Support

Sometimes, things are tough and we need a little extra.

Self-help strategies

Sometimes thoughts and worries can become a little overwhelming. There are techniques and practices that can help when we’re finding things difficult. Try some of the ones below.

The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families has lots of self-care resources for young people here

If you’re worried about coronavirus, Youngs Minds has some helpful information you can read here

Here’s a fantastic Teen’s Guide to Surviving Lockdown with lots of tips and activities to guide you through coping strategies while we’re all at home - check it out

Calm your Mind

Grounding exercises are things you can do to interrupt hard to manage thoughts and worries. They help to bring yourself into contact with the present moment – the here and now using your 5 senses...

How to do it

Take a deep belly breath to begin.

5 - LOOK: Look around for 5 things that you can see, and say them out loud.

4 - FEEL: Pay attention to your body and think of 4 things that you can feel, and say them out loud. For example, you could say, I feel my feet warm in my socks, I feel the hair on the back of my neck, or I feel the pillow I am sitting on.

3 - LISTEN: Listen for 3 sounds. It could be the sound of traffic outside, the sound of typing or the sound of your tummy rumbling. Say the three things out loud.

2 - SMELL: Say two things you can smell. If you’re allowed to, it’s okay to move to another spot and sniff something. If you can’t smell anything at the moment then name your 2 favourite smells.

1 - TASTE: Say one thing you can taste. If you can’t taste anything, then say your favourite thing to taste.

Take another deep belly breath to end.

Flip your thinking!

To help cope with worries we can flip our thinking and change our thoughts.

Write three worries then flip your thinking and fill in the speech bubbles opposite. What would your friends say to you?

Accessing more support

There is always somebody you can get in touch with if you need help. Below are lots of different avenues of support for both students and parents:

For students

There are lots of different ways you can get in touch with somebody if you need to:

Email the safeguarding team at your school

Accessing more support - parents

There are lots of practical tips and advice on the internet for things you can do now to help you keep on top of your mental wellbeing and cope with how you may feel while staying at home. Some useful links are below:

Mental Health Foundation

Mental Health First Aid

Mind

NHS

During business hours

Infoline: 0300 123 3393

For immediate / urgent support

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