Mental Health 2: Photography and Mindfulness
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
- I return to the subject of mental health on my channel for the first time in over a year. This time, I look at how photography aids the technique of mindfulness, and how that can lessen the effects of anxiety and depression.
#mentalhealth #photography #stroud
Talking about mental health, although I do not have any issues and I am 71 years old, I recently did a painting by numbers painting.
I found this more relaxing and rewarding than anything else I have done since retirement. The kit was only about £7 to buy and
included everything. There was no down side to it at all and I enjoyed every minute of the four days I spent on it. I am not artistic
and have never done anything like it before but the result was so good I bought a proper frame for the painting and put it on the wall.
I would recommend this to anyone young or old as it really cheers you up.
That's an excellent comment Colm. Yes, painting 🎨🖌️ is a brilliant way to do mindfulness, and it is now known to be a very beneficial way of improving one's mood and mental well-being. The absorption of doing the project is the important thing, as well as creating something tangible and permanent, at the end of it. Well done creating something that you can be proud of. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Paul 👍🙂
Hi Paul nice video and photo ,walks in the countryside always make me feel good when im not feeling my best 👌👌👌
Yes, I should have added too that countryside and walking as well as photography do help me a lot. Exercise, even gentle exercise, raises endorphin levels. Thanks for watching and commenting, Cheers, Paul 🙂👍
Very good video Paul .
I hadn't thought about this regarding photography .
Totally makes sense .
Thank you Wendy! Thanks so much for watching and commenting. I really do appreciate it. Take care, Paul 👍🙂
Hello Paul - greetings from Poland
That was beautiful. Mindfulness, super photography, wonderful commentary and an excellent explanation of how you manage your own "demons" in your own way using photography. Very brave of you. Thanks so much for sharing your feelings. Stay safe please old freind.
Thank you Michael for a lovely and kind comment. Glad you enjoyed it. I do hope to return to this topic in a few months because I do know that it seems to be affecting an increasing number of people. Thanks again, take care, Paul 🙂👍
I think sharing your experiences and tips for managing mental health would be much appreciated! Thanks for the great videos.
Thank you! Yes, I am considering doing another one in the future looking at practical ways to benefit mental health. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers, Paul 👍🙂
Well put together, calming and informative.
Aww, thank you Graham! Glad you found it informative and calming - good to hear! I was hoping to achieve that, but was worried I hadn't because I was well out of my comfort zone filming this. Thanks again, take care, Paul.
You are correct, breathing exercises are a vital part of controlling anxiety. I find listening to my favourite music helps too.
Thank you Chris. Yes, breathing is a very important part of mindfulness and controlling anxiety. I also do like listening to music too. I hope to do a future video just covering the topic of anxiety in a future video - will probably be in the new year. Take care, Paul.
Paul, you are a hero, really. I admire and respect your bravery and willingness to share for the benefit of others. Well done. Ron
Thank you Ron - thanks for your kind words and for supporting my channel - it is greatly appreciated. Take care, Paul.
Thank you for the talk and a great video Paul. It's nice seeing you buckle down and trudge into town for abit. 😊
Thank you - yes, it isn't at all pleasant, but has to be done, I guess. Thank you so much for watching and commenting. Cheers, Paul.
Hello Paul - greetings from Tennessee USA. I spent the first 23 years of my life in Stroud and moved 4 years ago, and it’s great to see your pictures of my town, and sharing your videos and experiences is great for the RUclips community
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the video, and the photos of Stroud - hope it brought back memories for you. Thanks too for watching and commenting, cheers, Paul 👍🙂
Hi Paul, this was a great video and an important subject too. Mental health is still very misunderstood by many people. I have a history of issues myself. So total respect to you for getting out of your comfort zone to bring this video to everyone’s attention. Wonderful photography too 😊 great video 😊
Thank you Stephen & Yhana! Glad you enjoyed the video. Yes, I was definitely out of my comfort zone here! You are right - although there are more tv, radio, podcasts & books (and RUclips videos!) about mental health these days, there is still much to be done in raising awareness and understanding, but, most importantly, in terms of providing health support. Thanks so much for supporting my channel. I am sorry I have been a bit short of time in not being able to catch up with your videos recently, but hope to put that right soon. Take care, Paul.
