There are no simple, one-size-fits-all solutions to mental health anymore than there are simple, one-size-fits-all mental health problems. But if the prising-open of conversations around topics like anxiety and depression over the past decade has taught us anything, it's that there's a comfort to be gained in hearing about the experiences of others – if only to remind us that, beneath whatever exterior we like to project into the world, most of us are united in struggling with something.
This World Mental Health Day, we're sharing the small things we've tried that have had an impactful difference in our everyday lives. A bit like the guy at the gym raving about Jiu Jitsu even though you'll never try Jiu Jitsu (hey - maybe you'll try Jiu Jitsu!), we present the following not as a panacea but hopefully as some inspiration. It may not be decades of therapy or an ayahuasca retreat in Peru, but it might help spark some ideas.
This past summer, while I was going through one of the darkest periods in my life mentally, my therapist suggested I tried something new. The trick is called 'Coffee meditation' - not some buzzy new narcotic-fuelled wellness fad, but an elegantly simple bit of cognitive behaviour therapy. Here's how you do it: when you're feeling overwhelmed, or in the need of some space, you make yourself a hot drink. (Though I drink coffee, any drink will do.) Then you find a quiet spot - in the garden, in a comfy chair, wherever. Somewhere quiet, is the thing. Then you... drink the drink. The trick is in how you drink it. Rather than rush it down, first feel the shape of the mug in your hand, warming your skin. After a while, bring the cup to your lips, and take in the sensation of that, too - the heat, the smell. Sip. Savour. Swallow. Enjoy the first little flood of warmth envelop your body, like a hug. Think only about how your body feels. Then... repeat. Finish the drink. It might only take two minutes. But I've found that, however desperate I'm feeling, that small trick can often be the little jolt I need to take the next step towards feeling better.
Oliver Franklin-Wallis
I’ve always been someone who wanted to be a runner but absolutely hated running. It’s awful and boring and hurts my knees, but I’d persist, telling myself it was supposed to feel bad. Turns out you actually don’t have to hate exercising if you don’t treat it like a punishment. One night, the viral 12-3-30 routine made its way across my TikTok FYP. It goes as follows: you walk for 30 minutes on a level 12 incline and level three-speed. No longer plagued with a need to choose the most intense K-pop song to drown out the misery of doing a light jog, I decided to kill that half an hour with my Kindle. At the end of the day, as a way to wash away whatever horrors the internet has imprinted on me, I’m able to give my head some much-needed space. It has allowed me time to take a breath and not feel like I have to be constantly engaged online to exist. Crucially, it’s also helped reignite my own personal creativity, which often feels like it takes a backseat. This simple 30 minutes of time reading and walking is now something I look forward to (and my knees feel better too).
Lucy Ford
I got myself a Shakti Acupressure mat in lockdown to help with sleep. I was cynical at first, especially as it looks like the opposite of relaxing; it's meant to replicate the ancient therapy of lying on a bed of nails, but as a lifelong insomniac I figured it was worth a try. The initial discomfort took some getting used to (though I didn't hate it as some of my friends who tried it), but once you're past that it's great. I now find it so relaxing that I can actually fall asleep on it and use it all the time when I'm struggling to sleep. It also doubles up to help relieve muscles after exercise, and used straight after a warm bath, perfection!
Neha-Tamara Patel
I thought my route out of excessive anxiety was to be calmer – that's what the self-help TikTokers say, isn't it? – and so like everyone else I tried yoga and sitting by an open window with my eyes closed and being present and mindful of the chattering birds and the wind on my face as I walked to Tescos. All those things are fine – wonderful, even – but I came to realise my particular need was not to be silent and still or even grateful but to punch things. You need to be more in touch with your healthy anger my therapist told me for years, so I finally did the obvious, signed up for a boxing class and never looked back. Now, a few times a week, I go to the corner of my gym and spent forty minutes slowly but happily pummelling a giant bag of sand suspended from the ceiling while listening to loud music. It makes me feel stronger, more powerful, less entangled in myself. It turns out for me the opposite of negative emotion is positive aggression. I only wish I'd figured it out sooner.
Sam Parker
As anyone who I’ve come within spitting distance of in the last 9 months will be able to tell you, I bought an £18 alarm clock in January of this year and I’m very smug about it. It’s given me absolutely no excuse to have my phone in the bedroom, so my nights of doom scrolling and watching old Neville x Carragher analysis videos until two in the morning are over. It also means I pretty much have to pick up a book before I go to sleep, and after not reading much more than the back of an M&S ready-made curry packet in ten years, I’ve taken down 18 novels already in 2022. With more restful nights of sleep under my belt, I'm a little less anxious, and more than a bit self-satisfied.
Ben Allen
I started walking to work every day when I was in a job I hated, that made me anxious (not this one). I realised that it was a 45-minute journey by tube and only slightly over an hour on foot, which also happens to be the perfect coffee-and-a-podcast length. It meant I had an hour to myself in the fresh air each morning before I was confronted with the stress of the work day, and had exercised by the time I got to the office. I still sometimes do it now I’m in a job I love!
