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Brings categories: a young person

Ramadan during lockdown

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Karima, a Jigsaw volunteer gives her story

Friday, 24 April was the first day of Ramadan for me and many other Muslims around the world.

This Ramadan will be different to the many others I’ve experienced, due to the current lockdown situation.

Throughout the month of Ramadan, most Muslims won’t eat or drink between dawn and sunset. This is known as fasting and it is one of the Five Pillars of Islam; alongside Faith, prayer, charity and doing Hajj (a journey to the city of Mecca). Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. As we use the lunar calendar, its date changes on a yearly basis that is based on the different moon cycles.

Substance use and mental health during COVID-19

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Covid-19 has highlighted how our actions impact ourselves and the people around us. It’s helpful to consider how the use of alcohol and drugs can influence and impact our ability to cope with this situation.   

Life was tough enough, and Covid-19 can make everything seem harder. Faced with challenging circumstances, alcohol and drugs can seem like a way to cope. We may feel they will help us escape the uncertainty of this pandemic.

Both the Covid-19 situation and substances can impact mental health, so inform yourself as much as possible to make the right decisions for you.

Ask Jigsaw: I can’t seem to feel happy

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Hi there i suffered a missed miscarraige in 2016. I had a healthy baby girl june 2017. I struggled with stress and anxiety throughout the whole pregnancy.

I’ve tried to get back to feeling like the person i was before all tbese events but i cant. I cant seem to feel happy anymore and if i do i find myself just wondering when it will go wrong again. Im constantly wound up and feel tense even defencive all the time. I feel like sometimes there is a hand on my chest and throat and i cant breath.

Me and my boyfriend are constantly argueing and most of the time its down to me snapping at him or looking for an arguement. I find im always taking everything thats said to me as a smart comment or a personal attack.

 I cant go to my g.p. cause its a man and i dont feel comfortable. Im so fed up of feeling like this and now i think i need some help. Im scared of ruining my relationship and my health. What are my options and do you think i have an issue? Thanks

-Elaine

Hi Elaine,

I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been through so much over the past few years. Losing a baby is a terrible experience and people deal with the grief and loss in different ways. It is not unusual to for women to experience worry during their pregnancy, and given the experience that you had, it is not surprising that you struggled with stress and anxiety.

What are the mental health services for under-18s?

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If you’re under 18 and having a difficult time, there are a few options to consider.

First, is there someone you can talk to about what’s going on? A member of your family or friend that you trust can be a good place to start. Or take a look at the articles here to help you figure out what you need. Sometimes this could be enough or can help you make sense of what you need and what you can do.

If you think you might need to get some support or advice from a professional, we’ve made a list of the mental health services available for young people under 18.

Which one is best for you depends on what you’re going through. Sometimes that initial conversation with a trusted adult helps identify what will help. Also, because of the law on consent, you will need to have a parent/guardian involved to get help from a lot of services and professionals.

So, the best first step is usually telling someone what’s going on for you. If you have a good enough relationship with a parent or guardian this can be a good place to start. If not, think about another adult you trust that you could talk to, like an aunt/uncle, older sibling or family friend.

In this article, you will find:

Exercise and mental health

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Let’s face it, we all know that exercise is good for us. ‘Get active’ is one of the five recommended things to do every day to support our mental health.

Some people don’t have any issue going to the gym and fitting in runs. For others, finding the time, energy or motivation to get out of bed, let alone exercise isn’t easy.

Here we will look at exercise and mental health, how they are related and ways to incorporate it into our lives. Think of exercise as any activity that increases your heart rate and breathing.

In this article you’ll find:

Being the best

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We live in a competitive world, where comparison is everywhere. It’s often present in school or college, on the sports field or in relation to social status.

There can be a focus on ‘being the best’ when we are ranked and compared to those around us.

At school or in college there is often competition, with exams designed to assess our academic ability. Ratings can be compared to every other person our age in Ireland.

Sports can come with pressure and a focus on winning. Even in non-competitive activities, such as the gym, we are encouraged to try to get a ‘personal best’. We might focus on doing more weights or improving our time, in competition with ourselves to be our best.

Online and on social media, we can usually see how many followers/friends, likes, or comments another person receives. We often compare our social media stats to those of others. Looking at posts and wondering why some got more support than others can become a habit. What stories are we telling ourselves about success and failure?

Feeling happy being single

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Being single doesn’t seem like something to celebrate. Relationships are the focus of a lot of the popular culture we consume. 

It can also take a period of adjustment if we recently find ourselves single, through a break-up, or ending a relationship.

Our Instagram feeds are filled with snaps of ‘happy couples’ and #relationshipgoals. There’s a mountain of advice on how not to be single. So, you’d be forgiven for thinking everyone in the world is in a relationship except you.

However, that’s not the case. According to the most recent Irish Census, 41% of people over 15 years-old are single. Yet still, we can feel the pressure to ‘couple up’ and this can be challenging.

Feeling pressure

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Life can feel full of pressure sometimes. Especially while we figure out who we are, what we want, and how we want our lives to be.

Young people who come to Jigsaw often talk to us about the pressure they’re feeling. Some of the things they feel pressure from include:

  • Fitting in – Having to change who they are to be included in a group.
  • Supporting friends – Feeling they have to respond to friends’ difficulties, even when it interferes with their own wellbeing.
  • Conforming – Falling in with an education system that feels unfair and out of line with everything else in their life.
  • Performing well in exams – Comparing results and achievements.
  • Competing and doing well in sports or other hobbies – This can be to the point where they no longer enjoy it.
  • Future plans – Feeling they should know what career path to choose.
  • Fulfilling the expectations of others – Living up to the expectations of parents. Or matching the achievements of siblings.