This week, I thought that I would give parenting a miss and talk about your mental health. I suppose that they are related because if you are in a state of mental ill health, parenting can become difficult. Life throws so much at us all nowadays, inflation, juggling your family and work, paying bills etc. It is amazing really that we aren't all suffering from some sort of mental ill health.

Try to remember that there is a difference between feeling a bit fed up and being depressed, being worried and suffering from anxiety. Depression and anxiety need medical help but, being fed up and worried, you are almost able to self medicate just by looking after yourselves. It is a fact that a good diet with fresh food, drinking plenty of water, exercise and fresh air can make you feel better about yourself which in turn can lift your mood. Maybe it's time to start thinking about yourselves a bit more and prevent your negative feelings from becoming a mental health problem. The alarming thing is that 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives - if that is you, there is a lot of support out there. On the flip side of the coin, 3 out of 4 of us won't but could start to feel a bit bored, sick, sad, isolated, fed up, worried, withdrawn or weary - self help is definitely the way to pull yourself out of it. Phone a friend, take a walk, go for a coffee, read a book, put the radio on and sing at the top of your voice, do some gardening, visit a charity shop, anything that makes you feel better about yourself and gives you the strength to carry on!

Our thought of the week is:

No matter how you feel: get up, dress up, show up and never give up.