We’ve posted a few times about mindfulness so I thought it would be useful to explain a bit more about what it’s all about and why it’s important for maintaining good mental health.

Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to where you are, what’s going on and how you’re feeling in the present moment without judging it.

Our lives are filled with sad and difficult events that we can’t avoid or predict. Understandably, these things will have a massive effect on how we feel, how we live and how we interact with other people and the world.

All events affect us in different ways but events that lead to PTSD have very specific criteria and symptoms according to the DSM V (This is the manual clinicians use to understand different mental health problems, it stands for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition).

A worry is a negative thinking process that is often posed as a question, ‘what if….’. What if’s can quickly snowball, gaining momentum and negativity and leading to worst case scenarios and catastrophes of things that might happen in the future. Worries often make us feel anxious and cause physical symptoms in our bodies like ‘butterflies of doom’ in our stomachs, increases in heart rate and tension in our shoulders, jaw and head.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a type of psychological therapy that is recommended by the NHS and NICE. Its primary use is to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but there is lots of new evidence suggesting it can be useful for treating depression and other anxiety problems like phobias.

Mental health is about psychological and emotional wellbeing. It’s as important as physical health and we need to look after it before it goes wrong so you can live more happily. Tips to improve mental health include good sleep, exercise, eating well, work life balance, seeking out professional help.

Mental health is about psychological and emotional wellbeing. It’s as important as physical health and we need to look after it before it goes wrong so you can live more happily. Tips to improve mental health include good sleep, exercise, eating well, work life balance, seeking out professional help.

Mental health is about psychological and emotional wellbeing. It’s as important as physical health and we need to look after it before it goes wrong so you can live more happily. Tips to improve mental health include good sleep, exercise, eating well, work life balance, seeking out professional help.

Mental health is about psychological and emotional wellbeing. It’s as important as physical health and we need to look after it before it goes wrong so you can live more happily. Tips to improve mental health include good sleep, exercise, eating well, work life balance, seeking out professional help.

Mental health is about psychological and emotional wellbeing. It’s as important as physical health and we need to look after it before it goes wrong so you can live more happily. Tips to improve mental health include good sleep, exercise, eating well, work life balance, seeking out professional help.

Mental health is about psychological and emotional wellbeing. It’s as important as physical health and we need to look after it before it goes wrong so you can live more happily. Tips to improve mental health include good sleep, exercise, eating well, work life balance, seeking out professional help.

What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). CBT is about understanding links between thoughts, feelings and behaviours. It’s useful for challenging thoughts and changing behaviours. It can be used to treat a range of problems such as low mood, generalised anxiety, health worries, OCD, panic, phobias, trauma and PTSD and social anxiety.

Mental health is about psychological and emotional wellbeing. It’s as important as physical health and we need to look after it before it goes wrong so you can live more happily. Tips to improve mental health include good sleep, exercise, eating well, work life balance, seeking out professional help.