Right now, it’s Mental Health Awareness Week, and while you’ll likely be subjected to a lot of different posts on the topic, it can be overwhelming to know where to start – especially with this year’s theme being taking action.
But what does ‘taking action’ look like? It doesn’t have to be that single, daunting, decisive step to ‘sort our life out’, because addressing our mental health is something that takes time. It’s considered. Like so many things that require effort we have to start somewhere, and the key for you could be starting small. These little changes may not seem like much in themselves, but the key thing is that you’ve given time and dedicated thought to doing something, and that in itself is a start.
Taking time out for yourself is so important. Whether that’s journaling, going for a walk, reading or gardening. A change of perspective can give you some valuable thinking time away from familiar surroundings, which is why walking is so helpful. And, if you get into a routine with your walking, you may find that walk and talk therapy in the outdoors is a good fit for you, when the time comes to invest in exploring some of those more deep-seated issues.
Regardless of whether you engage with counselling or not, journaling is always useful. It can give you some pointers on what to talk about in your next counselling session, or simply give you a snapshot of where you are right now. And crucially, it’s so often the act of writing that’s therapeutic and cathartic. Even if you never read those words again, getting them out of your head is so important.
So, start writing, start walking and if you ever feel like some therapy outdoors would be helpful, just get in contact to organise a no obligation consultation call.
Inside & Outside Counselling 