Mark Lyttleton is an experienced angel investor, speaker and business mentor who supports founders of early-stage companies, providing them with both professional and personal advice.
This article will outline the steps required to improve mental wellbeing and resilience, with the embedded PDF exploring the importance of workplace frameworks supporting mental health and outlining the employer’s duty of care to protect the health and wellbeing of all employees.
Five Steps to Improving Mental Health
Evidence shows that, in just five steps, it is possible to dramatically improve mental wellbeing and health.
Stay Connected
Humans are social creatures and need to build and maintain relationships with others for mental wellbeing. Investing in personal relationships helps people to develop their sense of self-worth and belonging, as well as providing a source of emotional support and an opportunity to share positive experiences.
Learn New Skills
Research suggests that learning new skills can be a great way of improving mental wellbeing, providing participants with a new sense of purpose. Learning connects people them others who share their interests, raising their self-esteem and boosting confidence in the process. Mental health issues take a significant toll on UK businesses, as the embedded infographic demonstrates.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness requires participants to live in the moment, concentrating on thoughts, feelings and the body, as well as the world around them. The practice promotes greater enjoyment of life, positively changing the way participants feel about themselves and their lives and improving their ability to cope with challenges.
Give
Studies show that giving and acts of kindness can help to significantly improve mental wellbeing, promoting positive feelings and providing an individual with a sense of self-worth and purpose, as well as helping them to connect with other people.
Giving need not be on a large scale. It could consist of:
- Simple acts of kindness towards others
- Volunteering in the local community
- Thanking someone for a favour or good deed
- Spending time with relatives or friends in need of company or support
- Asking family members, friends or colleagues how they are and really listening to the answer
- Offering to help someone with a work or DIY project
Exercise
Evidence shows that being active is beneficial not only for physical health but also for mental health and wellbeing too. Taking up activities like cycling, dancing and swimming helps stimulate chemical changes in the brain that elevate mood, raising self-esteem and providing participants with a new sense of purpose as they overcome challenges and work towards fitness goals.