Looking after yourself
Everyone has mental health just as we have physical health and sometimes our levels of health can be better than others.
Mental health and wellbeing is about how well you can carry out your normal daily tasks and do the things you would usually do. Everyone has good and bad days with both their mental and physical health – that’s just normal.
If you are a victim of crime or experience something upsetting, this can have an effect on your emotions and wellbeing. There is no one way to react and everyone deals with things differently. It can feel overwhelming, like there are a lot more things to deal with which can have an impact on our emotional and mental wellbeing.
It is important to know this is a normal reaction and to allow ourselves time to recover – we need to be patient with ourselves. A little help and support is needed for most people to feel better and most people will begin to recover over different lengths of time.
As a victim of crime, you have the right to be offered a service to support you and Victim Support can support you in a number of ways. Our Humber and South Yorkshire team is here to provide support and can be contacted here.
If you feel like you are in danger or at risk of harm, call 999.
There are also lots of things you can do yourself to look after your own wellbeing. There are just a few tools and ideas below that you can try for yourself.
‘Five simple steps’ to improving your wellbeing after crime
Small changes can make a huge difference to how you are feeling and this short worksheet starts you on a journey to thinking about five steps which can help improve your wellbeing. You don’t have to take it all on at once, think about taking one step at a time. What makes you happy? What makes you feel valued?
‘My five steps to wellbeing diary’
Following on from your five steps, this diary gives you chance to think about what you have done to move towards the five steps.
Remember, it’s not about making sure you do five things every day, but about giving you time to think about a few things you can do that will make a difference to you. Be proud of what you achieve each day and notice what makes a difference. Using the diary could help you understand what helps the most.
‘Countdown to a better night’s sleep’
Often people talk to us about finding it difficult to sleep after crime. Sleeping is an important aid to recovery and gives our body time to repair and heal. If you have had problems sleeping for a long time, see your GP who may be able to help. There are things you can do to improve your chances of getting a refreshing night’s sleep and we’ve put together a workbook full of tips to help you get started.
'Managing anger'
When we feel attacked or unfairly treated we can often respond by becoming angry. Anger may be something we are not used to feeling and it can be difficult to deal with.
The anger management workbook gives hints and tips on how to manage anger.