It’s Mental Health Awareness Week (18-24 May) so what better time to take steps to improving your mental health and wellbeing.
Exercise and being active
Stand more, sit less.
Go for a walk and reflect
Aim for 10,000 steps a day
Complete a new challenge
There is a proven link between physical exercise and mental wellbeing. You don’t need to do too much, little and often is perfect.
With some minor adaptations of your usual routine, there are lots of indoor and outdoor activities that can be done at home. There’s a wide wide range of free online resources available for aerobic, strength, conditioning and flexibility workouts that will help you stay fit and feel great.
Take a look at some of our recent fitness session ideas, that are Touch specific too. ⚡️ Cropper Squares and Cone Drills ⚡️ Kangy's ladder drills
Goals setting “A goal keeps you going, so it’s a perfect reason to have one” Don’t plan too far ahead, but do set daily, weekly and monthly targets for yourself and work hard to complete those. It's natural to feel various levels of uncertainty but try to avoid predicting and worrying about the future and instead focus on constructive here and now planning.
⚡️ We are planning to get back on the Touch field as soon as it’s safe to do so, and looking into options for events and tours for 2021 already!
Stay connected
Catch up with a friend, or someone new
If you’re not OK, ask for help #ItsOKToNotBeOK
What did you enjoy in life before lockdown that made you happy in terms of connecting with people? Use video conference technology like Zoom or FaceTime to stay in touch with your friends, family and colleagues. For fun and playful competition, why not set up some quizzes, games or fitness sessions to get involved with, via a video conference call?
⚡️ We run a weekly quiz on a Monday night, just for fun, why not join us? We are also planning some virtual games vs local clubs too... wanna know more? Email is!
Develop yourself
Share and get ideas with others
Learn a new skill or develop those you have
Take part in a webinar/forum/CPD session
Identify something to develop yourself. Use this time to improve an area of you that will help you in your professional and/or personal life.
Perhaps it’s about rediscovering an old hobby, learning a new skill or upskilling your Touch knowledge ahead of getting back on the field?
⚡️ Take a look at how we’re looking to supplement our members and help them upskill at home. ⚡️ There's an excellent online and free referee course that will help gain knowledge of the sport by learning some of the rules. The course includes Basic rules overview and video of referee signals along with video scenarios to watch and answer multiple choice questions, Certainly worth doing... oh, and did we say it's FREE!
Give and be grateful
Rest and recharge
Do something nice for someone else
Smile more, worry less
Say thank you
Writing a list of things you feel grateful for
Studies have shown that when people give willingly, the pleasure center of the brain lights up and releases oxytocin. Performing charitable acts of our choosing causes our bodies to release several different “happiness chemicals”.
Giving is better than receiving when it come life as well as touch, I mean, who doesn’t like to rack up the assists instead of tries, right?! 🤣
Helping out your team mates out will help both of you, as giving support to others has also been linked to lower blood pressure, stress levels and some research suggests altruism is linked to a longer lifespan!
⚡️We are keen to begin a mentoring program for all our members and link them more experienced players to help them increase their skills and knowledge of the game along with feeling integrated from the moment they turn/join up.
If you’re keen to help in this area, please get in touch!
Limit intake of news/social media and screen time
The pace of 21st century life is relentless enough without being mentally plugged in to our smartphone and tablet 24/7, unable to escape from the vicious cycle of breaking news, social media, inane games and the compulsion to react to emails out of office hours.
Your brain can’t switch off if your phone is always switched on.
There's so much news out there but try to rely on one or two reliable sources so you are well informed but not overloaded. Over-reliance on social media or other untrustworthy news sources is not beneficial and can harm us psychologically. You might wish to set yourself a time limit of how much time per day you spend looking at news or social media, especially as you approach bedtime.
⚡️ If you’re going to have your head in your phone/laptop, it may as well be watching Touch! Here's some of our highlights:
Take notice and savour the moment
Notice things around you, as you take a walk instead of whizzing past in your car
Have lunch outside, somewhere new
Take a different route on your way somewhere
Try to see things with ‘new eyes’. Look for beauty in the unexpected.
Get creative and take pictures with a camera! Focus on capturing what’s before you. Use the images to make a collage, screensaver, or a postcard.
Throughout our lives’ many of us will experience times where we find ourselves lost in our own thoughts. We may find that we are so busy making plans, going from task-to-task, going from one place to the next and pushing forward in many different directions that we don’t take time to reflect and take notice of the world around us.
Why is ‘taking notice’ important for our mental health and wellbeing?
Reduces worry, anxiety and depression: Focusing too much on past events and worrying about the future can have a negative impact on our mental health and wellbeing.
Self awareness: Taking Notice is a step towards strengthening and widening our self-awareness.
Promotes Positive Behaviour Change: Research suggests that goals for behaviour change (such as drinking less alcohol, exercising more, learning new skills) need to be aligned with our personal values to be successful.
Stay positive & Surround yourself with Positive people
Whilst games are cancelled there is zero risk of losing a game,
If you have ever taken Touch for granted, you’ll love it even more when we return,
You can finally work on your flexibility, and rest those injuries you keep ignoring,
You can call Touch friends and reminisce about the times you played, the socials, the outrageous reverse flick passes from Harry etc
We all know fully paid-up members of the ‘glass half empty’ brigade. If you surround yourself with emotional drains on a regular basis, they will sap your energy and chip away at your resilience. Seek out, where possible, people with a realistic sense of optimism, who are upbeat and have a positive outlook on life.
Positivity is contagious, and such people will help to bring the best out of you so you are in the right frame of mind to bring the best out of others and spread a bit of happiness.
⚡️ Take a look at how we have been #PassingGoodVibes in our #PassingChallenge
Stay safe everyone!