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Mental wellbeing
Looking after your mental wellbeing is just as important as looking after your physical wellbeing
Mental wellbeing describes your mental state – how you are feeling and how you cope with day-to-day life.
As well as physical symptoms, pulmonary fibrosis can affect your mental wellbeing. For example, you may start to experience a low mood if you lose personal independence, experience relationship problems or worry about a loss of control.1
Maintaining a healthy mental wellbeing can go a long way to helping you prepare for the challenges of living with pulmonary fibrosis. Some of the benefits of a healthy mind are:
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Feeling confident in yourself – you value and accept yourself and judge yourself on realistic and reasonable standards
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Maintaining positive relationships with other people
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Being productive in your day-to-day life
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Coping with the stresses of daily life and managing times of change and uncertainty
Maintaining a healthy mindset
Whether you have difficulties with your mental wellbeing at the moment or not, there may be times that are more difficult than others. The ability to keep a healthy mindset during difficult periods is called ‘resilience’.
Below are some tips to help you maintain your resilience, so you can deal with everyday life and difficult situations without feeling overwhelmed.
Tips to help you maintain a healthy mindset2
Talking something through and knowing that there is someone to listen and understand can make you feel much better. Your friends, family or a mental health professional may be able to offer you practical help or advice and give you another perspective on your disease
Spending time with supportive family and friends can help you build a better self-image and feel more confident as you approach challenging situations
Trouble sleeping can have a serious impact on your mental wellbeing. Feelings of low mood and other negative emotions can be exaggerated. Try to get plenty of sleep, and speak to your treatment team if you are having trouble sleeping
Eating healthily can help both your physical and mental health. Eating a balanced diet at regular meal-times will help you to feel healthier and support a positive mindset
Staying active can help reduce any feelings of depression and anxiety and boost your self-confidence. Light activities like gardening or gentle walking are a good place to start if you’re not used to doing a lot of physical activity
Find time to do things you enjoy, whether it’s cooking, seeing your friends or listening to music. Taking up a new hobby can also help boost your confidence and occupy your mind
It’s important to make time to relax, even if you don’t feel under stress at the moment. This could involve spending an evening doing something you like, or even taking a short five-minute break to quietly observe your surroundings. Learning a relaxation technique, such as breathing exercises, yoga, or meditation, can also help you relax and reduce stress
Taking care of yourself
Key takeaways
It is important to be aware of and look after your mental health
Maintaining a healthy mindset can make it easier to live with pulmonary fibrosis
Different strategies can help you maintain your mental wellbeing through the difficult periods
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Duck A, Spencer LG, Bailey S, et al. Perceptions, experiences and needs of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis J Adv Nurs. 2015;71(5):1055–1065.
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Mental Health Foundation. How to look after your mental health. Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/how-to-mental-health [Accessed March 2022].
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