Danielle Davy, one of our counsellors from AMH New Colin Counselling, has a great idea! This year Danielle will be buying a book for a friend and delivering it early on Christmas Eve. In return she will also receive a book to read that day.

Christmas Eve can be quite a stressful day for many – prepping the turkey, buying last minute presents, running around visiting relatives – but as we know this year will be different. Many of us will be having smaller gatherings, so with not as many spuds to peel and visting being limited, perhaps this is the year to have a calmer Christmas Eve, where you can relax by the fire, and read a book by the light of the Christmas Tree! Danielle will be hoping to surprise her friend this year with a book she has never read and is looking forward to seeing what she will be receiving! Let us know what books you will be gifting this year and which ones you are hoping will be in your stocking!!

Reading has been found to be hugely beneficial for our mental health.

Reading a book can be one of life’s biggest joys, and can also be a way of coping with the difficult times in life, like loneliness or bereavement or indeed life in lockdown. 

According to research from Oxford University Press, reading “challenging language” sends “rocket boosters” to our brains, which in turn boosts our mental health. “Books can take you to a different place. They can relax you and calm you, and they can offer wisdom, or humour, or both.”

Sydney Timmins is a writer and founder of the Mental Health Book Club Podcast. Here are her top eight mental health benefits of reading:

1. Reading is pleasurable

When you start to read a really good book it is often hard to put it down, the story captivates you and time disappears as you become absorbed. When you reach the end, you feel sad because it is over, or you are so eager to get the next book in the series you are emailing the author daily! It is a magical feeling and choosing to read a book can provide a number of other benefits.

2. Reading can reduce stress

Losing yourself in a good book has been shown to reduce your levels of stress. Research by Dr David Lewis showed that reading as little as six minutes a day can reduce stress levels by 60% by reducing your heart rate, easing muscle tension and altering your state of mind. That same study showed that reading was better at reducing stress than music, drinking a cup of tea, going for a walk and playing video games.

3. Reading can provide an escape from the ‘real world’

Closely linked to reducing stress levels when you read is the ability to escape from the real world. I did this a lot as a child as a coping mechanism to dealing with the emotional hurt I experienced from my family. I often become immersed in that world and helped me to forget my worries.

4. Reading helps you develop empathy for others

People who read fiction have been shown to improve their level of empathy, the ability to understand someone else’s belief’s, feelings and thoughts.

5. Reading works your brain and prevents memory loss

Participating in cognitive activities, such as reading over your life time (both early and later in life) was shown to slow down memory loss when compared to those who didn’t participate in mentally stimulating activities. The same study also found that the rate of mental decline was reduced by 32% when people participated in reading, writing and other activities later on in life. While those with infrequent stimulating activity found that their decline was 48% faster than those with average activity.

6. Reading groups help to treat mental health issues

My default for when I’m feeling low is to read but there is actually scientific research that shows that reading and then talking about what you have read could be beneficial to mental health and well-being. There is something called bibliotherapy and it has a profound effect on people suffering with depression.

7. Reading helps teenagers develop insights into being an adult

Becoming an adult can be tricky – a lot of things change during this time and exploring self-identity is crucial. Research has shown that reading for pleasure in teenagers has three key benefits, reading was shown to enhance academic performance, social engagement and personal development. Fiction helped teens by providing significant insights into mature relationships, personal values and cultural identity all of which are important in the transition from being a child to becoming an adult.

8. Reading can make you smarter

I often feel smarter after reading books, I learn new things, experience different cultures, understand myself better and research has shown that reading does in fact make us smarter. Cognitive differences have been seen between those who read a lot and those who read a little. People who are exposed to more written information are associated with higher vocabulary, general knowledge, and verbal skills.

You can follow Sydney Timmins on Twitter, and listen to the Mental Health Book Club podcast on their website.

More and more of us appreciate that the arts can play a valuable role in helping people who have mental health problems, in Action Mental Health we offer our clients opportunities to engage creatively in a whole host of workshops and qualifications. Even during lockdown, we have had virtual choirs and art classes via zoom!

