You might have heard of the saying 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away', but what are we doing each day to look after our mental health?
Studies have shown that people who do certain activities regularly tend to have better mental health than those who don’t do these things. MindSpot has been conducting research to identify the five types of activities we can do daily to improve and maintain our psychological health. This research has proven that doing these activities regularly can help us to thrive, and bounce back from challenges that come our way.
The Big Five are five groups of activities that cover a range of actions we can include in our routines.
The Big Five self-assessment sheet can help us be more mindful and aware of how often we're including these activities into our routines. It also includes suggestions and examples as ideas we can use to do these activities more frequently.
The development of an early version of The Big Five was partly funded by the Mental Wheels Foundation. We thank the Mental Wheels Foundation team for their generous support.
We recommend you consult with your GP, who can discuss local support or treatment options with you. They can prepare a Mental Health Care Plan, which will enable you to access treatment services with a psychologist or psychiatrist through Medicare, or a referral to local Community Mental Health Services. Your GP can also provide a physical check-up, if you haven’t had one recently. Your physical health can affect your emotional wellbeing.
If you don’t have one already, you can find a GP in your local area at Beyond Blue.
Another option is online treatment. MindSpot offers free online and telephone delivered treatments which help people manage their symptoms stress, anxiety, low mood and depression.