There are bound to be times when your support person is not around. Discuss a back-up plan with them for when this happens. People are often grateful to have a dog-walker, and it means you have a daily routine that gives you exercise too. These often offer cheap or free facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts and skating ramps. Gyms can have a range of facilities such as swimming pools and exercise machines as well as groups such as aerobics and Tai Chi.
Some offer lower fees for people with Pension or Health Care Cards. These often have general health services such as dentists, podiatrists, psychologists and access to immunisation.
Neighbourhood houses often run groups that can help you with healthy living including Tai Chi, meditation, Yoga, dance or walking groups. Some also have groups such as healthy eating programs, Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous. If near enough, walk there with a shopping trolley, so you get some exercise and fresh air too. Lyndall is in her forties and was diagnosed with Schizophrenia 13 years ago.
She also needs someone to support her in getting motivated to exercise. Steps she can take include:. If you or someone you know experiences a mental health crisis and becomes highly distressed, it can be difficult for others to know what to do. See In a crisis for advice on how you or others can help. Skip to main content 18 Email us Visit forums Chat to us. Healthy living. Factsheet Guide. Listen to this page. There are lots of ways of being healthy that feel good as well as doing you good.
Benefits of healthy living What you gain by living more healthily includes: feeling better mentally — regular exercise can lift your mood and help you feel better saving money — eating junk food, smoking, and drinking sugary drinks or alcohol are all expensive habits fewer health problems — living a healthier lifestyle means a lower risk of developing many illnesses taking control of your life — getting healthy helps you feel in control of your life.
An important first step is identifying less healthy habits and learning new, positive ones to replace them, such as: eating healthy foods and balanced meals sleeping well and managing stress practicing safe sex, drinking alcohol responsibly and not abusing drugs being physically active staying connected with others being aware of any health risks related to your illness and its treatment, and working with your doctor to monitor these and then take action taking responsibility for your overall health including having regular check-ups for your eyes and teeth.
How to develop positive health habits The key to developing positive habits that you are more likely to keep is to: Start slowly Change just one thing at a time - see the benefits that can come from eating more balanced meals or, exercising more or quitting smoking Make small changes — an achievable change is more likely to become a habit you keep.
Steps you can take include: organise daily activities around side-effects of medication, for example, if you are drowsy in the morning, organise exercise for the afternoon. Tips to help you stay motivated include: schedule regular check ups with your doctor to monitor your progress and for that extra push you may need to keep going. Finding Support There are lots of ways to get the support you need to help stay healthy. How do I get more information? Contact the SANE Help Centre or phone 18 Talk to your local GP — or other medical doctor who understands mental illness — for information, assessment, referral and support.
They can also tell you about any specialist services that can help with specific issues, such as weight management or improving fitness. The facts. Feeling good, feeling healthy The great thing about being healthy is that it helps you feel good as well as doing you good.
It may even mean that your doctor can look at reducing the dose of your antipsychotic medication Saving money Some habits you may want to change - like eating out, smoking or drinking alcohol regularly - are expensive. Fewer health problems A healthier lifestyle means being less at risk of developing illnesses, which start to affect us as we grow older. Developing good habits Just like bad habits, good habits are hard to shake.
Taking control of your life Doing something about getting healthy helps you feel you are taking control of your life. Check out this list of easy healthy things, and see how many you are already doing: eat fresh fruit or vegetables walk to catch public transport visit the dentist for a check up walk up stairs instead of taking the lift get hours of sleep a night eat breakfast regularly have a sugar-free snack instead of a smoke drink glasses of water a day take medication as prescribed by the doctor make a meal instead of buying a take-away take a walk in the park smile, greet or chat to someone steam, boil or bake food instead of frying it use a condom during sex have a regular medical test for example, pap smear, breast screen, cholesterol check put on sunscreen when going out of the house Wear a jacket on a cold day.
Getting healthy. The first steps A lot of what we do is driven by habit. Identifying negative habits For most people, there are certain times when negative habits are more likely to appear. When we feel tired Having a mental illness, and even taking medication, can make people feel tired a lot of the time. Anniversaries It can be tempting to deal with the anniversary of a sad event by doing something unhealthy, like binge-eating or getting drunk. Side-effects of medication Some medications used to treat mental illness can have side-effects such as weight-gain and making people feel drowsy, restless or hungry.
