Mental Health

Stress, anxiety, and depression threatened to destroy Johnathan’s 15-year teaching career. But a simple change in mindset enabled him to rekindle the love affair with his chosen profession The last day of the spring term in school is normally joyous. January and February are tough going, so Easter is a time for everyone to give

How can we use the night sky to be more present? When it comes to calming down and easing anxiety, a tip I share regularly is to go outside and look up. When I see the bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds, I’m reminded that I’m a tiny speck on a blue marble in

Five cosy games to chill out with in 2021 Traditionally rooted in competitive player-vs-player or player-vs-computer design, video games are broadening their horizons. A rise in relaxing, uncompetitive games is bringing about new ways to enjoy playing, and they’re perfect for people looking for a break from the pressure that gaming (and life!) often demands.

Award winning poet Hollie McNish joins Happiful’s podcast ahead of her appearance at Hay Festival, and to mark the arrival of her brilliant new book – Slug and Other Things I’ve been Told to Hate Hollie McNish is brilliantly funny, intelligent and relatable. She’s a remarkable poet with a lot to say about life and

10 innovative green social prescribing projects are connecting more than 7,500 people through nature, in a bid to improve health and wellbeing with the power of the natural world Thriving Communities Fund, a new national support programme for voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups, is funding the projects that aim to help communities in

Do you need a breather? Take time to go offline and connect with nature this week. Your mental health will feel better for it Over the last year, many of us have come to rely on our gardens and local green spaces more than ever. After periods of social restrictions, we’ve rediscovered the importance of

Have you ever felt like something was on your skin, but looked down to see nothing there? For those with tactile hallucinations, this is a regular, and often disturbing, occurrence, but there are coping strategies to help you through it It’s 1am, I’m laying in bed, and I can feel something crawling over my skin.

New data suggests an increase in NHS workers who are struggling with their mental health and that many are planning to quit the profession post-pandemic Two studies published in the last week paint a sad picture of the realities of being an NHS worker throughout the pandemic. In case you missed it, we’ll explore the

It’s time to let go of diet culture, embrace self-acceptance and nurture your relationship with food When I was younger, I devoured any magazine article about diets promising to make me smaller. I learnt which celebrities followed the Atkins diet and how, if I ate like them, I could get the same results. I didn’t

The Covid-19 pandemic is taking its toll on our mental health, with the ONS reporting that rates of depression have doubled It’s been an incredibly tough year, with many of us facing challenges we had never conceived that we would face. It’s no wonder that our mental health would be affected by this experience, but

Our Happiful family of experts answer your questions to help you get a restful night Q: Whenever I try to sleep, I can’t stop worrying about the next day – stressful conversations, mounting to-do lists. What can I do to stop these intrusive thoughts? A: Often worries that keep us from sleeping are those that

The pandemic has put a microscope on all aspects of how we live, and our home lives have become more intensified than ever before. Here, Zoe Mallett, ICF-accredited life coach, shows us how to reset the energy between you and your partner after spending the strangest year of your life living together It’s not healthy

In times where either body or mind is put under stress, yoga can be a very powerful tool for resilience and healing – pregnancy is one of those times. Here, senior yoga teacher Louisa Craig explores why, and offers guidance on poses for pregnancy According to research, practising yoga during pregnancy can have a positive

Eight mothers on a mission to stamp out stigma and put maternal mental health and emotional wellbeing at the front of everything they do Sometimes, when it comes to knowing you’re doing a good job (you’re doing an amazing one btw!), learning to honour your post-body baby, feeling all the feels and accepting when things

The gradual return to normal life once the pandemic is under control could bring its own set of mental health issues Over the coming months, as the government aims to gradually ease lockdown restrictions across the UK, many of us will find our daily lives changing once again. Restaurants and pubs will be able to

TEDxNHS Unlocked speaker and accidental influencer Rachel Williams joins Happiful’s podcast to talk about being enough, mental health conversations within the Black community and how TikTok has brought her a huge amount of joy Rachel Williams has recently shared her experiences of mental health during a talk as part of TEDxNHS Unlocked and she’s ready

A shocking diagnosis of type 1 diabetes brought Kimberley close to breaking point – until she drew inspiration from the love and compassion of her friends and family “The results from your blood test are back. I’m sorry to tell you over the phone, but you’ve got diabetes, and you need to get yourself to

The latest World Happiness Report has revealed the top 10 happiest countries across the globe. But what makes them so cheerful – and how can you learn from their lifestyle to boost your mood? It may feel like there’s been little to be happy about in the past year, but the World Happiness Report (WHR)

From DIY weighted blankets to things to fidget with, we’ve rounded up seven household items that can be repurposed to help soothe anxiety According to wellnesscreatives.com, in the UK the health and wellness industry is worth a staggering £23 billion – with the global wellness market valued at an inconceivable $4.75 trillion. When it comes

Plants that offer mental health benefits, and how to nurture them Nature is abundant with wellbeing remedies, and you don’t have to be a master herbalist to benefit from them. The act of caring for plants is, in itself, a supportive, mindful experience – helping us to soothe stress and refocus our minds. But there

Instagram has joined forces with Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to launch a series of interviews with familiar faces to get more men talking about their bodies ‘CALM Body Talks’ – which kicks off this morning on CALM’s Instagram feed – is in response to new research revealed today that over half (58%) of men

During the pandemic, some have found it difficult to access remote mental health support, with one in four saying it’s made them feel worse When Covid hit, everything changed. For a lot of us, this included our mental health. Whether you were already undergoing treatment or found you needed it during the pandemic, the usual

A new study found that 23% of women and people with gynae organs have felt ‘not listened to’ during medical appointments about their reproductive health. We explore why this is, and ask a GP for their advice on being heard Many of us will understand the importance of taking our reproductive health seriously – and

Spot the signs before fatigue spirals into something more serious Burnout. It’s a term we’ve started to hear a lot more recently, as we’ve begun to open up the conversation on workplace wellbeing, and the importance of finding balance in our lives. First coined in the 1970s by psychologist Herbert Freudenberger, burnout is a mental

Ecological medicine doctor Dr Jenny Goodman shares tips for coping with hayfever, and explores why you might be suffering from hayfever now – even if you never have before Hayfever is one of many modern epidemics, or what I call ‘21st-century plagues’ – it was rare or unknown before the Industrial Revolution. Its spread is

Award-winning mental health campaigner Jonny Benjamin MBE, and writer, literary consultant, and editor Britt Pflüger have teamed up once again to produce an inspiring and uplifting book about something we all need right now: hope Now, more than ever, we could all do with a little hope. And to answer that call, the duo behind

End Youth Homelessness launches the new Health Fund, supported by The Body Shop, to address the growing demand for mental health support amongst homeless young people Over past year and a half, the arrival of the pandemic has thrown up a number of huge societal issues including an increase in young people who find themselves

After a year in and out of lockdown (spent mostly sterilising and keeping our hands clean), now’s the time to get your hands dirty Over the last year, many of us have come to rely on our gardens and local green spaces more than ever. After periods of social restrictions, we’ve rediscovered the importance of