Below, Alan talks about positive thinking and how you can practice gratitude.
Category: Worry
Coronavirus and mental health
During this global pandemic the recommendation is social distancing and staying safe. There is also a lot of focus on mental health.
Looking after your mental health is always important. But with Coronavirus spreading, we now face more and different challenges to our wellbeing.
Some of the stressors that we now face include:
- Uncertainty about the future
- Loss of routine
- Fear of catching Coronavirus
- Isolation from social distancing
- Losing loved ones
- Spread of misinformation
- Worry about the actions of others
- Boredom.
It’s unrealistic to think that the current situation won’t affect most of us in some way. We might be experiencing feelings of stress right now, or feel slightly numb or immune to it. However, the more we pay attention to our emotional and psychological needs the easier it will be to get through this turbulent time.
Keep what works
Minding our mental health does not mean we do lots of new stuff. We need to change the things that have worked previously to our new situation. Think about what helped your mental health before. Find ways to incorporate them into your new regime. Watch 5-a-day for mental health here.
Strategies for managing mental health can be adapted for now. Read more about:
Time spent online
Time spent online and social media are commonly viewed as the root causes of any problem that young people face.
For a lot of us, work and education is tied into a stable internet connection. Digital communication is more important than ever.
When we ask young people how long they spend online, they often refer to this amount as bad or negative. We’re all guilty of mindless scrolling at times, but does that make it bad?
In this article, you will find:
Watch: Worried about making friends
After not clicking with people in first year, Jess, Jigsaw Volunteer talks to Conor, Jigsaw Clinician about heading back to college and being worried about making friends all over again.
Conor explains that when we have had bad experiences with friendships, picking ourselves back up it can be challenging. We might be feeling rejected, or a bit hopeless about meeting new people.
How technology can support your mental health
Clinicians from our Dublin City service talk about using technology to support your mental health.
Watch: Signs of anxiety
Josh, a Jigsaw Youth Advisory Panel member, talks to Jen, Jigsaw clinician, about how to recognise the signs and symptoms of anxiety.
Hearing voices
We know that many young people hear voices or sounds that other people can’t hear. The recent My World Survey found that over one in five adolescents has had this experience.
This can feel frightening or confusing. Particularly with a backdrop of movies and tv programmes that portray hearing voices as ‘crazy’. However, there are many explanations for the phenomenon of hearing voices.
Feeling anxious as society reopens
Lockdown life since March 2020 brought about many changes for all of us. The easing of restrictions may be very welcome but can bring some feelings of anxiety along with them.
One of the biggest changes for the last year was our social interactions. The on-again off-again seeing people outside the home, led to some creative ways to stay connected. But, it has been a challenge for many to not be able to visit their support systems.
The impact of parents’ mental health
A person’s mental health can affect those close to them. It can be difficult for a young person if one or more of their parents are struggling.
This might be because they’re worried about them, or because the parent is not able to do the usual stuff they do.
If this is something you’re going through, here is an outline supports and other ways to help.
When do I need to get help for my mental health?
There are lots of ways to think about and describe mental health. We all have mental health and when we face various challenges it can be impacted.
We can start to find things difficult and may wonder what to do next. There are many different types of support out there to help us look after mental health. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach.
Getting support
Not everyone who experiences challenges with their mental health will need to access a service for support. If something is causing you to feel stressed, talk to a good friend, family member or a trusted adult. This can be enough to get you through.