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Author: eve

Revolution x Jigsaw – who will you cycle for?

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Join a youth mental health revolution by taking part in our cycling challenge, Revolution x Jigsaw.

We’re asking you to get on your bike and cycle 100km in September to raise funds for youth mental health services across Ireland. You could also create your own cycling challenge to raise funds for us too.

Wherever you are, whatever age you are, whether you are a cycling pro or just taking off your stabilisers, join the Revolution at revolutionxjigsaw.ie. Help Jigsaw continue to support our young people’s mental health.

24-hour gaming marathon for youth mental health

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On Saturday 24 July, Jigsaw, the youth mental health charity, is hosting an exciting 24-hour live stream gaming marathon to raise money to support young people’s mental health.

Raise Your Game will involve lots of gaming fun and challenges, as well as some surprise special guests.

The pandemic has been a particularly tough time for young people. For many, gaming has been a great escape to ease their daily stresses and anxieties. Previous research by Jigsaw has found that almost a quarter of young people use gaming as a way to relieve anxieties.

Mike Edgar, Jigsaw’s Youth Advocate for Kerry tells us how gaming affects his life here.

 

 

How to deal with anger

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Anger is a feeling we all experience. It’s an emotional state that comes with thoughts and often physical feelings as well.

Anger can usually be summed up with the expression ‘that’s not fair’. It comes with a sense of injustice. Maybe you feel you or someone else has been treated unfairly. Anger can be a great motivator, prompting us to make changes and tackle inequalities.

The past year has been challenging for many, and can cause a lot of anger. We often feel angry when we have no control over things. We can feel stressed, or under a lot of pressure.

There is nothing wrong with feeling angry. It is our response to feeling anger that can cause problems for us.

Why we feel angry

Feeling angry often comes with physical sensations. Things like our heart beating faster, feeling hot or clenching our fists.

Anger can be difficult to express and manage. Particularly because a lot of us have been taught not to show it. We can be made feel guilty or ashamed about being angry, despite it being a necessary emotion.

This is unfair as well, and can further sustain feelings of anger. Until we learn how to manage it a different way, this keeps going in a circle.

We learn a lot about how to express emotions from our family. Think about the habits you may have picked up over the years. Do people close to you release anger in a healthy way?

Amy’s story: Living in a high-risk household

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Amy, 22, a Jigsaw volunteer from Limerick shares her experience of the pandemic.

My experience of the Covid-19 pandemic has been somewhat different to that of my peers, as I am living in a high-risk household. A member of my family is currently undergoing chemotherapy which compromises their health immensely. Because of this, myself and the other members of my family are not only responsible for our own health, but for their health too.

The feeling of responsibility for someone else’s health is a difficult feeling to put into words. I did not feel much pressure and frustration during the first lockdown as everyone was in the same boat. I oddly felt safer and more relaxed knowing that everyone was undertaking the necessary precautions.

How can I manage anxiety?

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Jigsaw Youth Advisory Panel member Josh, talks to Jigsaw Clinician Jen about ways to manage anxiety.

Sleep and mental health

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We all need our sleep. Regular, long stretches of undisturbed quality sleep is essential for our mental as well as physical health.

“Sleep is the single most effective thing we can do to reset our brain and body health each day”, according to Professor Matthew Walker, neuroscientist, and author of ‘Why We Sleep’.

Many of the young people who attend Jigsaw face-to-face services report sleep difficulties as one of the issues they are facing.

In this article, you will learn:

How much sleep do young people need?

Our sleeping rhythms and needs change as we get older. Although we may feel we can manage with a certain amount of sleep, there are recommended times for overall health.

Teenagers need between eight to ten hours sleep a night, though they are more likely to get around seven. Adults require a bit less; between eight and nine hours. These guidelines may seem ambitious, or even unrealistic. But sleep is essential for your health and for cognitive functions like learning.

Research has proven when school start times are put forward to allow students to get more sleep, it leads to an increase in academic performance. In a 2018 study, a Seattle High School delayed its start time by an hour and saw a 4.5% increase in the median grades of the students. It also saw an improvement in attendance.

It is possible to sleep too much (over ten hours regularly). Find out the right amount of sleep for you within these guidelines to feel rested when you wake.

Mental health apps

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The App Store or Google Play host thousands of apps claiming to help people with their mental health.

With so many to choose from, it can be hard to know where to start, or which to trust.

What are the best mental health apps?

At Jigsaw, we are often asked which are the best apps for anxiety, or what ones we would recommend. Research and evidence are important parts of our work so we can really stand behind what we say.

To ensure we recommend safe apps to use, we embarked on a review project with funding from ESB Energy for Generations,. The aim was to identify apps that might be helpful to young people in managing their mental health.