Looking after your mind Looking after your mind

Looking after your mind

Looking after your mind You might be worried about coronavirus and how it could affect your life. We are now all being asked to stay at home and avoid other people. This week we want help you with looking after your state of mind in these difficult times. This is a difficult and stressful situation so the information here has been chosen from the internet to help you remain focus, objective and calm in this challenging time. We hope you find it useful and we will continue to bring you helpful tips and resources over the coming weeks.

Mindfulness What is it? Mindfulness helps mental wellbeing. Becoming more aware of the present moment can help us enjoy the world around us more and understand ourselves better. When we become more aware of the present moment, we begin to experience afresh things that we have been taking for granted. Mindfulness also allows us to become more aware of the stream of thoughts and feelings that we experience and to see how we can become entangled in that stream of thinking in ways that are not helpful. This lets us stand back from our thoughts and start to see their patterns. Gradually, we can train ourselves to notice when our thoughts are taking over and realise that thoughts are simply 'mental events' that do not have to control us.

Mindfulness How can it help me? Re-focus your mind Help calm a racing mind Re-energise yourself Improve your mood

Let’s give it a try Take 10 minutes and listen to this video, find a comfy chair and listen to the instruction. See how you feel after this short session. Click on the link to play when your ready. Click here to open the video in your browser or copy and paste this link into the address bar in your internet browser: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=syx 3 a 1_Le. F o#action=share

Keep yourself grounded What if I don’t have 10 minutes? Sometimes we need some “in the moment help” let’s have a look at some breathing techniques that can quickly help you regain some calm. Breathing When we are anxious or upset our breathing becomes more rapid. We can feel better by deliberately slowing and relaxing our breathing. Anxious breathing is up in the chest, whereas relaxed breathing happens deeper in the stomach.

Keep yourself grounded Relaxed breathing instructions 1. Breathe in slowly and steadily through your nose for a count of 4 - don’t rush this! 2. Pause for a count of 1 3. Exhale slowly and steadily for a count of 4 - breathe out gradually - try not to breathe out with a sigh 4. Repeat for a few minutes until you notice a change in how your body feels 5. If you get distracted, or if your mind wanders, just bring your attention back to how it feels to breathe in and out

Keep yourself grounded Practice Belly Breathing Sit comfortably in a chair and place your hands on your belly, with your middle fingertips just slightly touching. Now breathe in deeply and notice how your fingertips move apart a little. That shows you are breathing effectively with your diaphragm. You might need to practice this! When you are feeling tense and hoping to relax, try breathing out a little bit more slowly and more deeply, noticing a short pause before the in-breath takes over (there is no need to exaggerate the in-breath, just let it happen). You might find it useful to count slowly or prolong a word such as ONE or CALM to help elongate the out-breath a little (to yourself or out loud).

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