Written by Ezra Hewing, Head of Mental Health Education, Suffolk Mind
Attention is an important emotional need. Sometimes people who are obviously in need of attention are dismissed as needy attention seekers, but this is unhelpful and doesn’t support their emotional health and mental wellbeing. We all need attention and we could help each other in healthier ways by exchanging positive attention. Read more…
As Jon Neal, the Chief Executive of Suffolk Mind gets ready for RED January 2019, he reflects on his experience last year.
When I first heard about RED January I thought it sounded like an interesting way to raise money for Suffolk Mind through a bit of sponsorship activity.
I hadn’t taken part in any meaningful physical activity (running around after my kids aside) since playing badminton in my early thirties…occasionally. And before then, not since doing PE at school…which I dropped in my options aged 14.
So I wasn’t exactly the fittest person around. Read more…
Written by Ezra Hewing, Head of Mental Health Education, Suffolk Mind
How much moving do I need to do?
So you’ve got into a good routine over the summer months, perhaps going to the gym in the evenings or leaving the car at home and walking to work if you live nearby. But as the nights draw in over the winter months, the sofa looks ever more tempting when you get in from work and staying under the duvet seems a far better option than getting up to go for a morning run.
Written by Ezra Hewing, Head of Mental Health Education, Suffolk Mind
Time for you in a demanding world
The need for privacy is about having time just for you. As important as it is to be connected up to other people, close friends and loved ones, as well as the wider community, we also need to unplug and have downtime.
All of us need time out to reflect and process and the challenges we face in our day to day lives – which can be especially difficult in a demanding world.
Written by Ezra Hewing, Head of Mental Health Education, Suffolk Mind
Staying well – we know we need the right diet and regular exercise. But the need for meaning and purpose is essential too.
The need for meaning and purpose
It may be hard for parents to believe sometimes, but boredom in a small child was not put there by nature to annoy us. Boredom is nature’s way of pushing a child to learn, to be stretched and challenged in ways which give them a sense that they are growing. And, when they are growing, they are mastering the skills and knowledge which will enable them to cope when life sends challenges their way. And our need for meaning and purpose continues beyond childhood to form the warp and weft of our lives. Read more…
Written by Ezra Hewing, Head of Mental Health Education, Suffolk Mind
Staying well – we know we need the right diet and regular exercise. But the need to feel safe is essential too and connected with our survival. How can we calm down when anxiety is triggers?
Written by Ezra Hewing, Head of Mental Health Education, Suffolk Mind
Staying well – we know we need the right diet and regular exercise. And we know we need the right dose of sleep. But why are so many of us struggling to get it? And what can we do about it?
Written by Ezra Hewing, Head of Mental Health Education, Suffolk Mind
Are you feeling like you need more of a challenge in life? Do you have personal goals and aspirations which really get you motivated to do more? Is there a skill or a talent that you’ve always to nurture and develop? This is what your emotional need for achievement is all about.
Written By Ezra Hewing, Head of Mental Health Education, Suffolk Mind
Each month at Suffolk Mind and our wellbeing centre, Quay Place in Ipswich, we focus on an emotional or physical need. Just as we have physical needs for food, drink, sleep and movement, we have emotional needs too which need to be met for us to stay well. The month of March is all about Respect.
It feels great when we are valued by the people around us, but meeting the need to feel respected is about more than lifting our mood. When people show us genuine respect, it tells us something important about ourselves and how we fit into the world around us. When we don’t feel that we are respected it can have a negative effect on our self-esteem. But giving and receiving real respect is about more than platitudes – so how do we tell the difference?
Written by Ezra Hewing, Head of Mental Health Education, Suffolk Mind.
Each month, at Quay Place & Suffolk Mind, we focus on an emotional or physical need which supports emotional wellbeing. This month it’s the need for emotional connection.
THE need for emotional connection means having a relationship where we feel accepted by another person, in a way which lets us be ourselves without fear of being judged. We might describe this as being accepted ‘warts and all’ for who we are.
