Improving your mental health can sometimes feel challenging, particularly when you are living or working under pressure, navigating change, or going through significant life transitions.
In the lead-up to World Mental Health Day on Saturday 10 October, The Good Mental Health Project is encouraging you to explore what ‘good’ mental health means to you and to identify practical ways of supporting your wellbeing in everyday life.
Through our work, we help individuals discover simple, effective tools that can support positive mental health, including the Five Ways to Wellbeing, an evidence-based framework that promotes five key actions to help build resilience, strengthen wellbeing, and support good mental health. By incorporating these small, practical steps into daily life, people can feel more connected, positive, and better equipped to manage life’s challenges (New Economics Foundation, 2008).
Everyone’s mental health journey is different.
Whether someone is facing challenges themselves, seeking support for the first time, or supporting a loved one, everyone deserves to feel heard, understood and supported.
Why being active matters
Being active is one of the Five Ways to Wellbeing because movement, in all its forms, supports both emotional and physical health while helping us stay connected to ourselves during times of change.
Moving, or consciously choosing stillness, offers a way to respond to stress, emotion, and daily life through the body, not just the mind. This can be especially important when thoughts and feelings feel intense or overwhelming. Moments of movement can also create a sense of routine, grounding, or presence, helping us feel more anchored during periods of uncertainty.
In the context of wellbeing, being active is not about fitness, weight, or achievement; it’s about movement and rest that support physical and emotional health, at a pace that feels safe, manageable, and kind.
Ways we can ‘Be Active’
Physical activity doesn’t have to mean running marathons or training every day at the gym. There are lots of different things you can do to be a bit more active.
Here are a few ideas for how you can get active today:
- Go for a walk at lunchtime or get off the bus one stop earlier
- Walk over to speak to someone at work instead of calling or emailing them
- Have a kick-about in a local park
- Do some stretches first thing in the morning
- Join a local exercise class or find an app or video that you can use at home
- Take the stairs rather than the lift
Remember
Remember…
We all have different capacities at different times. Listening to your body, rather than external pressure about what you should be doing, is an important part of caring for your mental and emotional health.
The Good Mental Health Project is funded by City of York Council Public Health and delivered by York CVS.