Stress – It’s Not All In Your Head

Stress – It’s Not All In Your Head

Everyone gets stressed! This is something we hear all too often at Melp Co -usually as a way to dismiss very valid feelings. To some extent it’s true - we all experience stress at some point in our lives, but it can affect all of us in very different ways. Most of the time it doesn't look like the TV vision of stress. There’s no tearing your hair out and shouting. Instead, stress can affect you in all sorts of strange ways that you might not think are stress-related at all. Since the only way to deal with the symptoms is to address the underlying stress, it's important to understand what physical issues you're experiencing could be caused by stress.

Gambling And Mental Health

Gambling And Mental Health

Gambling. For most, an occasional fun treat, or even a weekly ritual with their family. Who hasn’t enjoyed a flutter on the lottery when the jackpot’s high, or tried their luck on a scratch card? But for some people, dipping their toe into the water isn’t enough. For them, gambling quickly becomes an addiction, and one that can have a huge impact on their mental health.

Why Aren’t We Talking About Children’s Mental Health?

Why Aren’t We Talking About Children’s Mental Health?

Whenever the topic of children’s mental health comes up, it’s often an awkward turn in the conversation. It’s an uncomfortable topic, and not something most people really want to think about. Especially if the conversation is about younger children. Somehow, we’re all aware that older children and teenagers experience mental health problems, but we choose to believe that younger children don’t experience the same things. Despite the fact that 1 in 6 young peoplestarting from aged 5 up to age 16 will experience mental health problems, and that prior to Covid-19, suicide was one of the leading causes of death for young people age 10 to 19 years old.

Is There A Link Between Chronic Pain And Mental Health

Is There A Link Between Chronic Pain And Mental Health

This might sound a little strange, but often pain can be a good thing. It’s your body’s way of telling you to stop what you’re doing and check for damage, because something isn’t working the way it should. It prevents you from making injuries worse, and signals that you need help to recover.

Making Mental Health Accessible

Making Mental Health Accessible

In past years, we would have started this kind of article with ‘if you know someone who struggles with mental health problems.’. but in 2023, there’s no need to say ‘if’. We know that either you or someone very close to you has experienced mental health problems at some point. Since the 2020 pandemic poor mental health has been on the rise, and now 1 in 8 people worldwide live with a diagnosed mental health condition, and 1 in 4 will experience one even if they don’t have a formal diagnosis.

Suicide Awareness – What To Say To A Loved One In Crisis

Suicide Awareness – What To Say To A Loved One In Crisis

Suicide is always a difficult topic to discuss. Even when the conversations around mental health and support are opening up, suicide and suicidal thoughts still make a lot of people uncomfortable. But it's a conversation that is absolutely vital to have, especially if someone you know is struggling. Many people we speak to tell us they wouldn't know what to say if someone disclosed suicidal feelings to them, or what kind of support to offer. On top of that, many revealed that they wouldn't recognise the signs if someone was feeling suicidal, so wouldn't feel able to offer support. But with suicide rates on the rise, especially in young people, it's never been more important for you to know the signs, and know what to say to someone in mental health crisis.

Men’s Mental Health Challenges (And What To Do About Them)

Men’s Mental Health Challenges (And What To Do About Them)

Mental health. It’s something that’s talked about a lot nowadays, in stark contrast to even 5 years ago, when it wasn’t discussed at all. Now you can open up any social media or news app and be greeted with affirmations like ‘it’s OK not to be OK’ and ‘ask for support if you need it’. Which is great!

Disordered Eating & Eating Disorders

Disordered Eating & Eating Disorders

Food is essential to life. It’s our fuel, the thing that keeps us going and ensures our body can still function perfectly. But what happens when our relationship with food starts to break down, and we restrict our access to the fuel we need to keep going?

Failure

Failure

Answer this question as honestly as you can. When was the last time you failed at something?

