Mental Health Awareness Week begins today.
For the next 7 days across the whole of the UK, we are encouraged to focus on and raise the awareness of mental health and mental health issues, and take action to promote the message of good mental health for all. Given our collective experience over the last 18 months this message has never been more important.
With nearly two-thirds of adults in the UK currently reporting feeling stressed, anxious, and worried about the effect COVID-19 on their life and the future, our willingness and commitment to creating space and time to take care our ourselves, and to supporting as many others as we can in doing the same, will be the main determinant of how successfully we emerge all from this pandemic.
This is a bigger challenge than 7 days, and bigger than each of us, but each us can make a difference – firstly by keeping ourselves well, and then by encouraging or helping others to do the same.
So I am inviting you to take part in this Mental Health Awareness Challenge starting today by doing the following:
For the next seven days:
1. Sign up to the Rebalanced You 5 Days to Better Resilience and Wellbeing free course and take just 15 minutes each day to connect with yourself.
This is protected time for you to check in with yourself, focus on reducing your stress, prioritise your self-care and improve your overall wellbeing.
2. Take 15 minutes each day to a make a meaningful connection with someone else.
Loneliness and isolation have been some of the main drivers of the increases in mental health issues during COVID. The lifting of lockdown is a step in the right direction, but loneliness was a massive issue pre-COVID, so has only been further compounded.
3. Do each of the wellbeing challenges I will share on this blog and post each day.
Today’s is easy. Drink an extra glass of water today.
With an estimated 90% of adults in the UK under hydrated, and the effects of not drinking enough water ranging from poor energy, loss of concentration and headaches to depression and anxiety, staying hydrated by just drinking a little more is something we can all today with very little extra effort.
4. Share this challenge with your network and everyone you know!
Invite your family, friends, and everyone you are connected to to participate by sharing this blog.
The challenge is simple, takes little to no time, suitable for everyone, and could make all the difference!
Mental health and wellbeing is an issue and challenge for all of us and will touch or affect each of us in some way at some point in our lives. We are lucky enough to be living at a time when we can talk and share about it openly, but the stigma still exists and people still fall through the cracks.
By taking a little time for yourself and reaching out to just one other person to connect, check in and ask how they are doing with genuine concern – we can all make a difference, and in some cases more than we may ever know.
Let me know how you get on by leaving a comments below, or on INSTAGRAM, or over on my Facebook page Creating the Career and Life you Want .
I wish each of you great mental health today and I look forward sharing this focus with you this, week and to hearing how you get on.
Find more free resources to support you in your career and mental health here
© Patricia Ezechie Coaching and Consultancy 2021. All Rights Reserved.