6 practices to support mental & emotional health

6 practices to support mental & emotional health…

Doing small simple things each and every day can help support our mental and emotional health and wellbeing. They can be an anchor point when life is swirling around and help us to be resourced to deal with tricky times.

Here are my top 6 regular practices to support my mental and emotional health. They might help you too:

🧠gratitude

The simple but proven effective practice of thinking of 3 things that you are grateful for in your life. Write them down too if you want to.

Bookend your day with it - as you wake up and as you end the day (you could do it as your brush your teeth to help you remember).

Then allow your attention to rest with the 3 things you’ve chosen, and remember how they make you feel in your body and your heart. Let yourself be filled up with how they make you feel.

🧠movement

Emotions, feelings and thoughts get stuck in our body, this is well documented by scientific research. Moving your body is a surprisingly effective way of shifting your mental or emotional state. It doesn’t need to be much, having a little sttreth out, shaking your hands and arms out (a personal favourite), or dancing around to a fave song can move stagnant energy through your body and help you feel better.

🧠celebrate the small wins

Recognise your achievements big and especially small. When you have a baby or children it can feel like you do not very much. When in fact you do SO much.

Writing down at the end of every day (on your phone notes is fine) the small wins. They can included ‘had a shower’, ‘had a nap’, ‘expressed milk’, ‘went for a walk'.

It's an incredibly however old your children are (or even if you have non). Especially when you're feeling lethagic or overwhelmed.

Resting in some way counts as double point btw!

🧠breath work

A simple but so effective. Nothing calms our nervous system - the gateway to our emotional state - more effectively than taking slow, gentle, spacious breaths.

In particular try breathing in through the slowly nose, and then see if you can gently let the exhale take a little bit longer (through nose or mouth).

Repeat for a minute or two, and then see how you feel.

Breathing in this way can clear the bloodstream of the stress hormone cortisol in as little as a minute!

🧠nature

Being outside, or even looking out of the window, is known to help us become more relaxed. You might pop out into the garden, a local park or take a walk in the woods.

But really notice all you can see, smell, hear and feel around you. It can help to remind you that you're part of a bigger system, that you are part of nature.

Notice the seasons changing, plant some seeds if you can and watch them grow. Within all that's going on inside your head and around the world, nature is still happening and we can feel hopeful in that.

🧠creativity as self-care

Trying something creative, just for fun can be brilliant for your mental health. It takes you out of your thinking, rational brain and into a creative and ‘flow’ state. You don’t have to be ‘good’ at art, just play.

Giving respite from looping thought, and allowing you to mindfully create something. It could be as simple as doodling, it could be sewing, painting or anything you do physically with your hands.

I’ve just started a daily ‘doodle journal’ and it’s so much fun, and no pressure. Or join a creative class for mothers or pregnant folk and do it in a supportive space.


How about you? Do you have a technique or practice to help look after your emotional and mental health? Let me know.

And please forward this to anyone you love, who might find these ideas helpful.

Susan x
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#mentalhealthawarenessweek #mentalhealthawareness #emotionalhealth #perinatalmentalhealth #womenforwomen #supportthemother #formodernmothers #matrescence #maternalmentalhealth #wellbeing #emotionalwellbeing #mindhealth

Make time. Take good care of you. ❤️
Susan x
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Susan x