5 Quick And Effective Tips On Strengthening Mental Health Mid-Pandemic By Harry Mansfield

Everyone is experiencing a great deal of transition and change due to the current pandemic.  Each day we are having to manage a huge range of feelings and emotions which change quickly. No sooner do you think you have got your head around something it changes yet again. We can stay mentally strong if we learn how to manage these challenges in the correct way. 

We might have to dig a little bit deeper if we feel as though the challenges outweigh the positives but, we still can improve our mental strength even in testing times. These 5 short tips below, are a good way to keep ourselves grounded in this time of constant change. When practised regularly this effective and supportive list will help you to stay mentally stronger in these unprecedented times.  They have been put together by Harry Mansfield, a Mental Wellness Coach who runs The Awareness Key, which is a social enterprise helping the nations mental health crisis.

Don’t forget the positives

The mind believes what you tell it so feed it positives. Look for three positives to one challenge each day.  The positives don’t have to be big and over time the mind will learn to instinctively focus on the positive.  It is a very powerful tool so let’s train it to our advantage.

Become aware of your breathing

Our subconscious stops us from being aware of our breathing.  Try counting to three during the “in” breath and counting to four on the “out” breath – you are now sending a message to your brain!  It is saying it is now time to calm and relax and, at the same time, our heart rate slows down which also helps puts us in a more restful place.

Many of us are missing touch

A recent survey, just prior to the pandemic, showed how beneficial touch is to us and now we are being told not to.  Find three different things to touch. Touch them one at a time and with each one take the time to think about the temperature of it, the texture of it and what it really feels like.  This will help calm both the body and help us to regulate our thoughts.

Let’s have the right conversation

Maintaining the conversation with people can really help us stay mentally strong.  To get the full benefit from it decide what it is that you actually need; perhaps encouragement, laughter or, even a kick up the backside!  Choose the right person for the job so you get the support you need.

Discover what we can control

It is so easy to allow things that we have no control over to become our anxieties even though we can’t do anything about them. Letting go can massively reduce our level of worry.  Make a list of your concerns and put either a cross next to the thoughts you can’t do anything about or, a tick next to those that you are able to do something about. Once you have done this a number of the invading thoughts can be removed.  

When practised regularly this effective and supportive list will help you to stay mentally stronger in these unprecedented times.  They have been put together by Harry Mansfield.  She is a Mental Wellness Coach and runs The Awareness Key, which is a social enterprise helping the nations mental health crisis.

Her unique preventative model helps her clients, from kids to corporates, prevent mental health issues and remain mentally strong for life. 

All Harry’s work is about helping people before a mental health challenge starts by offering the equivalent of going to the gym for physical strength but with The Awareness Key, it is the gym for the mind.  It can then become part of your day-to-day life and strengthen your mental health.