Thursday 10th October is World Mental Health Day

A day dedicated to awareness and understanding of mental health issues.

According to research undertaken by mental health charity MIND, 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England. 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem (like anxiety and depression) in any given week in England.

This blog, prepared by Glo's resident Naturopath and Life Coach - Sara Jubb - provides key advice on how to support our mental health through three Pillars of health:  Nutrition, Exercise, and Mindset. 

Pillar 1: Nutrition

Eat more….

• Foods rich in iron: Sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, carrots, spinach, asparagus, apricots, blackberries, parsley, watercress, beetroot
• Foods containing B vitamins: Whole grains such as brown rice, pearl barley, rye, buckwheat.
• Foods rich in iron and B vitamins: Lentils, chickpeas, butter beans, kidney beans
• Foods rich in iodine: seaweeds and wild rice
• Helpful herbs and spices for energy include ginger, paprika, turmeric, cumin, cayenne pepper and coriander seeds.
• Bright-coloured fruits and vegetables:
  • Red foods such as tomatoes, radishes, red peppers, strawberries and cherries are especially good for supporting your stress response.
  • Yellow foods such as bananas, lemons, melons, butternut squashes help to support metabolism and increase energy production.
  • Green foods such as broccoli, spinach, avocado and kale improve our mood.
  • Purple foods such as beetroots, red cabbage, red onions and especially berries support memory and brain health
• Foods containing tryptophan a mood enhancer and precursor to happy-hormone, serotonin - cottage cheese, turkey, fish, almonds, bananas, cherries, chickpeas, brown rice and oats.
• Dark chocolate is full of magnesium – and a little goes a long way!
• Good quality fats (oily fish - salmon, mackerel, sardines, anchovies; nuts and seeds, avocados, olive oil)
• All plant foods especially artichokes, asparagus, bananas, chicory, garlic, onions, leeks
• Fermented foods – yoghurt, kefir, kimchee, tempeh, miso

Eat less or avoid…

• Sugar
• Alcohol
• Caffeine
• Processed fats found in “vegetable oils”, margarines and almost all ultra processed foods.
• Processed foods
• Large amounts of animal-derived foods

How to eat

• Eat a small amount of protein with every meal (line-caught fish, organic eggs and poultry, grass-fed meat, pulses, quinoa and other wholegrains, nuts, nut butters and seeds)
• Eat 5 different colours of vegetables, fruit, herbs and spices every day .
• Eat something green at every meal.
• Eat beans and pulses at least 3 times a week.
• Eat at least 1 prebiotic food everyday (artichokes, asparagus, bananas, chicory, garlic, onions, leeks)
• Eat at least 30+ different plant foods every week.

Eat less or avoid.

• Sugar
• Alcohol
• Caffeine
• Processed fats found in “vegetable oils”, margarines and almost all ultra processed foods.
• Processed foods
• Large amounts of animal-derived foods

Pillar 2: Movement

How much?

• At least 150 minutes moderate intensity activity, or 75 minutes’ vigorous activity, or a mixture of both
• Include strengthening activities on two days.
• Reduce extended periods of sitting.
• Anything is better than nothing.

What?

• All types of physical activity and exercise were beneficial, including aerobic exercise such as walking, resistance training, Pilates and yoga.
• Try new, unexpected things.
• Anything is better than nothing.

How?

• Prioritise progress over perfection and curiosity over judgment.
• “No pain, no gain” simply doesn’t work. You need to re-frame movement and exercise as a wonderful gift to yourself, not a punishment.
• Start small: What’s the one thing requiring the least effort that you could do to get started?
  • Go for a short walk?
  • Do some stretches or lunges?
  • A quick dance to your favourite song?
• The mental health benefits of movement come from adding small, easy things together.
• Going hard to start with might feel good, but it’s hard to sustain and leaves you feeling like a failure.
• Movement snacking creates a mindset that reminds your brain that you are someone who values self-care and helps you keep moving.
  • When you first wake up, stretch and relax your body and notice how good it feels.
  • Whenever you have the chance, move your body freely in ways that feel good (copy young children!)
  • Notice if any bit of you feels like it needs some attention and move there.
  • Whilst waiting for the kettle to boil, do some lunges and squats.
  • Try standing on one leg whilst cleaning your teeth.
  • Whilst working at your screen, set alerts to get up and move every 15 minutes.
  • Celebrate every additional opportunity to move as a gift (“Fantastic, the lift’s not working!”)

Pillar 3: Mindset 

Tell your brain the story you want to see!

• Defining your purpose/intention and setting goals can help to keep our thoughts organized and working for us
• Remind yourselves many times a day of the things that are going well , e.g. “Wonderful things keep happening to me”

Cultivate a Growth Mindset

• Be open to new learnings - “Beginner’s Mind.”
• Be curious.
• Let go of the need to control the outcome.
• Feel empowered to experiment and don’t be afraid to fail or ask for help.

Reframe difficult situations as opportunities for growth and development.

• Questions to ask yourself when feeling challenged?
  • What’s the most likely explanation?
  • What are some other explanations?
  • Are there any benefits to this situation?
• Identify what’s really bothering you.
  • Repeatedly asking yourself why? Until you get to a deeper reason of why you are upset and struggling to deal with the situation
• Use the circles of concern, influence and control to identify what’s yours to control and what’s not.

Get to know your authentic self.

To help you organise your thinking, aid decision making and prevent overwhelm.

• What are your goals?
  • What are the three biggest changes you want to make in your life in the next year? What is stopping you?
  • What goals do you want to achieve in the next three months? What is stopping you from doing this?

• What are your values? Take this test Personal Values Assessment | Discover Your Values And also consider the following:
  • When am I happiest?
  • What am I most proud of?
  • When do I feel most fulfilled and satisfied?
  • When do I feel most like myself?
  • What would a perfect day look like?
  • What would I do if there were no limitations?
  • What values are represented in these situations?
• Know your personality and preferences Take this test Free personality test, type descriptions, relationship and career advice | 16Personalities

• What are your strengths?
  • What are you really good at?
  • What skills do others recognise in you?
  • What do you get rewarded for?
  • What do you do better than most people you work with?
  • What are you most proud of?
  • What experiences, resources or connections do you have access to that others don’t?

Take action

• Take stock - Rate yourself out of 5 for how well you are currently doing on Nutrition, Movement and Mindset
• Start small - What’s the smallest thing with the least effort that you can do to improve your Nutrition, Movement and Mindset
• Get started.
  • What are you going to do today?
  • What are you going to do this week?
  • What are you going to do in the next 3 weeks?