Make Time To Look After Your Mental Health

What is #AyeFeel?

#AyeFeel is Young Scot’s mental health and emotional wellbeing initiative, and is full of information and support for young people aged 11 – 26. It provides information from different national organisations as well as tips from young people on how to look after your own mental health.

Good mental health can help you think positively, feel confident and act calmly. Having good wellbeing doesn’t mean you’ll always be happy and it’s normal to feel sad, angry, or low sometimes. But if you have poor mental health you may find that the way you think, feel and act are being affected in a negative way. You might not enjoy things you usually like to do, or feel sad or angry for longer a longer time than usual. This is why it is so important to consider your emotional wellbeing and understand how to support it.

Our new campaign is called #MakeTimeTo? which focuses on giving tips from organisations and insights from young people that you can action on a daily basis that will support your mental health and emotional wellbeing.

Signs You Should #MakeTimeTo Look After Your Mental Health

Some common signs that you may be struggling with your mental health and emotional wellbeing might include:

Poor quality sleep
Being anxious and irritable
Having a low mood
Changes in your mood
Sleeping too little or too much
Loss of motivation
Feeling burnt out
Finding it difficult to manage everyday life, for example, preparing food and washing regularly
Difficulty concentrating
Having suicidal thoughts
Isolating yourself from friends and family

This isn’t a list of every symptom; they will differ for different people and over time you might start to recognise the symptoms or signs that are personal to you. Experiencing one of these symptoms does not mean you have poor mental health but if one or more of these symptoms lasts for a while, it can be a good idea to seek help.

You can also find out more about the signs you may be struggling with on the YoungMinds and Rethink webpages.

Take a look at our list of organisations you can use if you need support.

#MakeTimeTo? is about taking small actions in your day-to-day life that can help you avoid these feelings and have support in place if you feel like your mental health is declining.

#MakeTimeTo?

…take small actions to support your mental health and emotional wellbeing. This could be meeting with family, spending time outdoors or checking in with a friend, which can have a positive impact on your mental health and emotional wellbeing.

If you have coping mechanisms in place but feel as though they aren’t as effective as they were in the past, why not try something new? It could be an opportunity to meet new people and learn new skills. Sometimes trying something new might go wrong but you shouldn’t count this as a failure because you can learn from these experiences.

When you’re feeling down it can be hard to find the time to do small things like this, but there are ways to remind yourself to keep up a healthy routine, like setting a reminder on your phone or writing a note to yourself to take a break when you feel stressed. It’s important to consider what you feel is comfortable and right for you at this moment and remember that it’s completely fine to #MakeTimeTo? take a break and do nothing!

Why?

You might have heard the term self-care, and making time for small actions that can positively affect your mental health and emotional wellbeing is a form of self-care. Self-care techniques and general lifestyle changes can help you support your mental health and be more aware of your needs. They may also help prevent some problems from developing or getting worse. However, it’s important to remember that there is unlikely to be an instant solution which is why it’s important to make time often for these actions.

Ask For Help

If you feel like your mental health is hard to cope with, remember it’s OK to ask for help by talking to someone you trust like a friend, parent or GP, or by calling a helpline. It can seem scary but it’s really important to talk to someone about how you are feeling. Visit our list of organisations that you can speak to for emotional support.