Living together may not be a bed of roses all the time. Not only is the day-to-day operations a finely tuned machine, but throw in daily happenings, emotions and hormones and it can become a minefield to navigate. Everything we choose to do depends on our thoughts and our feelings at the time. So your mental wellbeing is key to family wellbeing. Here are 5 top tips to promoting good mental wellbeing within the family home:

1. Connect. Connecting with family members through a positive-lived experience can really impact the entire unit and encourage a strong sense of belonging and identity. Simply starting a conversation, enjoying a meal together, playing a game or even making a game out of the chores can help the family to connect more.
2. Be active. Whether it’s walking, cycling, football or anything else, exercise has a huge impact on your physical and mental wellbeing. It releases endorphins, which are your brain’s feel-good hormones, so the more of these released, the better!
3. Learning not only creates a purpose for ourselves but it boosts our self-confidence and esteem. There are lots of opportunities for learning together at home: trying a new recipe, working on a new project or even taking up a new hobby can all help with good family wellbeing.
4. Give. Acts of kindness are one of the most powerful things that we can do. When we experience kindness from others, we want to pay it forward; it creates a rippling of warm positive feelings right across the globe! Hugs are readily available, cost nothing and increase the bond between the huggers, setting you up for a good day ahead!
5. Live in the moment. We all have super-busy lives that can really affect how we feel, think, impacting our day. This can be achieved through creating zero tech time together, maintaining a tidy and calm home as well as paying attention to the present moment. Multitasking only works effectively for 2.5% (1) of people, so enough of juggling all those balls and allow yourself to focus on one thing at a time.

For further reading head over to:

Cleveland Clinic, Why multitasking doesn’t work – https://health.clevelandclinic.org/science-clear-multitasking-doesnt-work/amp/ 
5 steps to mental wellbeing – https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/guides-tools-and-activities/five-steps-to-mental-wellbeing/