Mental Health Toolkit - Good Facts

Writing a list of ‘good facts’ is a powerful way of reminding ourselves that whatever else is going on, there are a lot of positive things going on in our lives too.

These ‘good facts’ exist whether we are currently feeling low, depressed, anxious or happy and relaxed. Reminding ourselves of these good facts help us to build and maintain resilience through current or future stressful times.

The great thing about a good fact list is that these are undebatable, they are facts, not hopes or opinions, and they are actually happening.

They can be very small or highly significant, and we all have loads of them.

Like writing a ‘gratitude list’, writing down a list of ‘good facts’ help us to balance the innate negativity balance of the brain that is programmed to look for threats.

We are bombarded by negative news and we need all the tools we can to restore and maintain a balance inside and to develop hope. To remember that many positive things are going on right now in our lives is a great way to do this.

Here’s a few examples to get you started.

• My dog is adorable and good company

• I have a job that I enjoy

• I have a cup of warm tea in front of me

• I am reading an interesting book at the moment

• The temperature in this room is perfect

• I live in a quiet area

• I have the internet which connects me to the world

• I am healthy

• The autumn colours are beautiful out in the park just now

If you write down 10 good facts about your life regularly, developing this as a habit can help to build a balanced rather than a pessimistic outlook. A higher level of optimism is a very useful part of our resilience toolkit, and can help us through the tougher times.