Daily breathing exercises has to be the number one priority for psychological resilience!
If you can practice breathing for just 5 minutes twice a day, morning and evening, this will reduce stress and anxiety, and help increase energy. Not immediately, but over a 2 to 3 week period, you will see a noticeable effect.
The great thing about breathing is that the exercises can be done anywhere – the main thing is that you’re focused just on the breathing.
We’ve all had to cope with dramatic changes in our daily lives in the last few weeks. Restrictions on our movements, threats to livelihoods, fear of illness, actual illness, loss of purpose – these all impact on our emotional health and psychological wellbeing. Do you ever find that you’re reacting very emotionally in a way that feels out of control? You might lose your temper at quite minor irritations, or become very upset when things go wrong even in a small way. It’s all too easy to get caught up in a kind of vicious circle, where we have negative thoughts which trigger emotional reactions (or maybe the other way round) which leads to behaviour which in one way or another aggravates the situation, and leaves us feeling even worse!
by Carolyn Barber
If you said that you planned to run a marathon, you might expect to put in place regular fitness training and running practice. You would try to eat more healthily, stop smoking and drinking alcohol, all to prepare yourself physically for the experience. You might not do it all but you would know that this is what you’re supposed to do. When it comes to a challenge to our mental health on the other hand, we often don’t know how to prepare for a big challenge – even one we can see approaching.
How can we build our mental resilience as we would our physical strength?
Owing to the coronavirus public health emergency, we have suspended all project activities being delivered and planned by the Good Mental Health Coop.
We are very much aware that community based support groups and activities are a very real lifeline for many people, offering social contact, emotional support and interests – all of which help people to work towards good mental health and wellbeing – whatever their starting point. The fact that most of these are now suspended for the foreseeable future, alongside the uncertainties, anxieties and practical problems we face over the next weeks, possibly months, is hard to even contemplate.
We will be contributing to the city wide efforts in Portsmouth to offer practical and emotional support for those who are self-isolating, socially isolated, or who have difficulties in coping for all kinds of reasons.
Our priority will also be to send out a weekly e-newsletter, to offer information about on-line resources to help people struggling with mental and emotional distress, and share practical suggestions about how to look after your mental health in these uncertain times. We welcome any suggestions from you about websites, apps, podcasts, videos etc which you have found helpful for staying mentally healthy.
You may be feeling anxious, stressed or socially isolated, or you may be worried about a friend or a family member, or you may just be interested to know more about good mental health and wellbeing, and the availability of local resources.
We’re very friendly, and there are people around to chat to and signpost you to the stalls and activities you’re interested in.
There’ll be a range of stalls from local community services and support groups, you can take part in our Books Alive! project, or while away some time with quick crafts and mindful colouring in Creativity Corner.
There’ll also be free taster workshops on confidence building, gentle exercise and an IT skills drop-in all about accessing self-help resources and support online. You don’t need to book a place on these taster workshops, just come along on the day and take part!
10.30-11.30am Confidence Building with Maria Ganderton (held in upstairs meeting room, no lift access)
12-1pm Gentle Exercise – Low impact, gentle movements and simple techniques for everyday fitness.
10-2pm – IT drop-in running throughout.
As part of Portsmouth Bookfest, this event is the culmination of a series of workshops run by poet Maggie Sawkins to encourage people to learn a poem off by heart. Those taking part in the project are joined by local poets and musicians in this performance at the Groundlings Theatre.
All are welcome to come along to hear poems from Shakespeare to John Cooper Clarke, Tennyson to Mary Oliver. Enjoy music from Janet Ayers, refreshments available from the cafe.
The event is from 6-8pm.
Tickets are free but please click here to book your place
Sponsored by the Mental Wealth Academy and the Good Mental Health Cooperative, and funded by Awards for All and the City of Stories project.
The first Thursday in February every year is Time to Talk day across the UK raising awareness of how important it is to talk about mental health and change lives. We’ve organised a Wellbeing Fayre at the Mountbatten Centre with just that in mind.
