Your Physical Health

What can I do to look after my physical health?

• Try and eat healthily

  A healthy diet can give us more energy and help us think more clearly. Watching our sugar intake can help us feel less anxious and irritable. Eating healthily doesn’t have to cost a lot. Rethink has some information on eating well on a budget.

• Move your body

  Physical activity can help improve our mood and lower the risk of physical diseases. It doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. We could walk quickly, dance to our favourite tunes or even do some gardening. Rethink has some information on how we can be more active.

• Try and get into good sleep habits

  Sleeping badly can affect our mental health – and our mental health can sometimes make us sleep more or less than we need. Have a look at this information on improving our sleep.

• Cut down or quit smoking

  Lots of us smoke to help us cope with mental illness. Cutting down or quitting smoking is one of the best things we can do for our physical health. Smoking can also change the effects of some antipsychotic drugs. Talk to your doctor about getting help to quit.

• Don’t have too much caffeine.

  Don’t have too much caffeine. We find caffeine in tea, coffee, chocolate and some energy drinks and cold remedies. Although it can be helpful to wake us up in the morning, caffeine can make us anxious and irritable. It can also affect our sleep. Try and keep an eye on how much caffeine you have. Most of us find it helpful to cut down, especially in the late afternoon and evening.

• Cut down on alcohol and / or recreational drugs

  Alcohol and drugs can make us feel good in the short term but they can affect our mental health and sometimes lead to long-term problems. If we have a mental health problem and difficulties with drugs and/or alcohol, we might have a ‘dual diagnosis’.

• Remember health checks and medication reviews

  Visiting health professionals can make some of us nervous. But it’s important to keep up with health checks - especially if we take medication or have a long-term condition like diabetes. We might find it helpful to tell the doctor we are feeling nervous, or take someone with us.

  Find out more about local doctors, dentists and podiatrists (foot doctors) here. Learn more about health checks and looking after your teeth, eyes and feet.

• Find out more about local healthcare