Mental Health Awareness week falls on the 13th of May until the 19th of May and the theme this year is MOVEMENT. Not everyone has access to therapy or is ready to discuss their mental health, which is why it is important to discuss activities that can help promote positive thoughts and are accessible to all. Statistics show that as little as 10 minutes of body movement can significantly boost your mood. Whether you take a walk amongst nature, dance your heart out or do a little yoga, your brain does not discriminate and will reap the benefits. I would personally like to recommend dancing in the mirror to Shake It Off by Taylor Swift as an effective pick me up!
The Mental Health Foundation makes great suggestions on how to incorporate movement into a busy lifestyle. For example, instead of waiting patiently for the kettle to boil, you could stretch or pace the kitchen. The Mental Health Foundation website reminds us all to celebrate and take recognition of your daily movements for added positivity. Celebrating things in life no matter how small or how large helps to generate positive thoughts and rewards your brain for the new habits you are forming.
Research also suggests that doing activities outdoors further adds to the benefits of movement on your mood. There is a historic Japanese practice of ‘Shinrin Yoku’ which is the act of ‘Forest Bathing’ intended to bring inner peace and relax the mind. Nature or more specifically Forest bathing means to spend time amongst nature and consciously think about your surroundings. You can channel your different senses such as what you can smell, see or hear to return your mind to the present and help to calm it. Forest bathing is reported to increase levels of serotonin and can decrease fatigue, these elements are vital to helping improve mental health (National Library of Medicine, 2022). So, combine nature with movement such as ‘outdoor yoga’ and consider how beneficial this could be to brightening your day. ‘Shinrin Yoku’ is also used to prevent ‘overthinking’ which is a common symptom of anxiety. You don’t have to have anxiety to overthink so whether you are suffering from a mental health illness or not, movement can boost any day to be even better.
MediTalent works with some of the UK’s top providers of private mental health care, who work with a huge range of mental health issues such as ED’s, various types of rehabilitation and tackling learning disabilities. These types of hospitals are in constant need of mental health nurses as the awareness towards mental health grows and so does the demand for quality care. If you are a registered mental health nurse looking for a new role, please send your CV to info@meditalentgroup.com or look through our jobs page! Our consultants will work to find a role that is rewarding and supportive to you, as we know that mental health nursing can be tough sometimes!
I hope that if you have read this you can find a way to incorporate some daily movement into your routine, I cannot recommend this enough. Let us know if you do!
Author: Hanna Ruhee