Text by Charlie K.

Mental health used to be a tough topic to discuss with each other a few decades ago, even with your closest friends or partner. Fortunately, we live in an age now where we are starting to feel more comfortable reaching out and normalising mental health. Not only has this improved people’s mental health, as speaking to each other can be a part of our healing, it also creates a space where people learn how to support one another better.

Also, the rise of popularity in mindfulness online has affected a lot of people very positively. It has been scientifically proven that your prefrontal cortex grows in size when you practise mindfulness regularly, which helps you with controlling emotions, planning and attention on a long-term basis. Isn’t that cool?

Over the past year, I have been trying to do daily mindfulness exercises to improve my mental health. I have noticed that ever since I have started to get into the habit of it, it has been hard to imagine myself without it. It has improved my general mood, the way I see situations and deal with my emotions. Sure, it was difficult to start out with, and I definitely rolled my eyes when my therapist told me mindfulness was going to improve my mood. But I am so glad that I pushed through with it!

Something that can be tough when you start practising mindfulness, is finding the exercises that work for you. Some people prefer visual exercises, whilst others do better with breathing exercises or body scans. To help you get started, here are a few of my favourite mindfulness exercises:

• Observe & describe: pay attention to your surroundings and describe the items, space, people, or sounds surrounding you. Do not judge, involve your emotions or get onto a train of thoughts, and try to focus on just describing what you see;

• Alphabet game: Write down the alphabet vertically on a piece of paper. Then pick a theme. It could be animals, cities, items you can find in your room, even cuss words to spice it up! Set a timer for 2 minutes and try to make words for each letter. While you do the exercise, try to focus solely on the words and the act of writing down the words;

• Body scan: Close your eyes and focus on your body sensations. What are you feeling? Is something hurting? Where are you in contact with the ground? Do you feel warm or cold? How do your clothes feel on your skin?

Whether you are trying to get into mindfulness, or not sure about the whole concept, I challenge you this: try to do a mindfulness exercise for 2 minutes a day for 2 weeks. You will thank me later.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please call 116 123 (Samaritans) or 0800 073 0006 (UK Crisis Helpline).