Positive ways to help mental health...

I don't want to be totally negative in my posts so decided today's should be a more positive one. Severe and enduring mental health problems will probably never go but there are things we can do to make it more manageable. The 2 best things I did were buying a horse, Warwick and joining a choir. Music and horses have proven health benefits and I can definitely back that up. I bought Warwick 13 years ago and he is my best friend. Horses are so intuitive to our emotions and being around him does help me keep my emotions more in check when I am around him. If I'm feeling anxious Warwick is anxious and thinks there is something to worry about, I have to remind myself that I have to be confident to give him the confidence. I also find having the responsibility of Warwick makes me try as best as I can to stay well...that doesn't work 100 percent but I am getting better at it in alot of ways.

The best thing I did a year ago was join a choir. I actually booked a taster session the year earlier whilst I was living at a mental health rehab and I was that nervous about going a support worker was going to come with me. As it turned out the choir had stopped for a while so I rebooked again and found out my friend from the stables was going and she gave me the confidence to go. I had my gallbladder out so was a few weeks before I joined properly. At the time my bulimia was bad and I thought I looked fat in a top and I ended up taking an overdose instead of going to choir that night...that was the last overdose I took and that was last October. I then got into enjoying choir properly and set myself the goal of doing all the gigs and I'm proud to say I have achieved that. I am honest in this blog and I'm not saying I haven't had thoughts to overdose but I write goals and a big part of this year has been around choir. I also have social anxiety and my eating disorder which make social situations harder but everyone has been so supportive and this year is the year I have done the most socialising in 5 years. Being part of a choir makes you feel like you belong part of something positive enjoying something that you love doing.

Whilst I was at the mental health rehab I got into the habit of writing a weekly planner and that helps with goal setting and motivation. Seeing it written in black and white makes me want to try and stick to my plan...there are times I have to not stick to it if I need to rest physically or mentally...sometimes rest is needed to manage your mental health.

Another way I have positively coped with my mental health problems is volunteering for a horse charity and doing sponsored swims. Feeling you are helping worthwhile causes is a good motivation to not act on self harm and suicidal thoughts and again I have met friendly supportive people doing these things.

Goal setting is definitely a big part of mental health recovery. Most people have probably heard of SMART goals but in case you haven't they need to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable,Realistic and Timely...therefore you might need to start with small goals but as you achieve the goals you can make them bigger. I set myself a goal to do my level 2 horse riding instructor exam which I passed and now my bigger goal is to do my stage 3 to be able to go on the riding instructor register. The steps towards that are I need to do my stage 3 care, ride , lunge and teach exams so I'm aiming to do it in the next 2 years...that will be the year i am 40.

There are times when mental illness takes hold and there is nothing wrong with reaching out for support of people at those times...when were in the dark depths of a depressive episode it can feel like no one cares but i am pleased to say reaching out has brought some nice new friends into my life as well as old ones.

We don't choose mental illness but we can choose to find positive things to enjoy in life which makes life easier to manage 🐎🐈🎶💕

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