The smoking habit One of the most common harmful habits around is smoking, and people affected by mental illness are much more likely to be cigarette smokers than average. For someone to talk to about ways to give up smoking, ring Quitline on Developing positive habits Here are some tips on developing positive habits to help your healthy, new lifestyle. Build on what you already do Chances are that you already have some healthy habits — recognise and build on these.
Start slowly Rushing into things is not a good way to develop healthy new habits. Look after your body Regular physical health checks by your doctor are an important part of looking after yourself. Danny's story Danny is For example: helping his sister in the garden — digging and weeding to build up his stamina hitting a tennis ball against a wall every afternoon, to get used to handling a racquet again asking at his local recreation centre about cheap or free access to tennis courts, and if there are concession rates for lessons.
Then, write down some new healthy habits you could start to practise to achieve this. Staying healthy. Tips for staying healthy Here are some tips to help you stay motivated to be healthy. Join a group Joining a group where others are trying to reach the same goal can give you the extra push you may need to keep going. Get support Having someone to support you can be a big help in getting started, and can make a real difference to keeping you on track too.
Look after your mental health Remember to keep an eye on your mental as well as physical health. Relaxing matters too Remember that relaxing and not getting stressed are essential parts of being healthy.
There are lots of free and easy ways to stay relaxed, for example: going for a walk meditating deep breathing exercises yoga reading listening to relaxing music. Rewarding yourself Being healthy can change the way you feel about your whole life. Here are some examples of rewards you can give yourself which are enjoyable and cost little or nothing: a long relaxing bath with your favourite music playing in the background organising a simple picnic making yourself comfortable with a new magazine and a cup of tea or hot chocolate dinner with a friend-seeing a movie a walk on the beach-catching up with someone you like.
Overcoming slip-ups There are bound to be times when you feel like giving up and going back to old habits. Learn from your slip-ups Be positive about slip-ups — they can help you in the long run. Kelly's story After her second psychotic episode, Kelly recognised she needed to stop smoking cannabis because it made her symptoms worse. Now that she knows this, she can do things to reduce the chance of it happening again, for instance: planning a de-stress routine in advance — such as breathing exercises or going to bed early with a hot chocolate and a pile of magazines learning not to waste time feeling guilty or blaming herself — but focusing on the future asking her friends not to offer her drugs when she visits.
Stay out of the sun, especially between 10 a. You are not protected if it is cloudy or if you are in the water — harmful rays pass through both. Select sunglasses that block 99 to percent of the sun's rays. Continue reading Maintaining a Healthy Outlook Women today have busy, demanding lives. Steps you can take: Stay in touch with family and friends.
Be involved in your community. Maintain a positive attitude and do things that make you happy. Keep your curiosity alive. Lifelong learning is beneficial to your health. Healthy intimacy takes all forms but is always free of coercion.
Learn to recognize and manage stress in your life. Signs of stress include trouble sleeping, frequent headaches and stomach problems; being angry a lot; and turning to food, drugs and alcohol to relieve stress. Good ways to deal with stress include regular exercise, healthy eating habits and relaxation exercises, such as deep breathing or meditation.
Talking to trusted family members and friends can help a lot. Some women find that interacting with their faith community is helpful in times of stress. Get enough sleep and rest. Adults need around eight hours of sleep a night. Talk to your health care provider if you feel depressed for more than a few days; depression is a treatable illness. Signs of depression include feeling empty and sad, crying a lot, loss of interest in life, and thoughts of death or suicide. But there are a few key elements to keep in mind when trying to maintain your health.
Staying physically healthy is important because it allows us to go to all the places we need to go and do all the things we need to do. Regular exercise is the key to physical health and there are variety of ways to maintain a good shape and stay healthy.
Walking and running are just two of the simplest and most popular way of exercise. But the truth is, just remaining active is enough to make a positive difference in a healthy lifestyle. Good nutrition helps you do all the activities that your body needs to stay healthy and so you must provide it with good fuel.
There are plenty of good resources where you can learn what the right kinds of foods are for a healthy lifestyle.
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