Mental Health Matters to Us

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and this is something we, here at Grangers, think is an incredibly important subject to focus on and something we feel can be really helped through getting outdoors. This blog is our way of sharing our Mental Health support top tips with you, to hopefully provide you or your loved ones with support this week and in the future.

ALWAYS TALK

Mental Health is something that you should never be afraid to discuss, it is an illness in the same way a broken leg is, and you certainly wouldn’t ignore that. Whether you’d prefer to talk to someone close to you or a medical professional please know that there is always someone willing to help. You’ll also be surprised at how many people have actually suffered with their mental health in some way, so discussing your feelings might lead to advice from those who have been there too.

MENTAL HEALTH COMES IN DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES

Mental Health isn’t an easy subject to discuss as it manifests itself in so many different ways. Every single symptom of Mental Illness is important and worth acknowledging, never worry that your symptoms are more trivial than someone else’s because it is how they make you feel that is important, regardless of the route that took you there. Nobody can comment on how you are feeling because sometimes only you can truly understand but, by talking, you can help people to try and understand what it is you’re going through and how it is that they can help you.

BE KIND TO YOURSELF

Never judge yourself. You are important. You do matter. Your future, health and what you’re going through matters. Don’t ever forget just how much you mean to this world. Even if you’re struggling to see it, we don’t – trust us.

FIND TIME TO SMILE

Sometimes hours/days/weeks go by without you smiling and this is understandable. Sometimes, you can’t focus on anything else other than how you are feeling and how overwhelming it is. But it can do wonders if you just take time for yourself to reflect on something you saw/heard/felt that, when you look through fresh eyes can make you realise that the day wasn’t actually that bad. It can be anything from the sunshine breaking through the clouds, a breeze on a hot day, someone holding the door open, to big things. It doesn’t matter how big or small these moments appear to be, by focusing on them, and how they made you feel, it can really work towards transforming your outlook. Something we like to do is write in a notebook or put notes in a jar and call it a gratitude book/jar. At the end of each day, before going to sleep, take the time to write down what it is you’re grateful for, how it made you feel and by reminding yourself to focus on that moment before bed it can lead to a better night’s sleep and lead to a new mood in the morning. You don’t even have to write it down, it can just be something you take a few minutes to reflect on – we feel that it makes the world of difference.

GET OUTSIDE

Getting outside can make the world of difference to your mental health. By taking the time to breathe, take in your surroundings and focus on the outside world it can really clear your mind and help you to heal. By allowing yourself time to get outside we believe it can really help. We know that when you are suffering sometimes the last thing you want to do is to go outside but, we promise, you will really start to feel the world of difference.

OUR TOP TIPS FOR TAKING TIME TO GET OUTSIDE…

Busy evenings

When we have busy evenings, we like to make sure we make time for a walk at lunchtime to explore what the area has to offer. You’ll often be surprised at what hidden gems you can find near your workplace, even if you need to drive 2 minutes down the road to find a hidden park/nature reserve. Even if the area you work in isn’t that amazing, getting outside for even just 30 minutes, regardless of the surroundings, can make a big change in how you feel.

Exercise

Getting out and exercising doesn’t mean you need to head out and run a marathon, as long as you exert yourself in one way or another it will release endorphins.

Set yourself goals

Sometimes setting yourself outside goals can really help to focus your mind and ultimately improve your mental health. This can be by using apps such as Couch to 5k and starting by aiming to get from one lamppost to the other, it can be setting yourself a cycling/running challenge if you’re already into your fitness, or, if you struggle to spend time outdoors because you feel overwhelmed, it could simply be that you focus on increasing the time you spend outdoors so you start to feel more and more confident. By setting yourself goals, big or small, these can work wonders towards your confidence which will, in turn, improves your mental health. 

Explore somewhere new

Why not take yourself somewhere new that you’ve never been to before? Sometimes by getting outside and discovering somewhere new, you can forget a lot of troubles because there won’t be any reminders. You might even find a place where you go to to take solace when you’re struggling.

Make new friends

Whether these are human friends or animals, getting outside can lead to all sorts of encounters. At this time of year, we love to #getoutside and explore the outdoors even more because of all the animals you can see with their young. Take today for example, an evening walk lead to us seeing Coot chicks, a Heron and a protective mother goose looking after her adorable chicks. When you get outside, people are friendly too, they love to chat and there are a lot of outdoor groups you can get involved with. We know some of our brand ambassadors love to meet up most weekends with the friends they’ve encountered on their outdoor escapades.

We are by no means experts when it comes to mental health, but we really hope this blog has helped brighten a part of this week for you and offers some help. If ever you are feeling overwhelmed, there are tonnes of charities and helplines that can offer you support and here are just a few of them:

• Anxiety UK
• Bipolar UK
• Calm
• Men’s Health Forum
• Mental Health Foundation
• Mind
• No Panic
• Papyrus
• Rethink Mental Illness
• Samaritans
• Sane
• YoungMinds

Please remember you are certainly not alone and you can do this, just one step forward in your journey is one you can be proud of and remember it’s not just #withgrangersyoucan it’s you can, you will and you do – just by being you!