First Psychology blog

Learning ways to relax your mind and body is vital to good mental and physical health and wellbeing. While short-term stress is a natural process designed to protect us from harm, longer-term stress can have a negative impact on our mental and physical wellbeing and lead to conditions such as anxiety and depression as well as physical conditions too. Why not have a go at our relaxation quiz and see if you know how to relax.  All the answers to these questions can be found in the  advice and resources section of our website > Relaxation quiz and competition 1. Which of the following is an example of immobile relaxation? A   Sleeping   B   Meditation 2. How do physical relaxation methods work? A   They occupy the mind so that it is temporarily relieved from stressors. B   They tire us out so that we're too tired to think about our worries. 3.  Which of the following is an example of physical relaxation? A   Tai chi ...

Those of the less sporty among us, may have distant memories of being made to run four laps around the school sports field as a warm up before embarking on the sport for the day. It's not surprising then that these memories may have been pushed to the backs of our minds - sport isn't for us and we are glad we no longer have to do it. But wait, are we throwing the baby out with the bath water? Can we learn lessons from sport that are useful in our lives more generally, and if so what are they? While many people struggle to manage pressure in their everyday lives and perhaps fail to achieve their goals as a result of this, elite sports people manage to achieve their goals despite the pressure. So what can we 'steal' from the way top athletes do things that we can use in our own lives? Five lessons we can learn from top sports people 1. Keep motivated if you have one specific goal to achieve, set yourself a range of related goals to keep you motivated along the way...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – but for many of us, it’s also the time when we do lots of things for other people and can easily lose sight of what is good for us and our closest friends and family. As we are pulled in different directions and have many things to do, what is meant to be valuable family time can get railroaded, leaving us feeling stressed and short tempered. So what can we do to avoid Christmas burnout and ensure that we spend quality time with our nearest and dearest over the festive period? Set time aside to share At no other point in the year is a calendar more important than December. There are places to be, things to do and the demands on our time are all encompassing. Make sure that you schedule in quality time with your family. We don’t mean sat in front of the TV (though you can schedule time in for that too!). We really mean being mindful about how you spend your time together. Even in very close families, Christmas will mean different things for e...