Mental Health Mission: Week 1
Take the time you need to rest and reflect. To practise self-care. To engage in positive self-talk.
Week 1: It’s time to PAUSE
Mindfulness is a useful skill to learn to help you press pause.
It can reduce stress, help you to manage your emotions and improve your sleep.
Mindfulness is about staying in the present moment - noticing what you're thinking, feeling or experiencing, without judgement.
Your first challenge is to practise mindfulness throughout the week.
You can pick one of two mindfulness practices below!
Mission: Breathe
Controlled breathing is great for mental health because it helps us feel calm and focused by slowing down the body and mind.
Follow the Beyond Blue butterfly with your breath.
- Before starting the exercise, take a moment to notice how you feel. Check in with your body and your mind. Are your thoughts racing? Is your body tensed or relaxed?
- Complete your practice. You may notice your mind begins to wander. If you lose focus from the breath (it’s normal, promise!). Acknowledge that you’ve been distracted, and that’s okay! Come back to focus on your breathing.
- Once you've finished, check in with yourself again. Do you feel any different?
Mission: Write
Write a kind letter to yourself. Show yourself compassion and write a letter or a short note to yourself when your inner critic turns up.
This can be great for increasing self awareness, challenging your inner critic with logic and self compassion, and releasing pent up emotions.
Here are some prompts to help you reflect:
- How and when does your inner critic tend to show up?
- How does your inner critic affect your thoughts, feelings and actions?
- How has your inner critic impacted your self-esteem, confidence and overall wellbeing?
Dr. Luke Martin, Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Spokesperson, Beyond Blue
Share this Mental Health Mission with others
Completing the Mental Health Mission with someone else can be motivating. It can be more fun. It can help keep you accountable.
You can also use the Mental Health Mission or our Wellbeing Action Tool template to help guide conversations with people close to you about what works for your wellbeing.