Singing, dancing, painting, or writing can help to boost confidence and make us feel more engaged and resilient. Besides these benefits, art engagement also alleviates anxiety, depression and stress.

Several studies support poetry therapy as one approach to the treatment of depression, as it has been repeatedly shown to relieve depressive symptoms, improve self-esteem and self-understanding, and encourage the expression of feelings.

In Action Mental Health we have some very talented poets who all agree that writing poetry helps them to get to the heart of their thoughts or feelings that they don’t quite understand, or those that they want others to better understand.

Conor Smyth from Action Mental Health’s Fundraising team penned this poem last year, thanks for sharing 🙂

Catherine Cunningham based in our Belfast service, wrote this very clever acrostic poem to help you remember how you can look after you mental well-being this Christmas.

Some cheeky little elves have been busy at AMH New Horizons North Down & Ards creating FESTIVE CHEER packs for all our clients based in the Newtownards.  These include an activity pack covering every day in December and colouring therapy & festive puzzle books.  Our thanks also to the Hastings Hotel Group for donating Jemima Pudding Duck, the Christmas edition of their famous duck family, to each and everyone! We hope everyone enjoys getting creative over the festive season!

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You can also download Elfie’s friend to colour and stick in your window for Santa and Rudolph to see!

On Day 5 of Action Mental Health’s Elfie Advent Calendar, there are just as many ways to support your well-being this Christmas. The Five Ways to Well-Being provide key steps to promote your overall well-being and are particularly suited to the festive season, which can be stressful for many. So, to have a Mentally Elfie Christmas this year, why not consider the following?

Connect with the people around you – as much as we can during the continuing pandemic. No matter what age we are, probably the most important factor in improving our psychological health and well-being is our relationships and connectedness with other people, according to Northern Ireland’s interim Mental Health Champion, Professor Siobhan O’Neill. “A huge amount of research has shown the positive effects of relationships on our physical health, like blood pressure, cardiac illness, cancer, as well as our mental health, including reduced levels of stress and depression.”

If you need some time on your own given the public health stress, reflect, spend some time doing what you enjoy. Connect with your mind and body, try some mindfulness and stay in touch with how you are feeling, you’re more important than the lunchtime news.

Be Active

Whether you prefer walking or running, cycling, playing a game, gardening or dancing, exercising makes you feel good. Find something you enjoy, dedicate some time to do it (start with 10 minutes at a time) and work up to 30 minutes of physical activity for the day.

Even during social distancing, everyone is being encouraged to get outside for at least one form of exercise a day – it’s great for your mind. Here, personal trainer at Dromore Community Centre, Lynne Troughton, takes us through a comprehensive regime of exercise you can follow at home or in your garden.

WORKOUT PLAN https://www.facebook.com/dromoreleisure/posts/3451283958294830

https://www.facebook.com/dromoreleisure/videos/156782606139665/?t=0

Take Notice

Stop, pause, and take a moment to look around you now. What can you see, feel, smell or even taste? Look for beautiful, new, unusual or extraordinary things in your everyday life and think about how that makes you feel without judging or trying to change them. Take a few deep breaths, feel the rising and falling of your chest, and take notice of the chair under you or the weight of your feet on the floor. It may feel like all there is to notice is worrying news regarding public health, but staying mindful and bringing your mind to the present moment is good for your mental well-being. Try apps like Headspace and Calm for guided meditations, and you’ll learn how to notice and release tension you didn’t even realise you were carrying. Sit in your garden or go for walks with those you live with, notice nature, the birds singing and the sound of life – it’s still there and will still be there once we get through this together.

‘Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light’ – J.K Rowling

Keep Learning

Many people have turned their hands to new things since the pandemic first struck last March. Variety is indeed, the spice of life and if you keep learning new things, it will make you more confident, will boost your self-esteem and improve your overall well-being. In the current COVID-19 restrictions, our focus has moved from normal everyday goals we had, to looking after our work, mental health and encouraging self-development through hobbies. Use any spare time to unwind, start to learn a skill you were putting off – cook, learn a new language or exercise or get stuck into that book that’s been sitting on the shelf for ages. Or why not try your hand at a spot of gardening – a pastime much reported as being beneficial to people’s well-being.

