How to boost your mental wellbeing this Autumn - expert tips
As the days grow shorter with autumn drawing in it is natural for our routines, mood and energy to shift with the changing seasons.
Taking care of our mental health and wellbeing is a priority and team at Leeds’ Towards Hub, which has now opened its first high street hub on Albion Place, are sharing their top practical tips to support people.
Jacob King - deputy lead therapist at Towards Hub
Jacob completed a BPS-accredited undergraduate degree in the Psychology of Sport and Exercise. He went on to complete a Master’s in Psychological Wellbeing in Clinical Practice and has since dedicated his entire adult life to working in mental health.
His passion lies in working with individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD and Autism. Jacob has specialist training and experience in conducting assessments for both conditions, as well as in adapting therapeutic interventions to best meet the needs of this population.
My five top tips for wellbeing are:
1. Move Your Body Regularly: Exercise isn’t just for fitness—it’s a powerful way to manage stress, boost mood, and improve sleep. Even a short daily walk, stretching, or a quick home workout can make a big difference.
2. Prioritise Quality Sleep: Sleep is essential for mental and physical health. Aim for consistent bedtimes, limit screen time before bed, and create a calm, dark sleep environment to help your body recharge.
3. Connect with Others: Strong social connections can reduce stress and increase happiness. Make time to catch up with friends, family, or colleagues—even small interactions can boost wellbeing.
4. Spend Time Outdoors: Nature has a calming effect on the mind and helps you reset. Whether it’s a hike, a walk in the park, or just sitting outside, spending time in natural surroundings supports mental clarity and relaxation.
5. Practice Mindfulness or Reflection: Take time each day to check in with yourself. Meditation, journaling, or simply pausing to breathe deeply can improve focus, reduce anxiety, and help you feel more grounded.
Tallulah Tay
Tallulah has more than 30 years of experience working with children, young people and adults as a therapist and counsellor. She supports people struggling with self esteem issues, emotional awareness, and resilience. She is an integrative practitioner, bringing together various modalities with a person centred focus to meet client's therapeutic goals.
Her top tips include:
1. Memory Training: Practicing recalling lists, sequences, or details from stories to improve short-term and long-term memory. Learning and applying mnemonic devices, like creating vivid imagery or linking new information to existing knowledge and activities that challenge your ability to remember locations, routes, or object arrangements.
2. Focus and Attention Exercises: Mindfulness and meditation, activities that require you to focus on specific things while ignoring others (for example listening to one conversation in a noisy room). Task-switching exercises that train your brain to efficiently shift attention between different tasks without losing focus.
3. Problem Solving and Logic Puzzles. Think brain teasers, strategy games and working through problems that require you to draw conclusions from given information or identify patterns.
4. Stress Reduction and Emotional Regulation. Learning to control physiological responses like heart rate or muscle tension to manage stress. Practicing identifying and challenging negative thought patterns to improve emotional well-being. Learning and applying methods like deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation to calm the mind.
5. Personalised training programs. Start with an assessment and set some goals. Then look at a custom programme of activities and exercises based on your goals while monitoring your performance overtime to look at how close you are to achieving them.
Meg Dunning
Meg, 26, is a children’s wellbeing practitioner who’s all about meaningful connection. Whether social, personal, or emotional. She works with young people and families to support mental health, resilience, and emotional growth in real, practical ways.
Meg’s top tips include:
1. Take a warm bath: Warm water soothes the body and activates the mammalian dive reflex, which helps calm the nervous system and slow your heart rate. It’s a simple way to create a deep sense of calm.
2. Slow down your pace: The hustle of modern life keeps us in a constant state of alert. Taking time to pause, even for a few minutes — helps shift the body out of stress mode and into a calmer, more present state.
3. Play feel-good music: Music impacts mood through the release of dopamine — the brain’s “feel-good” chemical. Uplifting songs can shift your emotional state quickly and boost energy or calm.
4. Cook something you enjoy: Cooking supports routine, activates the senses, and gives a sense of purpose. Even a simple dish can help you feel grounded, present, and cared for — by you.
5. Cuddle a pet (or spend time with one): Interacting with animals increases oxytocin (the bonding hormone) and reduces cortisol (the stress hormone), helping you feel safe, comforted, and less alone.
Towards is offering a free first therapy session with one of their qualified therapists for all new clients who book before September 30.
For more details visit: https://www.wearetowards.com/leeds-hub