My strategy for managing my mental wellbeing

With Jivan Culshaw, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Psychological Skills Development Service

For World Mental Health Day, we caught up with Jivan Culshaw, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, about tips she uses to manage her own wellbeing.

Whilst the responsibility of wellbeing lies with us, it is also essential to acknowledge that wellbeing lies between people. It has often struck me how much fostering healthy supportive relationships matters and how often this has helped support my wellbeing.?

It was over the pandemic when I shared my wellbeing strategy, the ‘three Ts’, to hang wellbeing information on and I find it helpful to often remind myself of them.

Tuning in

Much like the red colour of a traffic light signal, this is time to stop and consider yourself. Tune into yourself to take stock of how you are. This helps us to attend to those early signs that let us know when we might need to refocus on our wellbeing. This is the first step in what we later do to set an intention to improve our wellbeing.

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Think about what you need

This step creates readiness like the amber of a traffic signal. A good starting point can be thinking about what you need to look after yourself physically first.? When your physical wellbeing has been considered, perhaps space and time is needed, or at other times, quite the opposite like doing things that absorb your attention.? You might want time with trusted others to help you think about what you need, or you may wish to draw your feelings or express yourself in a diary/journal.

Taking action

Green is for ‘go’ and you should do the things you identified will improve your wellbeing.? Acting in response to what we need boosts our self-worth.? It is useful to keep a list of things that you know work for you in advance, as it can be difficult to recall them when we are struggling.?

Of course, the ‘three Ts’ remind me of having a cup of tea, which I savour and associate with calm. I cannot recall where I read this quote, but I am reminded of it when I have rushed my tea: “When drinking tea, just drink tea!”? Cheesy perhaps, but then for those of you who know me, I wear it shamelessly because “you cannot be everyone’s cup of tea” (okay I will stop now!).

These are just tips that I find helpful and encourage staff and patients to think about when managing their own mental health, but they might not be useful for everyone and looking after our mental wellbeing is different for everyone.

If you’re struggling with anxiety or depression, CWPT supports everyone in seeking the mental health resources they deserve. NHS Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull Talking Therapies offer a self-referral programme. Get started online at talkingtherapies.covwarkpt.nhs.uk or call us directly at 024 7667 1090.