Family Mental Health
What exactly is mental health? When we hear those two words, we often think about mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression. However, we all have mental health — and it includes our emotional, social and psychological wellbeing. This means it affects how we think, feel and act.
Just like physical health, you and your family will have times when your mental health is good and times when it’s not so good, and that’s OK. A survey found that only 38% of parents felt confident in talking to their children about their mental health and wellbeing*. This blog will provide you with small tips which you can easily incorporate into family life to help start that conversation.
Spotting the signs
You don’t need to be a mental health professional to recognise that someone you care about is suffering with their mental health. There are simple signs we can look for, which might suggest that a partner, child, parent, friend or colleague is struggling.
- Long-lasting periods of sadness or irritability, which is unusual for that individual
- Extreme highs and lows in their mood for no obvious reason
- Excessive fear, worry or anxiety about things which they aren’t normally that bothered about
- Isolating themselves and avoiding social situations more than usual
- A dramatic change in eating or sleeping habits
Just remember that these are only signs and not a diagnosis of a mental health issue. They are a way of opening a conversation with that person, to let them know you have seen a change in them and are looking out for their mental health.
Five ways to wellbeing
The Foresight Project on Mental Capital and Wellbeing developed “Five ways to Wellbeing”, a set of evidenced–based actions from worldwide research which can help us all improve our wellbeing.
This is recommended for both adults and young people.
1. Connect
As human beings we are social creatures, so keeping connected plays an important part in our wellbeing. It provides us with a support network, reduces stress and helps build a sense of belonging and self-worth. Try arranging a fixed time to spend together as a family, such as eating dinner together or playing a game.
Now more than ever we use technology to maintain our relationships. However, disconnecting from the screen is also as important. A digital curfew of one or two hours before bed could help your child fall asleep faster, and improve their sleep quality and wellbeing.
2. Get active
Getting just a bit more active on a regular basis can have a positive effect on our mood. Why not try a 10 minute walk, a game of frisbee or challenge someone to a game of Swingball? Anything which gets you moving, even putting music on and dancing around the house like no-one is watching.
The knock–on effect is that you might sleep better and feel less stressed or anxious, because exercise releases the “happy” hormone — endorphins.
3. Take notice
Family life can be hectic, but paying attention to the present moment can improve your mental wellbeing.
Make space in the day with your child to go through all your senses: what can you see, smell, feel, hear and touch? This only takes a minute and can be done on a walk to school, in the car or when eating dinner.
Taking notice also includes your thoughts and feelings. Create an opportunity in the day to open up a safe space to listen to how your child is feeling and their
4. Give
Just one simple act of giving can help to lift your spirits. As a family, giving is a great way of helping you feel connected to each other and to the wider community.
You can try making cards as a family for friends – birthday cards, get well soon cards, thank-you cards or something completely different.
Other ideas might be simply smiling at a stranger or volunteering your time at a food bank or a care home. The more you give, the better your overall wellbeing could become
5. Keep learning
There are lots of ways to bring learning into family life. Set challenges, work on puzzles together or try different recipes each month (pick one from our website).
Maybe even take some time today to continue reading about mental health and talking to your family about it. Learning new skills can help you and your family’s self-esteem and sense of purpose, while helping you to connect with others.
Reducing stigma
Over the past few years, we have been having many more conversations around mental health. The stigma has slowly started to reduce and people are feeling more confident talking about it — but there is still a long way to go.
You can approach a health professional and discuss options, such as talking therapies, which may help you or your family through difficult times.
We hope you now have a better insight into mental health and how to empower your family to look after your mental health.
References
Mental Health Foundation (2019). Body Image: How we think and feel about our bodies. Retrieved from