A friendly online group for young people in 6th form or their 1st year of university. This is a safe space to support each other and prepare for the challenges that come with starting university. Topics may include; challenges with COVID-19, Mindfulness skills for managing stress, creating an effective coursework structure etc. This group is peer led which means we focus on whatever you want support with (to download poster please click here).
Wednesday’s 1-2pm via ZOOM (starting 13th January 2021)
As part of our celebration of International Men’s day, we will be launching our online peer support session on the 19th October. The session will provide a safe space (via Zoom) to connect with others through conversation, mindful activities and shared interests.
ONLINE – VIA ZOOM Thursday 19th October: 6.00pm-7.30pm
Our Men’s Group offers peer support for individuals who have mental health issues. The group provides a safe space (via Zoom) to connect with others through conversation, mindful activities and shared interests.
ONLINE – VIA ZOOM Tuesday Evenings 6.00pm—7.30pm For further information, please contact: NORTH KENT MIND 01322 291380 admin@northkentmind.co.uk
Our Wellbeing
Peer Support Groups have spoken about how the weather/seasons can affect mood
and how active we are – our mental and physical health. We worked together to
compile this list of indoor activity ideas for World Mental Health Day
#DoOneThing. We hope that this inspires you to either try something new,
revisit an activity you have enjoyed before, or gives you ideas to share.
Try a new craft such as crocheting, knitting or embroidery.
Learn a new musical instrument or make use of household equipment!
Join an online drama group or choir.
Watch a film you have always
wanted to watch.
Try drawing, colouring,
watercolours, cartooning, tie-dye, join a painted rocks group on Facebook.
Bake, explore new recipes and use
seasonal fruit and vegetables, if possible.
Read anything you fancy or try
something new. Books, poetry, religious reading, spoken word or quotes.
Take nature and wildlife photos from your window or outside.
Reminisce over old photos and videos you have taken or friends and family wish to show you.
Word searches or Sudoko or learn a new card game. (available online).
Phone a friend you haven’t spoken to for ages.
Start a journal (Gratitude) or write to a penpal, or friend you haven’t spoken to for a while.
De-clutter one drawer at a time.
Listen to music and make a playlist that inspires you.
Explore free apps with calming sounds or mindfulness ideas.
Take time for you without any guilt, whatever makes you happy and relaxed.
Listen to white noise e.g. sounds of the sea, rain etc to help with sleep.
Learn a new language (Duolingo App) – could be sign language.
Do a jigsaw or play a board game / a game on an app.
Watch game/quiz shows to broaden your general knowledge.
Make models out of Lego, clay or reclaimed materials.
Do some DIY or upcycle some furniture.
Watch cute / funny animal videos on Youtube.
Feng shui your home / change furniture layout
Do some exercise e.g. yoga, resistance bands, Zoomba
Keep your hands busy, help yourself to relax with fidget spinners, rubix cubes, bubble blowing etc
Finish a project you have started.
Alter or make some new clothing.
Try out different make up or hair styles
Go on virtual tours online – some zoos, animal sanctuaries have them.
With the staff of the ‘NHS in Mind’ Slee Parrish, an experienced Senior NHS Nurse and qualified Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist, together with Alex James, a Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist and Mindfulness Teacher, have put together a set of free resources for members of staff to access and use to help them look after their mental health and well-being.
Chill Panda is for children and adults who want to learn how to manage stress, relax and feel better. It uses your phone’s camera to measure your heart rate and suggests playful tasks to suit your state of mind. Tasks include simple breathing techniques and lighter exercises to take your mind of off your worries.
Calm Harm is suitable for people who are trying to manage urges to self-harm. It is based on the principles of dialectical behaviour therapy – a type of talking of therapy that is often effective in people with mood disorders. The app suggests task to encourage users to distract themselves from urges to self-harm and help manage their emotional mind in a more positive way.
Headspace helps you to let go of stress and relax with guided meditations and mindfulness techniques that bring calm, wellness and balance to your life in just a few minutes a day. There are exercises on topics including managing anxiety, stress relief, breathing, happiness and focus.
Cove lets you create music to capture your mood and express how you feel. Instead of using words, create music to reflect emotions like joy, sadness, loneliness and anger. You can store your music in a private journal with text or send it to someone when you are struggling to express yourself through words.
