The links between physical and mental health

Taking care of your mental health when you have a physical health condition or disability – things we found useful:

Distract yourself:

Some days it’s so bad you can’t get out of bed or do anything; your body needs to rest but you can still try and distract your mind. If you’re struggling to read a paper book, try audiobooks, or podcasts (pick something light or engaging, nothing too heavy!). TV works well if you can watch from bed, although my personal favourite has to be exhausting Youtube’s supply of stand-up comedy videos. Laughter is the BEST distraction of all. 

Routines: 

These can be hard if your health is up and down, but try to form constant routines. Aim to take any medication at the same time (it’ll help you remember) or get someone else to help remind you – missing tablets or having overly-long gaps between them can cause dips in health, energy or mood. Having routines like getting dressed (even if you’re not going out) can be crucial to feeling your ‘normal’ self. 

Plan: 

It might seem hard if you don’t know how you’ll be feeling, but if you know when to be careful or rest up you’re more likely to feel able to attend and enjoy a special/favourite event or activity and escape the disappointment of having to cancel. 

Don’t go it alone: 

Find other people in the same situation as you, perhaps through charities or online support groups. It’s important to talk to those close to you, but sometimes it’s easier if you know that the other person completely understands your situation, and doesn’t feel responsible for looking after you. 

Be yourself: 

If your health circumstances change drastically and stop you doing what you normally do, it can feel like your identity has been taken away. Online support groups are great but you should have other friends too; they might not understand your health in the same way (or they might!) but you can still enjoy spending time together. Your disability/illness is not all you are, and you don’t have to live a puritan life full of yoga and 8pm bedtimes (although if you want to, go for it!) – try and hold onto the things that you can still do, and creatively find ways of still doing what you love: 

In my case, I love dancing, but since falling ill I’ve been physically unable to join in with the intense classes I used to do. I love Strictly so one day went to a ballroom class, not realising it was aimed at pensioners. As my physical fitness was not dissimilar to theirs it turned out to be perfect for me, I could dance for the duration of the entire class (with 1 or 2 rest breaks, which I’d warned the teacher I might need – she was fine about it). I kept going to classes, learned lots of new dance styles & made friends with the loveliest people.  

Communication:
This is really generic, I know but if you have a physical health condition it’s even more important to talk about your feelings and seek help when necessary, because any extra stress will drain your energy and slow your recovery or worsen your symptoms. 

Focus on the positives: 

I can sense the eye-rolling from here; if someone had said this to me when I was crying because I was too unwell to go out with my new uni friends, I might have punched them. Some times will be rubbish and all you will feel like doing is crying – that’s okay, but embrace the middling and great times when you can focus on what you DO have and CAN do – a far better use of (precious) energy. I used to do a dozen different sports but never appreciated being outside until my health stopped me going out – now going for walks is one of my favourite things. It might not be what you wish you could do, but you can still do enjoyable things and you’ll probably have much more appreciation for everything, having missed out on them. Insta quotes probably won’t tell you this, but not everyone can do everything – whether it’s your health, or discrimination, or inequality, everyone faces barriers and limits, poor health is just one of those. Sometimes you can go round these obstacles, but often it takes a lot more work, and sometimes all you can do is to work with them. It’s not perfect, it’s not fair, but it means that when you do have a really great day, you’ll learn to really appreciate every second. 

Official support:

There are also many sources of support you can access, as someone with a physical health condition, which can help with your mental health. Even if you don’t think your concerns directly relate to your physical condition, it might be worth trying specialist support services as they *may* have shorter waiting lists (that said, there are generally more services out there which aren’t disability specific). 

There is info on disability-specific counselling and a search tool to find counsellors who cover disability here. 

At university: disability services centres often offer mentoring. This is not counselling, but it can help you deal with the practical and social barriers that might be getting you down. 

Charities dealing with your particular health-condition(s) may offer counselling services; we can’t list all the specific charities here, but a common example is Macmillan who offer counselling services specific to people going through cancer. Many charities also have online forums and in-person or online support groups, where you can find practical or moral support and people with shared experiences, e.g. Action for ME.