Well-being and mental health is a lot more than the absence of illness or discomfort. It is a pattern of behaviours and thoughts that encourages resilience and psychological flexibility, and which increases not only our ability to handle every day pressures and problems, but our enjoyment of every day.

Start off by checking out the Five ways to mental well-being section. Once you’ve got those down, give the below strategies a try also.

Cognitive strategies

The way we think about and perceive the world, ourselves, and our experiences has a huge impact on our feelings. Below are some cognitive strategies that promote helpful ways of thinking, and thereby help you to manage difficult feelings such as anxiety, depression, grief, etc.

• Unhelpful thinking patterns
• Problem solving
• Living by your values
• Expectations and making changes

Behavioural strategies

Sometimes our feelings get too intense for us to really think clearly at all, which makes it difficult to apply cognitive strategies. Below are some things you can do at these times to ground yourself and get back on track.

• Grounding exercises
• Pleasant things to do
• Why you might think about getting a pet
• How music can support your well-being