Approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year (www.mind.org.uk).

Furthermore, it is on the rise. There are many reasons for ill mental health, but the area I’d like to talk about today is what we can do to help ourselves before it becomes a bigger issue for you.

Self-Care

Self-care allows us to move through life balanced and feeling well. It is one of the most sustainable habits we can easily nurture for positive wellbeing effects. We have the power to do it ourselves; we just need to make it happen. But where should we start with self-care?

Here we offer some guidance to help you implement the start of your own self-care journey, and what a lovely, nurturing journey it will be just waiting to unfold!

A simple self-care life hack is to check in with yourself at different points during the day. This helps to keep you grounded and in the moment. It allows all those busy thoughts to slow down, gives you time to take stock, and allows you to continue on your positive path. By incorporating this into your day, you can manage daily stress, whether it is at work or home.

How am I feeling, and what do I need?

I quite often use the STOP method to support a successful check-in. This method also uses the breath to calm the stress response, allowing you to think about those two reflective questions. Use these steps to help you or your children too!

S – Stop

T – Take a slow, deep belly breath.

O – Organise your thoughts with these: How am I feeling? What do I need?

P – Pick your next choice; action what you need.

From here, respond to this, action it, and plan it into the coming week if you need to. You may find that a few more breaths are all you need; you may find that a good chat or hug is what you need, or even a walk, but whatever it is, listen to yourself and honor what comes up for you. Make it happen!

This is all so powerful because what you are doing is activating your parasympathetic nervous system, or the calming, more regulated network that calms the stress response within the body. It slows our heart rate and our breathing rate, lowers blood pressure, and aids digestion, all by simply checking in and taking some mindful breaths. By encouraging mindfulness into your day through checking in, it has many physical, mental, and emotional benefits. The good news is, it doesn’t have to become another job on the list; in fact, when you add this to your routine, you will find that you will feel like you have more space and time, decreasing your stress levels even further.

So start your self-care journey today with a quick check-in and see the difference it makes to your quality of life.

Check out our child-friendly breathing tool to help regulate the little ones: expanda-a-ball – https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpzhYq0DiHC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link