In this episode, we are sharing highlights from our webinar, ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing’ with Michelle Overton. Michelle is a qualified counsellor and Mental Health First Aid Instructor Trainer. She discusses the impact of life’s challenges on your mental health, coping mechanisms for stress and her top self-care tips. You can watch the original webinar here. Keep reading for the key episode takeaways. Topics and Timestamps: 01:03 Michelle shares her own mental health journey. 06:05 How does mental health shape your self-esteem and confidence? 08:27 The impact of life's challenges on your mental wellbeing. 11:00 Stress and how it can affect your DNA. 13:53 Shifting from unhealthy to healthy coping mechanisms. 19:14 Michelle’s top self-care tips for improving your mental health. 24:02 The power of listening. 25:46 How you can find ways to improve sleep and mindful practices. Selected Key Takeaways: Mental health impacts many aspects of life. 07:01 “Confidence can be gauged in new situations [by] learning new skills [or] it could be in a workplace. Self-esteem is how you value yourself on the inside. Our mental health will govern how we feel, how we think, how we behave and how we manage change. It will [also] govern how we make, sustain and end relationships.” Stress can impact our physical health.   10:35 “After you've been experiencing stress for more than two weeks, your body will start to kick out hormones. Your double helix is your DNA and at the bottom of it, you've got the bottom of your shoelace strings that keep it together at the bottom, when the hormones are being kicked out from the stress, what happens is the shoe lay strings get corroded, and it comes undone. And this is when we start to get rogue DNA going around. And that's why it's been linked to being carcinogenic." Find what works for you and your mental health.   25:52 “It's finding what's right for you. I find talking has been a really helpful space for me, whether that's in therapy, or whether it's support services. Making sure that you're hydrated as well. Water can be a very simple thing that can really help instantly.” Want to learn more about living a full and happy life with multiple sclerosis? Sign up to our newsletter to hear our latest tips. More info and links: Watch the original webinar 5 Ways to Wellbeing from Mind Follow Michelle on social media on LinkedIn or Instagram Read Michelle’s bio Study: Effects on DNA Damage and/or Repair Processes as Biological Mechanisms Linking Psychological Stress to Cancer Risk New to Overcoming MS? Visit our introductory page  Join a Circle and connect with others following Overcoming MS on the Live Well Hub Visit the Overcoming MS website Follow us on social media: Facebook Instagram YouTube Pinterest Don’t miss out:  Subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. Listen to our archive of Living Well with MS episodes here. If you like Living Well with MS, please leave a 5-star review. Feel free to share your comments and suggestions for future guests and episode topics by emailing podcast@overcomingms.org. Make sure you sign up to our newsletter to hear our latest tips and news about living a full and happy life with MS. Support us:  If you enjoy this podcast and want to support the ongoing work of Overcoming MS, we would really appreciate it if you could leave a donation here. Every donation, however small, helps us to share the podcast with more people on how to live well with MS.