Boost your mental health with distillery

With Mental Health Awareness Month celebrated throughout May, it’s a good time to talk about what we can all do to bolster our well-being in the workplace.

We spoke with Nina Stephenson-Camps, who has spent nearly 20 years in the digital marketing and communications industry. Nina’s worked with clients including Nestle, P&G, GSK, Diageo and Ford. And, she now coaches creatives and other professionals on how to manage the challenges they face, using a series of mindfulness audio meditation practices available on her website. 

“It’s a subject that’s close to my heart, having experienced a mental health crisis at work around 15 years ago,” Nina says. “Looking back it’s quite interesting. I was at the pinnacle of my career and, on paper, I had everything I thought I ever wanted. But actually, it was horrendous and I felt deeply dissatisfied.

“That’s when I really started to explore the tools that are out there and I realised that the challenges I faced were partly of my own making. By learning to develop healthier techniques to navigate my life more consciously, I began to use them in challenging situations to bring my best self to the table and protect my wellbeing.”

Below, Nina shares five top tips you can draw upon to feel how you want to feel in any situation - whether that’s boosting creativity, dealing with stress, or improving your interpersonal skills.

1) Find your focus by anchoring yourself to your breath

We have this idea of meditation being something you have to sit down cross-legged to do, chanting a mantra. But the reality is that we can access the benefits it offers at any time.

One of the most fundamental practices that I’ve learned over the years is to simply rest with my breathing. By focusing on the breath as it enters and leaves the body, we anchor ourselves to the present moment. That can be truly transformative, clearing the mind of its constant stream of thoughts and offering clarity and tranquillity.

2) Change your perspective through self-awareness

Being present in the moment allows us to challenge the narratives that we all share as human beings. When we have that moment where we tell ourselves, ‘I'm not capable of doing this,’ or ‘I don’t have the energy to complete this task,’ we can stop and question that belief. 

And, by interrogating our beliefs further, we can often make positive changes to this narrative, reminding ourselves that we are capable and that we can achieve whatever we set our minds to. This can bring immediate, noticeable benefits to the situation at hand.

3) Boost your creativity by allowing yourself some mental space

We live in a world where our minds are constantly focused on doing. But creativity often comes from the space between thoughts and actions. Allowing yourself the time to have nothing to focus on can have huge benefits in terms of creativity.

When you’re experiencing a creative block, even taking a few minutes to lie on a bed and allowing your thoughts to wander - observing them as they pass rather than becoming entangled in them - can often shake loose a solution.

4) Improve your interactions at home and at work

People respond to the attitude you adopt. If you project a defensive demeanour, for example, most people are likely to respond in kind. By increasing our awareness of how we’re feeling - emotionally, physically, and psychologically - we can tailor our interactions to receive a more positive response. 

Take the time to pause before you react to a situation. Question where this reaction is coming from and how it may be perceived. The more often you practise this self-awareness, the easier it will become to spot your patterns of behaviour and nudge your response in the right direction.

One practical way to achieve this is by setting regular alarms throughout the day. Allow yourself a few moments to check in with yourself to get a sense of your thoughts, feelings, and emotions at any given moment.

5) Be open-minded to the possibilities of change

Often in life, it’s the people who’ve faced the hardest challenges that seek out relief. They’ve usually tried so many other things that haven’t worked that they’re willing to give anything a go. 

Many people reading this may understandably be cynical about the benefits such simple practices can bring. And we can all probably relate to that feeling of ‘my mind’s just too busy for this to work.’ But you’re not alone in that feeling. It’s so common for our minds to race at a million miles an hour and feel like they’re never going to slow down. 

While these exercises can undoubtedly bring immediate benefits, as with all things, practice will bring even more noticeable improvements, so long as you are open-minded to the idea that change is possible.

For more information and to access free mindfulness tools, visit Nina’s website.

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