Emily James
“Cold, cold water surrounds me now.” The lyrics to Damien Rice’s ‘Cold Water’ flood my conscience as I plunge into the open water of Denham’s Waterski lake. Today it’s 13 degrees. However much I brace myself for the freezing assault on the senses, it always takes my breath away. I like to get into my stroke quickly knowing the sweet taste of adrenaline will hit soon. The sight of air bubbles fizzing past my hands in the crystal clear water spurs me on and I love engaging in the race to regulate my breathing pattern. It provides a genuine moment of clarity and focus where nothing else permeates my thinking. The fear of open water is a thrill in itself, and the potential of an unknown species darting into view keeps me alert. I feel so energised. So alive.
It’s a morning ritual I do at least twice a week. One lap of the lake takes me about 20 minutes. Once I’m into my stroke, it’s a rare chance to enjoy a period of uninterrupted thought. When I get out, it always gives me cause to thank my mother for enrolling me in swimming lessons at such a young age – because I’m so grateful for the happy place the open water affords me. Nothing beats it.
Mike Christensen
Like everyone else, I don’t particularly enjoy being waterboarded by bad news and the subsequent WhatsApp messages about the bad news and the emails about the bad news and the bad news about the bad news. But on the most miserable days, there’s respite at the end of it. I’m not another Londoner lamenting Liz Truss. I’m Liu Bei in Dynasty Warriors, and yes, I have just broken a 1,000 KO record, thank you for asking. I’m in Final Fantasy VII, trying to make sense of a bizarre plotline about sorceresses and time compression. If I’m feeling extra duhhhh, I’m on Fortnite, cackling as I imagine a furious 12-year-old storm down to dinner after I’ve vapourised their Ariana Grande avatar with a well-timed grenade.
Video games are a sensory overload to the point of deprivation. You haven’t got time to look at your phone. A wrong move, and yes, you are losing the castle walls. The world outside ceases to exist, and it’s releasing. But more importantly, video games give you something that is so rare in this life: agency. Few external forces or conditions can affect your performance. No one else has to be involved in the success of your mission (or, indeed, its failure). It’s just you. Video games don’t just encourage loneliness, like we were told as kids. They teach you to enjoy it.
Murray Clark
‘Gratitude turns what we have into enough’. At the beginning of this year, I started a gratitude journal with the intention that every morning and evening, I would take just five minutes to pause and reflect on the things that I am grateful for or that bring me joy. The idea being that practising gratitude can help increase mindfulness, build up resilience, change your perspective and ultimately help you make better decisions. Dr Rangan Chatterjeem, a British physician, advocates for a productive morning routine and the benefits it can bring in the short and long term. He details three simple principles or ‘three M’s to set you up for success - the first is mindfulness, the second M is movement and the third, mindset.
Depending on the agenda for the day, I keep a journal by the side of the bed, so before reaching for my phone I sit up and begin my morning routine by identifying five things I am grateful for. It’s also the last thing I do at night. On the days I am in the office with less time in the morning, I will jot these down in my phone notes. Granted, some days I have to search a little harder but the intention of finding the joy in the simple pleasures of life, no matter how big or small, helps refocus my mind on what is important. I now find myself looking for those moments whenever I can.
Milly Tritton
Being in auto-pilot when it came to stress, I thought revelling in these feelings were part the parcel of London living. That was until wearable tech disrupted my simulation. Using Garmin’s stress level feature I had a visualisation of how stress was affecting my body. Using your heart rate, this determines your current level of stress, aggregated into a Stress Chart. It will even give you prompts at times you need to lower your heart, directing you to their visual breathing exercise using the (4-4-6-2) method. Being conscious of the unconscious helped me to work smarter not harder. I'm way less triggered.
Josephine Judd
You don’t need me to tell you that Twitter is a cesspit of bad ideas and instant gratification, just look at the guy who’s now running the joint. Still, I definitely thought that doom-scrolling your way into an existential crisis was the kind of lame-ass event that happened to other people. Until, of course, I spent an afternoon in the bowls of the Barbican reading every worst-case scenario climate change might bestow upon the planet. In hindsight, it’s still not the worst thing I’ve seen at that venue - shout out Sun Kil Moon.
What happened next? Well, I deleted Twitter and never looked back. At first, I was a bit worried whether an inability to stay glued to breaking news and post half-baked hot takes might have some tangible impact on my life and/or career prospects. As it turned out, nobody cared. So yeah, if you’re struggling with the weight of bad news, I’d recommend deleting the apps, and being more intentional about what you read and when. You don’t have to ignore what’s going on in the world, just take it on your own terms.
Rob Leedham
With a busy schedule, committing to the challenge of a daily 5 a.m. workout might seem an added stress. Rising to that challenge has shown me it’s the opposite – there’s something calming in the quiet before the city wakes up, and there’s no greater sense of achievement than starting my day completing something I thought I couldn’t. During a sweaty session, concentrating on coordinated movement leaves little room for mental chatter. Post-exercise, I’ve found clarity, focus and energy to take on the to-do list, plus plenty of endorphins that have kept burnout at bay.
Tracy Achonwa
