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| Wellness<br />
Talk Changes: Why your mental health is important<br />
We all know the term ‘mental health’, but<br />
what does this really mean? Our mental health<br />
includes our psychological, emotional and social<br />
wellbeing and it is essential to living a healthy,<br />
balanced life. It affects how we think, feel and<br />
behave every day. It helps determine how we<br />
cope with stress, relate to others, and make<br />
decisions. Mental health and physical health<br />
are closely connected. Poor mental health can<br />
make it difficult to manage our physical health.<br />
In turn, problems with physical health can have<br />
an impact on mental health.<br />
It can be normal to feel low or anxious from<br />
time to time. For example, the term ‘January<br />
Blues’ relates to this time of the year; following<br />
an exciting time that can be stressful and fast<br />
paced, with lots to juggle and do, we can be left<br />
feeling a bit down. We may have less to plan<br />
and look forward to. This feeling tends to be<br />
short-lived, but is quite common. Our thoughts<br />
may be occupied with concerns about the<br />
past or future. We may feel less motivated to<br />
do things or avoid things altogether. We may<br />
notice small changes in our eating or sleeping<br />
habits and may have less energy.<br />
There are many different factors that could<br />
affect mental health; something difficult or<br />
stressful could have happened recently in your<br />
life or you may feel you’ve been struggling for a<br />
while. You may not be sure why you are feeling<br />
low or worried but talking with a friend or a<br />
therapist may help you figure this out.<br />
Exercising, getting a good night’s sleep, eating<br />
balanced and healthy meals, opening up to<br />
others, taking a break, trying something new<br />
and remembering something you are grateful<br />
for can all be helpful steps towards taking<br />
care of yourself. These can feel difficult at first,<br />
so start small and avoid setting unrealistic<br />
expectations for yourself. If you have noticed<br />
changes in your mood, relationships or ability<br />
to cope day to day there is support for you. You<br />
can visit your GP or if you have a GP in City and<br />
Hackney and are over the age of 18 you can<br />
refer directly to our service, Talk Changes.<br />
As part of the NHS we are a free talk therapy<br />
service offering a range of psychological<br />
therapies. We start by offering an assessment<br />
to discuss how you are feeling and what may be<br />
helpful for you.<br />
Find out more and make a referral by visiting<br />
our website: talkchanges.org.uk<br />
Talk Changes is a confidential<br />
NHS service that helps tackle<br />
common mental health<br />
problems, such as depression<br />
and anxiety, which affect one<br />
in four of us.<br />
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