Hi Paul,
You found some interesting places in Stroud, most of which I'd not previously been aware of, despite like you, living locally for over 20 years, up until the mid 1980's. Next time I'm back in Gloucestershire, I must make a return visit.
I must add, being keen on photography myself, providing a form of creative escapism, I recognise you have taken some high quality 'photos, in particular the streets reflection on the shop window. I look out for this creative style too and I find it works well taken from a slow moving Steam railway carriage on a bend. Well, with the old carriages of course you can drop the door window and poke your head outside.
I've been travelling over the last few weeks' and I'm catching up on the vlogs I've missed, so I've just noted that you've achieved the milestone of 1k plus subscribers; an achievement that you should be rightly be very proud of and I think provides the recognition of the improving quality of your output. Keep up the excellent work.
Cheers
Des
Hi Des, yes, it isn't one of my favourite places. Gloucestershire has far better offerings in my opinion, although the surrounding countryside is undeniably beautiful. The castle folly is at the top of the High St. (take the right fork after 'Soap and Suds') - wonder if it is architect linked to the one on Rodborough Common? The well is just below the hospital, and the Bowbridge T&S canal area has been restored in the past few years. Thank you so much for your kind comments Des. Yes, you can still do that on heritage lines, but, alas no more on the main rail network. I do try as best as I can to provide a variety of content that I hope may prove interesting to my audience.
A great video. My son has autism and is quite sensitive to noise and busy places. He has helped set up a weekly social meeting in Thornbury where people with autism can meet, talk, play games and they also go bowling, cinema etc. meets Wednesday evenings Royal George.
Thank you!
Glad you found the video useful.
That's good that your son has helped set up a social meeting group in Thornbury.
Unfortuantely, I have tried to go to a couple of autism support groups before, when I was living in Cornwall, but I really can't handle them at all - they really aren't for me. I just don't like being around others at all. It is triggering, and brings on a meltdown.
But, of course, everyone is different, and if your son enjoys them and gets a benefit from them, then that's brilliant.
Well done for your son to take the initiative with this.
Take care and all the best to you and your son too.
Paul
It is good to remind everyone about mental health issues & how you manage to help yourself with photography. I appreciate the care you take with your photographs. Thanks for this great video on a lovely October day.
Thank you Faith! That's very kind of you! Glad you enjoyed it. It is a topic I will occasionally return too, looking at different aspects of it. Take care, Paul.
Hi Paul, Great Vlog, i would like to see more of these as i really think it helps others. Just reading through the Comments say's it all really. i know it certainly helps me to understand my own Mental Health. Great stuff as Always! Best wishes Darren👌👍👍👍
Thank you Darren - that's very kind of you.
Glad it helps you too.
Yes, I guess everyone needs to find their 'happy place' and their 'happy hobby' to escape and find solace.
I do hope to do another one in the New Year.
Take care,
Paul
This was excellent Paul!
It’s so true how photography can be calming as it is totally absorbing in creating shots. I find the same. Just love composing photos.
There were sone very fine examples of your photos in this video. Tremendous stuff!
Thank you Louise. Glad that you found the video relatable. Thanks for your kind words about my photos. Take care, Paul 🙂👍
So grateful I can look back at my lifetime of photos and videos as on the whole they bring back happy memories, and that inspires me to try and look for good occasions to remember and capture with my camera.
Thank you so much Ted. Yes, photos and videos are certainly precious for sure - I always keep mine and of my family, backed up. Take care, Paul
Hi Paul, this was great! I enjoyed hearing about your perspectives in photographing. Sometimes I feel like the style of photgraphy has changed - so much of snapping and shooting quickly that it was nice to hear how you can spend several minutes composing a photo. Too bad about the person who didn't approve of vlogging ☹. I try to be understanding of vlogging/photography and accomodate people at my dayjob even. I totally agree though, being in nature has the same effects for me - I guess like the "forest bathing" term coined by the Japanese. Great topic and very timely! 😀
Thank you Donna -and, yes, I agree with you regarding photography, and how the style of it has changed completely. I also think that the 'immediate swipe' and 'next!' of photos on social media has cheapened the format to some extent. When photographs were only in books, personal photo albums and in galleries, there was a permanence to the medium. Thank you so much for your kind words and support Donna. Take care, Paul 🙂👍
I've watched these three videos in the wrong order - starting with Exminster and ending with this. I'd never thought of photography as a type of mindfulness, but you're quite right. Yet when I'm videoing something like a train passing, I'm conscious of the camera cutting me off from reality. So once I've lined the camera up, I do try to see "the real thing" by not looking at the display.
