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From cats to crafts – your top 10 mental health tips

We asked people with MS to share their top tips for good mental wellbeing this Mental Health Awareness Week. 

MS can be tough to deal with. Whether you have MS yourself or you’re close to someone who does, it can throw a lot at you, often without warning.

Your top tips for positive mental health

Here’s just a snapshot of our Instagrammers’ favourite ways to take care of their mental health. What are yours?

  • Exercise and allowing for good recovery time.

  • A good, long, easy run and then a cosy nap with my cats on my chest.

  • Spending time with my horse, even if it's just sitting with her and relaxing. Her calmness helps to ground me.

  • Reading. I devour personal development books and podcasts. It’s definitely helped me find perspective, inspiration and positivity post-diagnosis.

  • Having a chat really helps me. I find being open about how I’m feeling is a really important part of dealing with my MS.

  • Having a hobby. I love crafts, and when my hands are behaving I love to knit for all my friends that are having babies.

  • Getting out and about with my hubby on our tandem. I get to exercise, enjoy the countryside and usually have a tea and cake stop too! It never fails to make me feel better. It helps me to realise that life is not all bad.

  • Exercise and having rest days.

  • Yoga. As well as bringing (or keeping) some flexibility, and helping with my breathing, it helps so much with my mental health. For a while I can shut out everything around me. It refreshes me mentally and physically. The great thing is there are seated as well as the usual classes. It should be compulsory! It has helped me a great deal.

  • Cranking up the music LOUD to blast me through some exercise always leaves me feeling better. Definitely agree with Amy the showjumper - I haven't got a horse, but our pet rabbits never fail to help to put a smile on my face.

Got any more great mental health tips?

Add your tips to our instagram post