Use National Self-Care Week to improve your mental health and wellbeing for good | News

Monday marked the start of National Self-Care Week in the UK.

The awareness week takes place to remind everyone of the importance of self-care for a healthier and happier life.

The theme this year is ‘Mind and Body’ and Kristina Middleton, Health and Wellbeing Lead at St George’s, has shared tips on how to practise self-care.

She said: “Having good self-care habits every day, and especially prioritising them at times when we are dealing with higher levels of stress, is incredibly important to maintain our mental health and wellbeing.

"There are many things that can support your wellbeing and it is important to pick the things you enjoy doing.”

Here are Kristina’s top three self-care tips.

• Organising – whether it is my desk, cleaning my home or writing a to-do list. I always feel like my external environment reflects my mental state, making the space around me looks nice, or organising my thoughts by expressing them on paper always helps.
• Exercise – exercise is a great boost for mental health and physical energy. Pick exercise that you enjoy, as it is more likely that you will stick with it. Personally, I prefer outdoor exercise and cycle to work regularly.
• Switching off from work – when work is stressful, it becomes harder to disconnect from it. There are different ways to switch off, and it is good to engage your mind with an activity not related to work. Interestingly, research demonstrated that playing computer games after work is an excellent way to disconnect.

For more tips, guides, tools and activities on practising self-care click here https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/