Is a toolkit for your mind. Backed by science Happy Not Perfect enables you to play the daily happiness workout to reduce stress and improve sleep, learn breathing techniques, let go of negative thoughts, practice a positive mindset, meditate, set goals and track progress.
Is an anonymous peer-to-peer social network. It is a space to share your thoughts, feelings and secrets, give and receive support and connect to other support organisations. You can create a virtual pet who gets happier the more good you do.
Feel Stress Free helps you manage stress, anxiety and related conditions. Use the app to relax before a stressful situation or as part of your regular routine.
iPrevail connects you with people who face similar situations and know what you’re going through, with communities on stress, anxiety, depression and more.
Learn how to manage feelings like anxiety and depression with Catch It. The app will teach you how to look at problems in a different way, turn negative thoughts into positive ones and improve your mental wellbeing.
The My Possible Self app aims to help you take control of your thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Use the app to help manage fear, anxiety and stress, and tackle unhelpful thinking.
A Tool to Help You Build Resilience During Difficult Times
Free
trial Mindfulness Apps
Headspace – Available for iOS and Android. Designed to help you train your mind and body for a healthier, happier life and get the most out of your day, Headspace can be used anywhere. The free version of the app includes meditations and exercises that will teach you the essentials of meditation and mindfulness.
Calm – Available for iOS and Android.
Calm is the perfect meditation app for beginners (there’s a seven-day
beginner’s programme to get you started) but also includes programmes for more
advanced users.
The short, guided meditation sessions cover the basics of
mindfulness and there’s also a library of soothing nature sounds and scenes to
use at your leisure. One great feature if you’re looking to improve your
sleeping patterns is the ‘Sleep Stories’ – bedtime stories for adults
‘guaranteed to lull you to sleep’.
Insight
Timer – Available
for iOS and Android. Entry price: Free. But you have to navigate around
the subscription screen with the button that says “Start 7 Day Trial. Once you
scroll past that, you can access the free content.
Insight Timer has a huge library of content: over 25,000
guided meditations from around 3,000 teachers on topics like stress,
relationships, creativity, and more.
Stop,
Breathe & Think
Available
for iOS and Android. Entry price: Free. If you explore “All Sessions” you can
access the free meditations all in one place.
This could be useful if individuals are struggling with the
aspect of control or k this case, the lack of as this breaks it down into what
can be and what can’t and may be comforting.
This is a collection of written literature on different
aspects of the situation. I am not saying everyone will like this, but if you
have people who feel knowledge helps and likes to read around this situation,
then these could be useful tools.
Before doing any physical activity please contact your GP if you have any concerns.
Free access to our
online course: Mental Health Awareness for Sport and Physical Activity
Now more than ever, we need to look after each other’s mental
health and wellbeing. Coaches and coaching organisations have told us that they
are increasingly concerned about supporting the mental health of those whom
they coach, as well as ensuring their own wellbeing.
To support the coaching community, Mind along with partners UK
Coaching, 1st4sport and Sport England, announced on Monday 18 May that the
online course Mental
Health Awareness for Sport and Physical Activity is now available free of charge. Usually £18, the course is
accessible on the UK
Coaching website and will remain free until 31 August
2020.
The course which takes 2-3 hours to complete, is aimed at everyone
who works in clubs, community sport and physical activity – including coaches,
activators, sports administrators, front of house staff or volunteers. Learners
will be able to increase their knowledge of mental health, and confidence when
applying the learning into their coaching practice.
Specifically,
learners will be able to:
• welcome and support people living with mental health problems in
their sport and physical activity sessions
• increase their knowledge of mental health problems
• apply the learning in their coaching practice
• make their club or organisation more inclusive.
More information
For information about this course or Mind’s physical activity
work, please get in touch with the Physical Activity Team via sport@mind.org.uk or visit mind.org.uk/sport.
Try out mindfulness and yoga with our activity sheet
This month we are sharing our mindfulness and yoga activity sheet. Both of these activities can benefit our mental wellbeing. Sometimes it’s good to stop and take notice of what is going on in the present moment, as doing this can help you become more aware of how you are thinking and feeling.
Please feel free to try out this resource, or share it with anyone who may find it useful.
Mature Movers Online Classes
Some useful physical/mindfulness activity guides from Mind.
LIVE HIIT classes are every night live on my Instagram account. The basis behind them is to exercise the mind and body to be in a better state of wellness during lockdown.
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