What do you do to improve your mental health?

I'm engaging with my mental health rather than brushing it under the carpet by taking a course in Psychology in my fifth decade. Never too late to start!

I also, as do many psychology students, have a questionnaire I'd like invite people to take part in, on nature connection and wellbeing.

It's entirely voluntary, and should take no longer than 15-30 minutes, and open to all those aged 18 years and above.

If you can let me know if or where I may share this? 

I visit a really wonderful pay-as-you-feel café in Waltham Forest called The Gleaners, which also provides a really wonderful sense of community. It helps my mental health a great deal, but the mental health issues are also generated by socio-economic circumstances: London is very expensive and lacking in social housing, for example. A serious deficit in the re-distribution of wealth is present. Also, I won't go into too much details, but I am disabled - I have significant mental health issues that have really precluded me from joining the workforce as much as I'd like. I'd love to be able to talk and interact with other people the way 'neurotypical' people do. As it is, I cannot - so community spaces like The Gleaners help a lot. I sit there and eat an affordable healthy meal and feel like I am not alone, even though on a day-to-day basis, I generally am. But the bottom line is that no community spaces or cafés are going to plug in the more fundamental problem, which has also been discussed here - that socio-economic inequalities and London being so expensive produce mental health issues that nothing else but removing those inequalities and redistributing wealth will fix, in my opinion. 

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I strive to be kind to other Londoners, smile and do at least one good deed everyday. 

I always shout thank you to bus drivers, train staff and service staff as I think its important to recognise the contributions everyone plays to making London a great place to live. London is not the unfriendly place many people state. If you give out negative vibes and energy and always moan, you get that in return 10x over. 

What do you do to improve your own mental health?

Make sure I do some self-care regularly. Activities that bring me joy and help my mind and body recover from the stresses of everyday life need to be scheduled in, otherwise they get pushed aside. 

I spend time wiith friends and family, get out in nature (green and blue), particpate in creative mindfullness activities, sit in slience letting the tension flow through my body and out of my toes into the floor. I used too have a kitchen disco on my own to relax but as I have got older, what helps me has changed. 

What makes you feel connected to others?

Quality social time spent physically with close trusted friends, cultural and arts events, volunteering, some soocial media platforms. 

What do you do to support others in your community?

I am a MHFAider, I run happiness workshops, sleep workshops, facilitate creative workshops and men's heallth and wellbeing and discussion groups. 

I think getting outdoors is key to improving mental health. Having an allotment or access to a community plot is a great way to meet others & support each other. Every borough should have shared spaces for their communities

I walk the dog and pay no attention to the natural, endless stream of thoughts going through my head.  I understand others have their own beliefs and world views and leave them to it. I help others, regularly give to charity.

> What do you do to improve your own mental health?

> What do you do to support others in your community?

I came here trying to improve my mental health by trying to take any action... I am so hopeless about the crime in London and that nobody in power seems to care one bit. They sit in their Ivory Towers in safe spots whilst the majority of Londoners are left to deal with the scourge of mass thefts resulting from impunity of criminals.

Shouldn't there be a discussion here on what the GLA does or does not do to create living environments in London that are less damaging to mental health, less stressful for eg? 

Where I live, the GLA member was also a local councillor, and he 'delivered' a rejuvenation plan for the main shopping street that failed to take account of the impacts on the residential community on and next to that street. No attempts were made to improve what is called residential 'amenity' - the quality of life in the neighbourhood, that had deteriorated as the street got more successful and busy (more deliveries, more commercial waste collections, more air and noise pollution, etc etc). The plan could very easily have included changes that would reduce night time traffic in the side streets, for example, but these were refused point blank when residents asked for it.  

It is very stressful indeed living in busy shopping areas or in the West End, where noise and air pollution are present 24/7. The noise of day and night deliveries and servicing, and other vehicles, can add an unnecessary burden of stress on everyone, but this can be much worse for people with some mental health issues. Everyone needs 8 hours a night of good quality sleep for physical and mental health reasons, but it is high time local and national government recognised that people also need some relatively quiet time during evenings, for relaxation, for other activities. And that children need to play, to do homework, and more sleep than adults need. Yet the quality of the living environment of residents is ignored by councils and the GLA. 

The GLA should take far more seriously residential living environments, the quality of life that is downgraded by noise, air pollution, unsafe streets, lack of access to essential services and affordable shopping. Where I live there are people who can be very badly affected by the eternal round-the-clock noise. 

Humans are designed to work with brain and brawn and are social beings. We forget these things at our peril. For me, cycling on a well maintained, simple bike always works - to get out in fresh air, (once away from traffic fumes). Less weight on knees than walking and a lot easier to incorporate into a day than swimming. Gives me time to think and reflect on what is important in life- people, experiences and not the endless pusuit of yet more stuff. This is not to deny the many problems that exist in the world but we all need to be able to step back and see the bigger picture- which is seldom what is presented by any media, be it social or mainstream!

It would improve my mental health if women could walk around freely and not have to worry about being raped by 3rd world scum! It would also improve my mental health if women could defend themselves with weapons! 

Make London affordable to working people, families and young people. I work full time in a primary school as a support staff; my son( 29yo)works full time in a secondary school as a TA, my daughter (19) in full time education and we can’t find an affordable home to live. Our mental health is at the lowest point. We go to work, always giving our best with a smile and within 15 days we will be living on the streets because every property available, once you put an offer, there is a bidding war. Making renting so expensive. No support available if you work. Working young people are forced to share with 4 or more strangers in order to afford living in the capital. We all are having to pick rent or food. Mental health! Sort the rental market in order to help improve our mental health. 

I think you could really help our mental health by making London affordable. No one should need four flatmates and two jobs just to get by. It would help if immigration, especially illegal immigration was halted. The money spent on this, "DEI," and consultations could build more housing. 

Some visas, like student and global talent attract people who are going to contribute to society. Letting in countless "refugees" doesn't help society. Why did we bother to leave the EU if we were still going to have open borders?

Stop ULEZ, Ban high emissions vehicles straight away. 
Build more alternative road for travel. 
Stop engineering work, if no efficient alternative way. 

physical exercise helps maintain good mental health. We need more exercise opportunities, including safe, pleasant walking and cycling. 

Interacting with other individiuals also help. But lack of civic spaces, such as community squares, halls, etc doesn't help. Locality based shared spaces help interacting with other community members. 

Stressful travelling on buses and trains.  Noise from people shouting on their mobiles in all sorts of languages.  Antisocial behaviour on the streets and roads.  Sometimes people just want a bit of quiet time to think or reflect or read a book.  My mental health can get quickly poor by other people's behaviours and it makes me moody.  Maybe we need some nice relaxing  music on buses and trains instead of tannoys when they speak you cannot understand what they are saying.  Rubbish on trains is also very annoying and graffitti.