Come along to the Mountbatten Centre in Alex Way, Portsmouth, to find out about what services and support is available in your local community. Meet and chat with friendly people, join in activities, relax in Creativity Corner, find out about the Books Alive! project. There are free taster workshops on seated exercise and Nordic walking.
You can also claim your free day pass to the Mountbatten Centre to try out activities on offer on a day of your choice.
Portsmouth Interaction provides a more specialised service for people experiencing mental ill-health to help access a variety of low cost recreational activities from fitness to wellbeing. Using activities based at all the centres run by BH Live in Portsmouth, Interaction paves the way for people to build new skills and gain confidence to move back into mainstream groups. You can self refer, or ask your GP to refer you.
Contact Kerry Morgan at the Mountbatten Leisure Centre on 023 9320 0369 or kerry.morgan@bhlive.org.uk
Real Stories from Real People
We recruit volunteers to start conversations about personal life experiences to challenge stigma and discrimination. Our inspirational volunteers become ‘living books’ to share their stories, and give you the opportunity to ask the questions you wouldn’t normally ask.
Join us at our project launch on Wednesday 11 December as part of the Good Mental Health Cafe, at Portsmouth Central Library from 2 – 6pm.
This is the last Good Mental Health drop-in event at the Lily&Lime Cafe in the Library. In 2020 we’ll be holding new style Wellbeing Fayres at the Mountbatten Centre and Paulsgrove Community Centre – more info available on 11 December.
Do come and join us for a free mince pie, lots of information, friendly stalls and volunteers and inspiring conversations.
You can be sure of a friendly welcome if you visit the Lily&Lime Cafe on the third floor of Portsmouth Central Library anytime between 2 and 6pm on Wednesday 13 November. Our monthly Good Mental Health Cafe will be up and running with stalls from local support services such as Community Connectors, Citizen’s Advice Portsmouth, and the Shift peer support group.
At 4pm you can join Samantha Graham for a short workshop to discover how to have the confidence to be YOU inside and out. Find out more about the one-to-one Genie programme to help you connect with the activities or support that you’re looking for. Or just take a break for yourself in Creativity Corner, with simple arts and crafts, and mindful colouring.
Come and admire the new arts bench created by volunteers from the Good Mental Health Coop as part of the Chatterbox project with Journeys Festival International, the University of Portsmouth and the Makers Guild.
13 November is World Kindness Day Why not take a look at the linked website or see if you can find an action from the suggestions in the image.
Have you been wondering what happened to the Wellbeing Centre in Palmerston Road? At our event on 9 October, you can hear about a new support service planned for Portsmouth called Positive Minds, due to open in the autumn. There are also taster workshops for two courses coming up – Building Strength in a Challenging World, and From the Heart Poetry. Meet the course facilitators, Sarah Haskett and Maggie Sawkins, and find out more about what’s involved and the benefits of taking part in the Mental Wealth Academy.
Timetable for the event
2.15 pm – Presentation about ‘Positive Minds’
Have you been wondering what services are going to be available now that the Portsmouth Wellbeing Centre venue at Palmerston Road has closed? Come along and find out about ‘Positive Minds’ the new local mental health support service opening soon.
3pm – Positive Change
A talk with Samantha Graham
4pm – Building Strength in a Challenging World
A taster workshop with Sarah Haskett. Discover the strength to feel happier and more confident everyday and find out if Sarah’s upcoming free ‘Building Strength’ course is right for you.
5.30pm – From The Heart Poetry
A taster workshop with Maggie Sawkins. Create and use poetry to benefit your well-being and find out if Maggie’s upcoming free poetry course is right for you.
This event is a great opportunity to find out about what support is available in Portsmouth, and a wide range of activities which help with our overall health and wellbeing. Stalls will include Citizen’s Advice Portsmouth, the Wellbeing Service, Community Connectors, Shift peer support group, Losing My Sight, Portsmouth Interaction, Healthwatch, and many more.
Other activities include our creativity table with crafts, mindful colouring and chat, and our individual Genie programme which can help guide you to activities or support in the city that’s most useful for you personally. You can also have a conversation with one of our Living Books as part of the Human Library.
