Feeling sad, lonely, anxious or stressed for long periods of time, to the extent it is affecting your everyday life or stopping you from doing things you would normally do.
Signs
Advice
Where can I get help?
In school you can talk to the following people:
In the community:
Phone lines:
Childline (Free) 0800 1111
York Mind 01904 643364
Samaritans 116 123
Self-harm is when you hurt yourself as a way of dealing with very difficult feelings.
Self-harm can also mean putting yourself in risky situations or not looking after your physical or emotional need.
Self-harming can be very dangerous. If it gets out of hand you could accidentally kill yourself.
Signs
Advice
Identify what emotion triggers your self-harm and look for suitable alternatives
Feeling alone or isolated?
Try: talking to someone, writing down how you feel, walking the dog, wrapping a blanket around yourself, meeting up with a friend, or doing some exercise.
Feeling angry?
Try: punching something like a pillow, doing some exercise, running, screwing up paper and throwing it, snapping twigs, squeezing clay, hitting a rolled up newspaper on a door frame, screaming, crying, or having a cold shower.
Feel like you hate yourself or that you’re not good enough (low self-esteem)?
Try: listening to music, having a bath, burning incense, phoning a friend, writing, painting, or listing good things about yourself.
Feel like you can’t control things in your life?
Try: organising something, cleaning or tidying, solving a puzzle, setting a target time (for example, saying you won’t harm for 15 minutes, and then if you can last, try another 15 minutes).
Feel numb or like a ‘zombie’?
Try: focusing on something like breathing, being around people who make you feel good, craft activities, making a photo collage, playing an instrument, baking, playing computer games.
Feel like you want to escape from your life or a difficult situation?
Try: having a hot or cold shower, drawing on your body with red pen, massaging lotion into the places you would normally harm, squeezing ice cubes or biting on lemon for the “shock factor,” or painting nails.
Talk to someone you trust, a friend, an adult, a teacher, GP or counsellor
Where can I get help?
In school you can talk to the following people:
In the community:
Phone lines:
Childline (Free) 0800 1111
York Mind 01904 643364
Samaritans 116 123
Stress is not an illness – it is a state. Some stress can be positive as research shows that a moderate level of stress makes us perform better. However, if stress becomes too excessive and lasts for a long time, mental and physical illness may develop.
Stress is the way your body and mind reacts when you feel the demands or pressures on you are more than you can cope with.
Stress can be due to feeling overwhelmed with everyday life, situations or events or changes in your life.
Changes in emotional feelings, physical symptoms and in how your body works are all signs of stress.
These can include:
A stress journal is one way of doing this
Sort the possible reasons for your stress into those with a practical solution, those that will get better anyway given time, and those that you can’t do anything about. Try to let go of those in the second and third group – there is no point in worrying about things you can’t change or things that will sort themselves out.
It’s not healthy to avoid a stressful situation that needs to be addressed, but you may be surprised by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate for instance by learning to say no or avoiding people who stress you out.
Feel like you want to escape from your life or a difficult situation?
Try: having a hot or cold shower, drawing on your body with red pen, massaging lotion into the places you would normally harm, squeezing ice cubes or biting on lemon for the “shock factor,” or painting nails.
Talk to someone you trust, a friend, an adult, a teacher, GP or counsellor
Where can I get help?
In school you can talk to the following people:
In the community:
Phone lines:
Childline (Free) 0800 1111
York Mind 01904 643364
Samaritans 116 123
Grief is a response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something that has died, for example the death of a parent, caregiver, sibling or grandparent is an experience they are faced with early in life.
Although primarily concerned with the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, behavioral, social, and philosophical dimensions. While the terms are often used interchangeably, bereavement refers to the state of loss, and grief is the reaction to loss.
Emotional Symptoms of Grieving
A person who is dealing with grief will most likely display some of the emotional symptoms associated with grieving;
While these emotional symptoms are normal in the days and weeks after a traumatic event, they can be indicators of a more serious disorder if they do not fade over time.
Physical Symptoms of Grieving
It may come as a surprise that grief is not entirely emotional. There are very real effects that grief can have on the body. Some of the physical symptoms of grieving;
Though these symptoms are normal during the grieving process, you should remember to contact your doctor if you experience any severe physical symptoms.
Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of Grief
Grief can have both short-term and long-term effects for affected individuals.
Short-term effects might include the inability to attend work or school, or a lack of desire to attend social gatherings.
Long-term effects can be more serious in nature and can be different, depending on the type of loss you or your loved one has experienced. When untreated, grief can lead to physical and mental health problems in some people.
Get creative:
Bereavement can seem to last forever, but it does get easier with time.
Feel like you want to escape from your life or a difficult situation?
Try: having a hot or cold shower, drawing on your body with red pen, massaging lotion into the places you would normally harm, squeezing ice cubes or biting on lemon for the “shock factor,” or painting nails.
Talk to someone you trust, a friend, an adult, a teacher, GP or counsellor
Where can I get help?
In school you can talk to the following people:
In the community:
Phone lines:
Childline (Free) 0800 1111
York Mind 01904 643364
Samaritans 116 123
Links:
Childline
Young Minds
Mind
Cruse Bereavement UK
Child Bereavement UK App
Anxiety is a word we use to describe feelings of unease, worry and fear. It incorporates both the emotions and the physical sensations we might experience when we are worried or nervous about something. We all know what it’s like to feel anxious from time to time. It’s common to feel tense, nervous and perhaps fearful at the thought of a stressful event or decision you’re facing – especially if it could have a big impact on your life. For example:
In situations like these it’s understandable to have worries about how you will perform, or what the outcome will be. For a short time you might even find it hard to sleep, eat or concentrate. Then usually, after a short while or when the situation has passed, the feelings of worry stop.
Physical sensations:
Psychological sensations:
If you experience anxiety or panic attacks, there are many things you can do to help yourself cope:
Grounding Exercise – Look around you and identify and name
5 things you can see
4 things you can feel
3 things you hear
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste
This will help remind you of the present. It is a calming technique that can help you get through a tough or stressful situation.
Where can I get help?
In school you can talk to the following people:
In the community:
Phone lines:
Childline (Free) 0800 1111
York Mind 01904 643364
Samaritans 116 123
