Helpful Websites

It is advisable to see your GP if your mental health is affecting your ability to function. If you do not think you can keep yourself safe ring your GP or visit A&E.

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/guides-tools-and-activities/five-steps-to-mental-wellbeing/

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/wellbeing/

There are many ways to help your mental health. Keep active and try to practice mindfulness and gratitude.

For those people who do not find medication and perhaps talking therapies helpful, there is a NICE recommended treatment called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). This is a non surgical treatment where parts of the brain are stimulated with a magnet. This is only offered in a few areas in the UK on the NHS and usually if medication has not helped. However, you can ask your GP to refer you on the NHS if you can travel to certain areas. It is also offered privately but is quite expensive. TMS has proved helpful for depression, addiction and anxiety. https://www.elft.nhs.uk/transcranial-magnetic-stimulation

Getting into cool water or putting your face into cool water can help reset an anxious or depressed brain (this is called the Mammalian Dive Reflex. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3bir7XDcFc

Mindfulness is not about clearing your mind. It is about noticing your thoughts and feelings without becoming hooked by them. Mindfulness can help us be more present and to live in the here and now rather than in the past or in the future. This gives our nervous system a precious break from anxiety or low mood. It is difficult to do this for a long time but just 30 - 60 seconds can make a difference. It helps to interrupt the anxious neural pathway that has established itself and can rewire your brain. Therefore it contributes to neural plasticity and a way out of rumination or worry.