Tips For Managing Work Stress

Tips For Managing Work Stress

For many people, work is a great source of stress in their lives, and if not managed properly that can have a big impact. So we have a few tips to help you manage work stress and have a much calmer, happier time.

Sleep Problems and Insomnia

Sleep Problems and Insomnia

As human beings, we need to sleep. The amount of sleep we need varies depending on our age and our general metabolism, but generally the average adult needs between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night. If you’re constantly feeling tired during the day, then you’re probably not getting enough sleep.

Preparing For The Excess Of The Party Season

Preparing For The Excess Of The Party Season

Whether you eat too much, drink too much, or don’t prep enough, the holiday season can be really tough on your body and mind. Not only do our stress levels go through the roof, but there is an expectation of excess around Christmas and New Year's that some people find difficult. Whether that’s because you’re recovering from an addiction, you have a difficult relationship with food, or you struggle to manage with less sleep, the excess can catch up with you very quickly. So as we move into the festive season, we wanted to highlight some of the issues that can come up, and how to navigate them.

Emotions

Emotions

Everyone feels emotions. Happiness, sadness, excitement, fear, nervousness – these are all emotions that tell us something about what’s going on, either in our body, our mind, or in the world around us. But while emotions are normal, they are something we have to learn how to interpret, understand and manage. A lot of this work is done in childhood, but even as adults we can come across new feelings and emotions, or feel overwhelmed by the emotions inside us, and this can be really difficult to navigate. And this is where you might need a little support.

Good Habits For Well-being

Good Habits For Well-being

At Melp, we are passionate about the prevention of mental health illnesses. And good well-being habits underpin the prevention process.

Is Goal Setting Good For Your Mental Health?

Is Goal Setting Good For Your Mental Health?

When it comes to setting goals and making resolutions, we’ve all fallen into the trap before. We set a big, ethereal goal with no real idea of how to achieve it, and then we feel depressed when we don’t manage it. It’s one of the reasons New Year’s Resolutions are considered bad for your mental health by some. But instead of setting a resolution, why not look at setting yourself some goals instead? It might sound similar but setting yourself a goal can be incredibly beneficial for your mental health.

Motivation

Motivation

Frankly, you’re not human if you haven’t experienced a lack of motivation at some point in your life! Every time you’ve sat on the sofa and thought ‘I need to do X’, but not been able to summon up the energy to go and do it? Or even the ability to care about if it gets done? That’s a lack of motivation.

Friendship And Mental Health

Friendship And Mental Health

Human beings are social beings. Having good friends and friendships groups is certainly important for our mental health, for a sense of belonging and for socialisation.

Coping with change

Coping with change

There are many different types of change. We are faced with having to change and adapt all of the time. Small changes can be easy to cope with, however, big transitions can be a lot harder.

Understanding Addiction

Understanding Addiction

Did you know that 1 in 3 people in the world have an addiction of some kind? It sounds scary, but it’s very, very true. Some of those addictions might not be too severe, or we may have been conditioned to see them as more socially acceptable – like smoking or drinking alcohol. But they are still addictions, and they can cause a lot of issues for you in terms of your physical health, mental wellbeing, work and relationships. So today we’re lifting the lid on addiction, asking you to do some reflection and help you understand the world of addiction a little better.

Mental Health Around The Holidays

Mental Health Around The Holidays

Christmas is coming. And while for some the season brings festive cheer, laughter and happiness, for others it can be a real struggle. Christmas is a challenging time for a lot of people, for a lot of different reasons. They could have lost someone around this time of year. They could have a bad or strained relationship with their family, and seeing them all at Christmas causes a lot of stress. They could be struggling with a mental illness like depression or SAD, which makes the holidays a tough thing to get through. They could struggle with anxiety, which makes the pressure of cooking and baking, hosting, gift-giving and socialising difficult to manage. Or they may have no one to share the happy days with, feeling lonely. Whatever the reason, Christmas isn’t always a time for joy.