Over the first ‘lockdown’ period, AMH New Horizons Belfast offered clients like Aodhan the opportunity, through Groundwork NI, to get active in the garden and grow some vegetables at home. The materials were delivered to his house and included seeds, soil, and boxes. He plotted his progress through a series of photographs and was delighted when his little garden growing pod took off and grew quickly. Soon, he had carrots and spinach to cook with, and for this Christmas, he plans to provide the carrots and spring onions for his festive feast from his own little garden.

Give

Look outward as well as inward. Linking yourself and your happiness to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and will create connections with the people around you, even if you can’t physically be there. Giving can be something as simple as using social media in a positive way to share messages of appreciation for those working and dealing with the virus as part of their work. Give a friend, older relative or someone living on their own a call or text – it might just make their day to know that someone is thinking of them during this tough time apart. Do a random act of kindness, like delivering groceries or medicine for someone you know can’t leave the house.

Lastly, give yourself a hug. You can only do so much and you’re doing the best you can. Try to love yourself – you can’t pour from an empty cup, so give yourself time to relax and think of all the things you can look forward to with your family and friends.

Based on the Five Ways to Wellbeing which were developed by the New Economics Foundation.

Day 4 #ElfieAdvent

Maria McBride a Skills Coach in AMH New Horizons -Newry and Mourne, shares her philosophy on taking it easy and feeling grateful, over what is often a stressful and hectic festive season for many. From slowing things down to helping others less fortunate, Maria shares her gratitude for the blessings she and her family enjoy.

“At Christmas I like to do the opposite of what other people are doing. I like to slow things down, light the fire and make yummy food for my family and watch some TV. I try and calm those around me and encourage them to take it easy – to remember the real meaning of Christmas. Giving your time to those who need it and calling-in on folks for a cup of tea, can mean the world to those who may not have much family around them. You’ll also get so much out of it. I also make it a habit to attend a Christmas carol service, that involves local schoolchildren, who sing some of the old Christmas songs: it makes me feel so good. There is nothing as uplifting as children, singing.

“Another thing I like to do around Christmas is to tell the people in my life just what they mean to me, instead of just thinking about it. I try to make Christmas day as easy and stress-free a day for myself and everyone in the family. We rise around 10am and open some presents, then have breakfast and chill for a while. Then, while the dinner is cooking, I encourage the family to set the table up nice for us all, with wine glasses, candles and Christmas napkins. Some years, my daughter will take a Christmas dinner to the Gateway charity and help serve food up for those who have no homes, or no family to spend Christmas with. This makes me feel immensely proud of her.

“We are a very lucky family in that we all love Christmas, but we understand this is not the case for everyone. We are grateful for another year and that we got through all the ups and downs and we are still surviving and thriving.”

Christmas is synonymous with traditions and at the Watson house in Killyleagh, one of those is the shared love of a favourite Christmas movie passed from one generation to the next, from mother to daughter. Riley Watson, who celebrates her second Christmas in 2020, will be settling down soon to watch a cinematic favourite that her mum, AMH Fundraising Officer Amanda Watson, loved as a child. Santa Clause The Movie is bang on target for the festive season, so merry Christmas to everyone this year from little Riley, who will turn 2 in January!

The AMH OUR Generation team want you to have the best possible Christmas this year so they’ve put together a few top tips to help you look after your mental ‘elf’.

This year Christmas will be different for everyone and while we can’t control the pandemic and the uncertainty it’s caused, we can focus on the positive things, like keeping ourselves healthy, in body and mind over the festive period.

From getting regular exercise and eating a well-balanced diet to limiting our screen time and switching off from the news that can be alarming, we all need to exercise self-care in Christmas 2020. And if you’re feeling lonely or isolated this year there are steps you can take to help yourself, so remember to turn to someone you trust if you need help.