Stress-busting tips

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The Winter Blues

As the days draw shorter and temperatures drop, many of us may experience the winter blues.

This affects many people and can involve:
• Feeling lethargic
• Irritable
• Down or low
• Difficulties with your sleep (whether that be sleeping too much or not enough)
• Losing interest in things you usually enjoy
• Isolating yourself from those around you
• Changes in your appetite

Here we explore some ideas and tips to support your mood during the winter months.

1. Natural daylight – try and enjoy the natural daylight as much as you can, especially on brighter days and during the middle of the day. You could go for a walk or sit by the window, for example. You could also consider light therapy by investing in a light box. These provide a stronger light than ordinary lighting. Dawn simulators can also help by mimicking a natural sunrise, waking you up gradually.
   
2. Keeping warm can reduce the winter blues. Do this by eating hot foods, drinking hot drinks, wearing warm shoes and clothes, and try and keep your home between 18 to 21 degrees.
   
3. Try something new – taking up a new hobby can keep your mind active and gives you something to look forward to and concentrate on.
   
4. Your support network – socialising with friends and family can boost your mood. Start by planning in small things that will feel manageable for you at the moment.
   
5. Get active – physical activity causes chemical changes in your brain, improving your mood as well as boosting your self-esteem. Going for a 1-hour walk during the midday can be as helpful as light therapy.
   
6. Healthy eating – improving your diet can improve your mood and energy levels. Make sure you’re eating regularly to keep your blood sugar levels stable, stay hydrated, eat 5 fruit and vegetables a day, ensure you’re consuming enough protein, and monitor your caffeine intake and the impact this has on your mood.
   
7. Get help – there are a number of different types of support available to help you manage these symptoms. At Wellspring Counselling, we have counselling available for both adults and young people, and Low-Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for young people. You can also speak to your GP for other treatment and support options.

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Relaxation

When we’re feeling stressed, worried, angry or scared, our body might feel uncomfortable. We might start shaking, sweating, and our muscles might tighten. Our breathing might become more rapid and shallow and we may experience an increased heart rate. To combat this, we can use relaxation techniques.

There are lots of different relaxation techniques and these are often more effective when practised on a regular basis. Here are just a few relaxation techniques for you to try out:

5-4-3-2-1: this is known as a grounding technique as it grounds you back into the present moment and helps you focus on what’s going on right now.

It involves identifying:
5 things you can see around you
4 things you can feel (e.g. the feeling of your feet on the hard floor)
3 things you can hear (e.g. cars in the distance or birds chirping outside)
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste

Square breathing: this is an example of a breathing technique. In almost every room you will be able to find a square that you can use to help you practise this technique.

All you need to do is breathe in for a count of 3 along one side of the square, hold for 3 along the next side, exhale for a count of 3 on the next, and hold for a count of 3 on the final side.

Continue doing this for a few minutes until you feel your body easing and relaxing.

Tense and release: when we’re stressed, we may not recognise that our body is holding tension. Using this technique, you can learn to differentiate between tension and relaxation.

This involves going through each area of our body and tensing that area while breathing deeply before totally relaxing that area again. You could start from the bottom up: your feet, calves, thighs, and so on.

Click here for a link to an audio clip to guide you through this technique.

There are lots of other relaxation techniques out there too! You can find more by google searching or getting in touch with us!

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5 Ways to Wellbeing

We’ve learned throughout our lives how to look after our physical health: what to eat to have a balanced diet, how much you should exercise, and what to do if you’re physically unwell. However, when it comes to looking after our own wellbeing, it is a lot harder to know how we can improve it. We all have different commitments that we try to juggle such as work, friendships, family, school, finances. Trying to maintain or balance our commitments can often make us feel overwhelmed and stressed. 

Here are 5 ways you can look after your wellbeing.

CONNECT 

Feeling close to and being valued by other people can help to improve our mental and emotional health. Good relationships can help you build a sense of belonging and self-worth and provide you with emotional support. 

Spend time with family, friends or colleagues without other distractions (no screens!). Invite them over for a coffee, lunch or go out for the day together. 

Do not rely on technology or social media alone to build relationships. It’s easy to get into the habit of only ever texting or messaging people.

BE ACTIVE 

Regular physical activity is associated with lower rates of depression and anxiety across all age groups. Physical activity causes chemical changes in your brain that improves your mood as well as boosting your self-esteem.

Being active doesn’t mean you need to do high-intensity workouts to feel good, slower-paced activities such as walking can be beneficial too. 

Try increasing your weekly physical activity by going for a walk, have a kick-about in a local park, walk to school or work, take the stairs instead of lifts. 

TAKE NOTICE

Being aware of what is happening in the present moment can directly improve your wellbeing. This includes your thoughts and feelings, your body, and the world around you. 

Heightened awareness also enhances your self-understanding and allows you to make positive choices based on your own values and motivations. 

Take some time to notice what is happening around you.

LEARN

Continued learning through life enhances self-esteem, encourages social interaction and gives you a purpose. The practice of setting goals, which is related to adult learning in particular, has been strongly associated with higher levels of wellbeing.

Even if you feel like you do not have enough time, or you may not need to learn new things, there are lots of different ways to bring learning into your life. Try cooking something new, take on an extra responsibility at work or school or try new hobbies that challenge you. 

GIVE

Being kind, giving and helping out others has shown to increase a person’s happiness. Giving to others helps connect with others, create positive feelings and rewards and gives you a feeling of purpose and self-worth. 

It could be small acts of kindness towards other people, or larger ones like volunteering in your local community.

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