Hello my lovelies!! Happy Saturday and I hope you have a happy bank holiday weekend! So, as you may be aware, this week is mental health awareness week, and each year we have a different theme, and this years theme is kindness. Pretty fitting for the year we’re having isn’t it?!
If you’ve been with me and my blog for a long time, you’ll know that I’ve had my fair share of mental health challenges in my time and I’m very open about them. I’ve got a diagnosis of anxiety, depression, ocd and I’m in recovery from anorexia. That being said, I’m very happy to let you know that I am in a very good place with my mental wellbeing.
Part of the reason why I’m in a good place with my mental health is because I’ve had cbt (cognitive behavioural therapy) in the past, I’ve also had support from eating disorder services, I use mental health apps and selfcare to manage my mental health and of course I have my family and friends who support me!
One of the apps I have been using is called Pocketcoach, and this week I’ve done a little review of it for you!
First impression?
I love that the app works a bit like a text message conversation, once you’ve had your first text chat, you can go on to choose different courses that you can do in your own time that can help with your mental wellbeing. I found it super easy to use and I like how it uses emojis and gifs in the conversation, it makes it feel like you’re chatting to a friend!
What do I like about it? What does it offer?
I like how you can create an account to save your information, so you can log on to use the app on different devices and follow on from where you left off.
Once you’ve had a conversation with Pocketcoach you can then go on to choose a course that you’d like to go through, since it’s #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek I decided to go with Self-Kindness since this years theme for mental health awareness week is kindness. And I think we could all be a lot kinder to ourselves, especially in times of stress.
On the course for Self-Kindness I found that I liked how easy it was to follow along since it’s all in a chat format, so you can scroll back to the start of the conversation to re-read anything if you need to. Another thing I like is how you get given options to have some parts of the course through videos or text, the choice is yours; which is great if you’re using the app on the go and can’t use sound for the video, because you can still get the help through text.
If the courses aren’t your kind of thing you can check out all of the different exercises they have. They’ve got exercises for a range of challenges, for mindfulness, meditation, sleep and lots more. I’ve personally found their ‘guide to falling asleep’ very helpful on those nights where I’ve struggled to get to sleep because of worries and stress.
Did I like it, and will I continue using it?
Yes! I’m going to continue to use Pocketcoach when I’m stressed in the future, and even when I’m not because I found the guided exercises very helpful for taking a few minutes to slow down and focus on myself. Having something you can click onto to have a chat with is great for those times when you want to check in with how you’re feeling.
Here’s some more screenshots of the exercises you can find in the app!
So, what else have I been doing for selfcare over the last week or two?
Well.. I’ve been spending plenty of time drawing and painting and going on lots of walks to manage my mental health. I’m incredibly lucky that I have a beautiful walkway near the back of my house which is full of trees and flowers and lovely greenery which never fails to lift my spirits if I’m feeling low and always helps me relax and get a clear headspace.
Something I’ve been doing over the last week is writing letters with positive messages and hiding them in the walkway I love to go down for people to find signed with the alias #TheWorryNotWalker! After all, who doesn’t love a treasure hunt or finding a letter with a wax seal?! It’s like recieving your Hogwarts letter with kind messages inside!
Here’s a few photos from the walkway!
And that’s what I’ve been up to over the last week and a bit! Have you tried any mental health apps before? Are there any you’d like me to review?
I love being able to bring a smile to people’s faces through small acts of kindness and I can only do this because I’m being kind to myself through making time for selfcare and selflove.
So, with all that said and done, remember to be kind to yourself, and know that reaching out for support is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength!
I’ll leave you with these wise words from an utterly fabulous queen:
“If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?”
– Rupaul
Have a great weekend my lovelies! Stay safe and make some time for yourself today!
Love,
The Weight Of My Worlds 