A Young People’s Survival Guide To Being At Home During Covid19
When we are facing a crisis fear and anxiety are normal and we will all feel this, adults and young people alike.
What can be helpful for us to manage these feelings is to focus on what is in our control in order to help us feel less anxious.
We are all likely to find ourselves feeling out of control and Dr Russ Harris (Author of The Happiness Trap) has some useful tips to help us survive being at home during Covid19
Be aware of and allow yourself to acknowledge your thoughts, feelings, urges and what is going on in your body
Make sure you connect to your body, this is really important as when we feel stressed or trapped we hold this in our bodies. You could…
- Go for a walk (making sure you are a safe distance from others)
- Go for a run
- Go for a bike ride
- Do an exercise class on line-there are lots out there that are free
- Push your feet hard into the floor
- Straighten your back and spine when sitting
- Sit upright and forward in your chair if you are doing school/college/Uni work
- Stretch your body
- Try slowing your breathing to help you feel more relaxed
- Refocus your attention on what you are doing
- Look around the room and notice 5 things you can see/hear/smell
- Help someone in your house with a task or chore
- Cook a meal for your family-try to make it as healthy as possible
We know that looking after ourselves by exercising, eating properly and helping others is really important to our emotional well being. This is even more so during the current Covid19 crisis.
Other things that you can do whilst you are having to be at home are:
- Help create a rota with your family-you may be sharing resources at home so you need to agree who can play on the Xbox, TV time slots, who is cooking. All this will help to reduce arguments.
- Create a routine for yourself-make sure you get up at a certain time, plan what you will do with your time, have a shower, get dressed.
- Use video calling-there are lots of apps out there to allow you to do this. Being able to see someone else helps us to feel connected to the outside world and the other person will appreciate it too probably.
- Ask for help if you are feeling worried or scared.*
- Try to talk about other things than Covid19.
- Make a list of things you said you would do-tidying your room, fixing something, cleaning up your social media.
- Join positive on line groups.
- Play on line games with friends.
The most important thing during this time is for you to be kind to yourself and look after yourself.
Here are some helpful websites and numbers that can
help you to do this
Riverside Counselling Service
Email
Call 01491 876670
Visit our website www.riversidecounsellingservice.co.uk
* You can contact us by email or give us a call and someone will get in touch so you can have the opportunity to chat and find out if talking with someone could help. You can ask someone in your family to make contact if you don’t want to yourself.
Young Minds www.youngminds.org.uk Crisis Line that you can text YM85258
Oxford Mindfulness Centre www.actmindfully.com.au/free-stuff/free-audio They are offering free Mindfulness sessions and podcasts
Childline www.childline.org.uk 08001111
The Mix www.themix.org.uk
Counselling for Young people
“While many of us can seek support from friends and family, it’s not always possible. Even as adults, it can be scary to ask for help, especially for our own mental health. So, consider how daunting it can be for a child. A child experiencing a mental health problem, or experiencing something they don’t understand; how can they possibly know where to turn?”
Counselling for Young People is about providing an opportunity to discuss any issues they are struggling with. Working with our skilled and impartial young peoples counsellors, they are able to address problems at home, with friends, in their local community, education or employment and most recently, anxieties surrounding the Coronavirus.
Counselling gives the child the opportunity to talk about how they feel without the fear of judgement. Speaking to a counsellor, away from their home and school life, can take away some of the pressure. Counselling offers a safe environment for children to express their feelings and understand what may have caused. You can visit the Counselling directory for more information
A free online course designed by researchers from Reading University, for young people, parents, carers, teachers, and other professionals where they can learn helpful, practical techniques to cope with low mood and depression during the lockdown period and beyond.
Families Under Pressure is an initiative to help parents during the COVID-19 lockdown funded by SLAM NHS Foundation Trust and the Maudsley Charity.
The scripts for the 8 animated clips are based on the work of the “Pointers on Parenting Under Pressure” (POP-UP) team from KCL, University of Nottingham & University of Southampton. There are 8 animated films with voices of famous actors incl. Olivia Coleman offering parenting tips. The clips are short (1-2 min long) and funny.
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