Thanks so much!
There isn't really an order to these three videos as such - they can be watch in any order really, although the Exminster one does give a bit more context, I think (it was a while ago that I made it).
I am planning on doing another in this series in the new year.
Thanks for watching these videos.
Paul
Thanks for sharing this video, Paul. A very relaxing and enjoyable experience. Take care, Ron🙂
Thank you Ron! Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, it is a bit tricky talking about mental health, and trying to not to make the video too downbeat, that it makes it difficult to watch. However, it is, I feel, a topic that needs to be talked about, because it affects so many lives. Thanks again, take care, Paul 👍🙂
Excellent, Paul. Your compositions are always very good.
I have done photography in the past and you might inspire me to take it up again. Like you, I prefer the viewfinder because it gives me a better feel for the composition. Later, I took up art - painting - which has a similar mindfulness effect. It’s probably no coincidence terms used in creative pursuits are the same or similar to ones used in mental health therapies: composition, focus, balance.
Well done, Paul, stay well and keep making these excellent videos. One of the best on youtube!
Thank you Ian! That's very kind of you. Yes, another commentator made exactly that point (regarding painting) too - I think that is spot on, and you've hit the nail on the head there. Thanks so much for watching and commenting. Cheers, Paul.
Very informative video Paul. I don't have mental health issues, but I can be quite sensitive to things going wrong etc. I recently acquired an M50 camera with a couple of lenses. I too prefer using the viewfinder rather than the screen. Although with developing cataracts in my left eye makes it a bit more difficult to view. I have been a professional photographer in the past , and I always felt that those few minutes one takes to carefully set up a shot are only a few minutes in our lives, so why not use them creatively!
Thank you so much Michael. That's a great comment. Yes, I love my Canon M50 - such a versatile little camera for both stills and video - shame that Canon have discontinued it in favour of the far more expensive R series - however there are a wealth of great quality pre owned lenses for it still out there. My favourite is the Canon 32mm standard (which I used here), as well as the 22 mm pancake (I have done seperate videos on both of these). I use the 11mm-22mm zoom for vlogging, as it is so wide, and has excellent in built image stabalisation. I would love to know more about your professional photographer days. Thanks for much your kind and interesting comments Michael. Take care, Paul.
@@westcountrywanderings thanks for that Paul. I was a photographer with a firm of architects, photographing their projects and taking progress photos, I started off as an architectural technician, but as they knew I had studied photography at college they gave me more of a chance to take photos of their buildings, etc. Then redundant for a while, and eventually ending up as a photographic technician at the college where I had previously studied. I love my M50 mk II. I didn't realise that they had discontinued it, but, as you say, plenty of second hand glass available!
A very thoughtful video and something that should be often talked about.
I think the most important thing is to be getting out no matter the interest be it photography, nature watching fishing. Just get out.
I'm very much aware this can be difficult for some so it'll be nice to think someone acted on your words here..
Thank you Shaun! Yes, being outside doing something is very much the important thing. For me (and others) it is photography (and walking), but for others, it could be running or fishing, etc. Thanks so much for for watching and commenting. Take care, Paul 🙂👍
Hey Paul really nice video and I agree I love photography and definitely think it helps a lot with mental health. I’m also not keen on doing videos in busy areas mainly as I get a little self conscious. Thanks for sharing 😊
Thank you so much! Yes, it can be difficult vlogging in busy areas, although, oddly, easier in very busy tourist ones because there are many others doing the same thing! Comfort in numbers I guess! Thanks so much for watching and commenting. Cheers, Paul 🙂👍