Men’s mental health group MENTalk share some of the best ways to prioritise your mental health, during one of the busiest times of the year for plumbers and heating engineers.
Why heating season can be a challenge?
While routines do tend to change with the seasons, which is completely normal, sometimes the increase in workload throughout heating season, combined with the onset of colder and shorter days, can start to have an impact on mental health.
What can you do?
Did you know that it takes at least 21 days to create a habit? This is why starting to think about the ways you can improve your lifestyle and work-life balance now is a great way to prepare for the busy season ahead. Why not try the following ideas:
1.) Make time
While it can be easy to become overworked during the busy heating season, leading to feelings of fatigue and stress, setting aside a couple of hours each day to participate in an enjoyable activity can be really beneficial. Making time to speak to friends, reading a good book, engaging in a hobby or watching a favourite television show are great ways to make time for yourself.
2.) Get back to nature
While it might not seem like it, there is still plenty of sunshine in the colder months. Enjoying the sunlight and fresh air as well as exercising releases the positive hormone, serotonin. It is important to put in extra effort, even in the colder weather, to get your dose of sunshine and try to continue to enjoy time spent outdoors and with others. Being present in the moment and putting your phone away when you are outside and around friends or family is also a great way of really connecting and being truly present with others, which nurtures a person’s wellbeing.
3.) Talk to someone
It may sound cliché but the saying ‘don’t suffer in silence’ could not be truer. Speaking to someone is so important, and it doesn’t matter who you choose to open up to, as long as you make that step. It is a very brave and courageous thing to speak out and you should never feel ashamed for being open about your feelings.
Given the current circumstances, you may not always be able to talk to someone in person, but you can pick up the phone or arrange a video call to catch up. If you have friends working in the same sector, they will likely have experienced something similar themselves and have an understanding of what you are going through.
MENTalk
Never forget that the free to join MENTalk Facebook group is here for you to open up and support each other with mental health issues. To find out more, or to join the MENTalk community, visit Instagram @MENTalkUK and Facebook @WeAreMENTalk, find them on Twitter @TweetMENTalk, or sign up to the latest information on the MENTalk website.
If you need help urgently but are not at risk of death or serious illness, use the NHS 111 number or 111.nhs.uk. If you feel that your life is in danger call 999 in an emergency.