Alex's Answer

Hi there and welcome to Ask Alex. 

Thanks for reaching out with your question, it’s something that we think about a lot! So you’re asking about ways to improve our mental health, right?  This is something that we feel we can all practice a little bit more in our lives. 

One of the ways to improve our mental health is learning what our stressors are and being able to identify when we are feeling stressed or overwhelmed about something.  Stressors can be anything like school exams or homework, arguments with family or friends, etc.  Signs we are stressed can often be a change in our mood, not sleeping well, feeling tired or unmotivated.  When we can identify these, we can make sure to practice self-care, to help us cope.  You can find lots of helpful information on the Childline website, such as this article on practicing self care www.childline.ie/5-ways-to-practice-self-care-every-week/ or this one with tips on improving your day www.childline.ie/7-simple-things-you-can-do-to-improve-your-day/. 

Keeping well, can also have a positive impact on our mental health.  Making sure you get enough sleep, eat a balanced diet and get some fresh air and exercise all go towards promoting positive mental health.  You can get some advice here, on how to improve your sleep www.childline.ie/8-quick-tips-to-help-you-get-better-quality-sleep/.

Connecting with others is also a good way of improving mental health.  Spending time with friends or family and sharing what’s going on for us, can be a really positive thing to do.  

We understand that sometimes it can be difficult to open up to someone and if you ever experience this, you can contact us here at Childline. We offer a non-judgemental and confidential listening service, 24/7, and we like to listen to whatever it is going on for you.  You can contact us by phone on 1800 66 66 66 or through Live Chat at www.childline.ie/. 

We hope that you find this helpful. Remember we are here for you anytime, for any reason.

Bye for now,

Alex