As a health or social care professional, your emotional wellbeing is as important as the wellbeing of the people you care for.

The Mental Health Foundation defines emotional wellbeing as “a positive sense of wellbeing which enables an individual to be able to function in society and meet the demands of everyday life; people in good mental health have the ability to recover effectively from illness, change, or misfortune.”

Part of emotional wellbeing is resilience, which impacts how you react to and approach the challenges you face.

As a health or social care professional, your emotional wellbeing is as important as the wellbeing of the people you care for.

It is easy to get caught up in a cloud of negative thoughts and emotions. There are a variety of ways to break out of this negative cycle, and improve your resilience and emotional wellbeing. The NHS provides a useful guide on 5 steps to mental wellbeing:

1. Connect with other people
2. Be physically active
3. Learn new skills
4. Give to others
5. Pay attention to the present moment (mindfulness)

Mindfulness

We can get consumed in our thoughts without stopping to notice how those thoughts are driving our emotions and behaviour. Mindfulness helps you to be more aware of your thoughts and feelings.

Mindfulness involves paying attention to what is going on inside and outside yourself, moment by moment. Paying attention to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the present moment. An easy way to begin practicing mindfulness is by following a grounding technique:

1. Name 5 things that you can see around you.
2. Focus on 4 things that you can feel.
3. Name three things that you can hear around you.
4. Notice two things that you can smell around you.
5. Focus on one thing that you can taste.

Headspace is a mindfulness and meditation app that has a variety of sessions and courses to help improve your emotional wellbeing. Headspace is free to NHS staff- simply follow the steps here to receive your free subscription.

Take time to care for yourself and download our infographic poster, ‘Simple ways to be more mindful’, or see our SilverCloud CBT Mindfulness self-help guide.