Wellbeing coach Sharon Kinder has published a new book to help people manage their mental health.
Sharon, of Fenay Bridge, has worked as a professional in HR for over 25 years, specialising in inclusion and wellbeing. She now works with a number of corporate clients in the UK and internationally.
Her new book ‘The Wellness Journal’ blends words of advice on different topics around mental health, with a notebook space for readers to reflect.
Sharon, who lives with her son and two labradoodles, has drawn upon her own experiences to offer support to her readers on how to care for their wellbeing.
The book is laced with room for readers to write notes – a logbook where she encourages them to answer certain questions, complete various exercises and reflect on what is going on in their lives and minds.
She asks readers to identify their network of people and think about why each of them are on the list. She offers a ‘stress container’ exercise where she asks readers to identify the ‘stressors’ in their life and their coping strategies, including unhelpful ones.
Sharon also identifies different behaviours when someone is grieving and encourages readers to jot down which ones they recognise.
The journal includes a section on self-care and Sharon has created a schedule for readers to fill in what they’ll do to look after themselves.
Sharon said: “The way I was brought up, we never discussed wellbeing, mental health or other words associated with our emotions.
“I was always told just to ‘get on with it’, ‘there is always someone worse than you’, ‘tomorrow is another day’, ‘what have you got to be sad about?’
“We know that we don’t learn about this stuff at school and yes, I am using the word stuff because that is what it is called.
“This stuff comes at us from nowhere, the stuff that we deal with all the time, the stuff that sometimes makes us feel consumed. So much so that, at times, we don’t even stop and look at the stuff and the impact that it’s having.
“We all must remember that life is not perfect. We are all going to have ups and downs. We have information constantly coming at us, communication that does not stop. It can be exhausting.
“I wanted to write this book to cover common challenges that many people face. It’s not designed to give you guidance, not to lecture you, but to help you press that pause button and think about yourself – the wonderful unique you.”
The Wellness Journal costs £15 or £20 and is available HERE.
