How Talking Therapies helped me nurture my mind, body and soul

With Lyndsey Thorpe, Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner

For World Mental Health Day, Lyndsey Thorpe discusses how Talking Therapies has helped to support their overall mental and physical wellbeing by nurturing the mind, body and soul.

I have a very particular morning routine. Every day at 7am my Shaun the Sheep alarm (because I’m a mature, sophisticated adult) wakes me, and I stumble to the coffee machine. I settle down to enjoy my coffee for 15 minutes, whilst my face falls properly into place and, from my sofa, I quietly and gently pay attention to the needs of my mind, body, and soul.?

I have learned to start my day with a mental health check-in. It’s a habit developed through the support and guidance of the NHS Talking Therapies Service, first as a client experiencing depression, and then, years later, through training as a psychological wellbeing practitioner where I learned cognitive behavioural guided self-help techniques to support others in reaching their own mental health goals. I was taught to understand the connection between my thoughts, how those thoughts make me feel (physically and emotionally) and how those feelings urge me to behave. I learned how they all interact with each other to generate a sense of either wellness or overwhelmedness for me.

I choose to take this space each morning to simply notice the thoughts in my mind, to be aware of the physical feelings and emotions in my body and how those feelings urge me to act through activities and interactions that could potentially lift my spirts and feed my soul. This simple observational habit helps me to decide how I need to look after myself today and every day.

Do I have lots of worries this morning? Are my thoughts self-critical or unhelpful to me in any way? Am I feeling particularly tired, demotivated or anxious? Is how I’m feeling urging me to avoid anything that might help me today?

Through regular practice, I now acknowledge my physical and emotional feelings instead of dismissing them or pushing them away and trust they are looking after me and are my best guide as to how to self-care each day.?I give myself space to respond rather than react, and to engage in activities that provide me with a sense of achievement, connection and enjoyment.

This is how the Talking Therapies Service has taught me to nurture myself: mind, body and soul. It was through compassionate, skilled and non-judgemental cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) that I was taught a new life skill, to pay attention to my mental health needs every day.

CBT is just one of the many types of psychological interventions available at the Talking Therapies Service. If you are on your own mental health journey of discovery, I wish you all the best and encourage you to reach out for guidance and support to help you discover and form your mental wellbeing habits.

More information on accessing the service can be found on the Talking Therapies website: https://www.talkingtherapies.covwarkpt.nhs.uk .