throughout the day just for a minute, to feel your feet on the floor, your body sitting or standing and your breath.’
What are your top tips to improve mental health?
Be present: Training the mind to be present helps us to notice, to live life more fully and make more conscious choices. I recommend to ‘pause’ regularly throughout the day just for a minute, to feel your feet on the floor, your body sitting or standing and your breath.
During challenging times, Noticing and Accepting your feelings, physical sensations, and thoughts in a non-judgmental and kind way, is the first step towards healing.
Appreciation and gratitude exercises are known to boost levels of happiness. We are wired to remember the negative more than the positive, but we can train the mind to notice the positive too. A gratitude exercise: Once a day, sit by yourself quietly for a few minutes and try this exercise:
- Think of one thing you appreciate in your home; feel the appreciation in your body for a while. Feel a few breaths in between each object of focus.
- Think of one thing you appreciate about yourself; again, feel the felt sense of it in your body.
- Think of one thing you appreciate about a friend or a pet; feel the felt sense of this appreciation in your body. Feel a few breaths before resuming your activities.
What are the best ways to cope with loneliness?
I think the first step is to know that other people are feeling the same way. Loneliness is a shared human experience. It may help to think of all the people around the world who feel lonely and feel connected to them. Just walking around people may help to feel more connected.
What have you found to be the best way to improve your own mental wellbeing?
I find that sitting with my feelings with openness and compassion by practicing daily mindfulness meditations, sitting in silence for a few minutes each day, allowing myself just to be, or sitting still with a cup of tea improves my sense of wellbeing. It could be helpful to join a group, to connect with like-minded people. Even just one good friend can be enough, or a pet can also be a best friend! Treat yourself as a good friend too, giving yourself what you need to nurture your wellbeing. I also need to connect with nature, friends, my beloved dog and have a meaningful purpose and activities.
