MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES
You can view your own mental health in the same way as your physical health. It needs to be looked at everyday. Therefore you can be helped and trained for your own situation.
Keeping with the idea that your mental health is like physical health, you can use your mind in particular ways to become mentally stronger. To be able to relax and rest, and to act the right way everyday.
On this part of the website we will be able to give you ideas to try. That will improve your mental health, and allow you to act and think in a positive and meaningful way.
There are many forms of mental health issues, and lots of people may have them, teachers, singers, actors, and athletes. If you try practicing some of the ideas and techniques in this section can make a big difference to how you feel and think about you and your life.
GETTING BETTER SLEEP
1. Get outside!
Open your curtains as soon as you can to help you feel awake sooner. Letting light into your room is great, but getting outdoors is even better since daylight is significantly brighter than indoor lamps. This is very helpful for your brain; without enough light, we can feel quite sad. Even if it is cold, try to get outside for at least thirty minutes every single day.
2. Turn off your screens
Smartphones and computers emit blue light, which tricks the body into feeling awake. This makes it very hard for your mind to drift off naturally. To help your brain prepare for a deep and restful sleep, you should stop using any type of electronic screen at least one hour before you want to go to bed. This gives your eyes a much-needed break from the bright glare.
3. Try not to nap… or not too long
Try to only nap for short periods during the day. While a quick rest is fine, sleeping too much during the afternoon will make you stay awake much later into the evening. This stops you from sleeping well at night because your body will want to stay up later and later! Keeping your naps brief ensures that you are actually tired enough to fall asleep at the right time.
4. Go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day
Following a routine is one of the best ways to get better sleep. When your body and mind have a schedule, you will feel sleepy and awake at the right times. This is because your body gets used to what you do most; if you wake up at the same time each day, your body finds it easier to get started because it knows exactly what to expect.
5. Only use your bed for sleep
If you use your bed to watch TV, play on your computer, or talk on your phone, your body will not link your bed with resting. If you only use your bed for sleeping, your mind will remember that association. Every time you go to bed, you will start to feel tired just by lying down in it! This simple habit helps your brain switch off much faster.
IDEAS TO FEEL BETTER
Writing
Writing down your feelings is good way to see how you feel. Having to write gives your thoughts somewhere to go. By writing down your feelings you are thinking about how you feel making your thoughts clear and easy to understand.
If you are not able to understand what you have read, try writing out how you feel again. By doing this two or three times, your brain will be much happier as you have made your thoughts very small and easy to think about.
Talking
Talking can be hard as you need more time to talk to someone. Ask your parents, or a friend if you can talk to them. Next time you want to talk about how you feel, try it in this way.
1.Ask if they can just listen to you and dont interupt untill you have finished.
2.Once you have stopped talking, ask them if they can repeat back to you what they think you said
3. If you think they didn’t listen and got what you said wrong say, what you want to say again.
4. keep repeating steps 2 and 3 untill you feel the person listening can explain how you feel in a way that you feel happy about.
5 If you feel the person listening can explain how you feel, Well Done! You have made yourself feel better!
Breathing
Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose. Keep your shoulders relaxed. Your abdomen should expand, and your chest should rise very little.
Exhale slowly through your mouth. As you blow air out, purse your lips slightly, but keep your jaw relaxed. You may hear a soft “whooshing” sound as you exhale.
Repeat this breathing exercise. Do it for several minutes until you start to feel better.
BREAKING DOWN PROBLEMS
If you have a problem try using the practice below.
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Find out what the problem is, talk to a friend or one of your parents about it.
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Split the problem into small steps that you are able to to do one at a time.
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Ask yourself what steps you can do and which ones are to hard to do.
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Practice the steps that you find hard, but only do them one at a time.
Soon the problem will become smaller, and you will be able to face it without feeling unhappy or worried about it at all!
Read here for how to put the above into practice with this example.
1. Identifying the problem
Worried about coming to Gym, as I find is scary and I dont know what will happen.
2. Breaking down the problem
1. Are you thinking of wanting to come to Gym? (Thinking about it is a great first step!)
2. Do I feel happy to turn up to gym at the right time, and standing outside?
3. Are you able to come in say my name to the Coach and then clean my hands?
4. Do you feel ready to walk into the gym, putting my bag on to a mat, then sitting on the floor?
3. What steps do I find difficult?
I really want to come to gym, and I feel happy to turn up at the right time and stand outside, but I am a bit worried about coming in the door….
4. Practicing the steps
I am going to practice step 3 with a friend so when I go to gym I know what to say to the coach when i go in.
I still worry about step 4, maybe I could ask a coach at the gym or my mum or dad where I should put my bag and where I could sit on the floor when I am in the Gym.
WHAT IS ANXIETY?
Anxiety is a a general feeling of unease and tension in the body which happens when your body feels the need to prepare for a stressful situation. E.g when you are going to do a cartwheel for the first time. Your body does not know how to prepare. The heart rate increases to allow yourself to be ready to deal with anything that might happen.
You may feel wanting to stop still and just look around thinking what is going on, after this you will start thinking of what is happening and what might happen depending on what you decide to do. Your body and mind in this moment is protecting itself from harm. It feels doing nothing will be the best idea for the stressful situation to pass.
What we said in the first paragraph the body is still making the heart beat faster. When you do move, you will be able to do so without difficulty. It would be like if you pressed the accelerator and brake on a car at the same time, your body would be trying to get faster and faster, but unable to go anywhere. Being stuck on the spot and your body working very hard is fine to do now and again. Always feeling like this it can be very tiring and start to damage your body.