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On this page you can listen to a series of mental wellbeing audio guides to help you boost your mood.

You can listen to them privately, in your own time, to help you through feelings such as anxiety or a low mood.

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Listen to a series of mental wellbeing audio guides to help you through feelings such as anxiety or a low mood.

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Winston's Wish is the UK's childhood bereavement charity. We support children and their families after the death of someone important.

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It can be extremely difficult when you lose someone you knew. Whether you've lost a family member, a friend, or a pet, you may feel a whole range of emotions. Grief is an emotional response to this loss, and is a process rather than an event. It may affect how you feel physically, mentally and socially.

You might be grieving because of:

the death of a family member, like a parent, grandparent or sibling

the death of a friend, or someone you knew at school

the death of someone by suicide

a change in a relationship

an illness of someone close to you, like cancer or dementia

the loss of a relationship, like someone moving away or no longer being in your life regularly

the loss or death of a pet animal

Whoever you have lost, you need time and space to grieve and come to terms with their death.

Our Activists share their experiences of grief:

There's no right or wrong way to grieve. You might feel angry, sad or depressed, or even guilty or relieved. You might be numb and not feel anything. The way you grieve might be influenced by your culture, beliefs, or how your family and community understand loss. How you react might be different to how other people around you react. You might not feel anything for a while, and may experience delayed grief. There might be some occasions when you are expecting it, like when you experience one of many 'firsts', such as your first Christmas without that person. Or these feelings might catch you unaware sometimes. Grief can come up at any time.

It takes time to work through grief and it's best not to do it alone. Sometimes you might be surprised by feelings of sadness when you don't expect them - or you might keep worrying about other people's health, or your own. These feelings are all normal. Most of us get through with the support of family and friends.

If you're struggling to come to terms with a death, finding daily life hard and things don't seem to be getting any better, it can help to talk to someone. Tell a trusted friend, family member or teacher how you're feeling. If you're feeling very worried, you can talk to your GP about counselling and professional support.

It can be normal to feel guilty. But remember, the loss you have experienced is not your fault. And if you stop feeling sad or in pain, it does not mean that you don't care enough. You are allowed to move on in your life, and it is not a sign that you don't care enough for the person you have lost.

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How To Deal With Grief and Loss | Mental Health Advice

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It can be extremely difficult when you lose someone you knew. Whether you've lost a family member, a friend, or a pet, you may feel a whole range of emotions. Grief is an emotional response to this loss, and is a process rather than an event.

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We help children, young people, parents, and families to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies.

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Experts generally accept that we go through 4 stages of bereavement or grief:

Accepting that your loss is real

Experiencing the pain of grief

Adjusting to life without the person or thing you have lost

Putting less emotional energy into grieving and putting it into something new

Most people go through all these stages, but you will not necessarily move smoothly from one to the next.

Your grief might feel chaotic and out of control, but these feelings will eventually become less intense over time.

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Get help with grief after bereavement or loss

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Experts generally accept that we go through 4 stages of bereavement or grief: Accepting that your loss is real Experiencing the pain of grief Adjusting to life without the person or thing you have lost Putting less emotional energy into grieving and putting it into something new Most people go through all these stages, but you will not necessarily move smoothly from one to the next.

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Mental Health Resources for Black people and PoC

Black Minds Matter's mission is to connect Black individuals and families with free mental health services - by professional Black therapists to support their mental health. To make this happen, they want to make mental health topics more relevant and accessible for all Black people in the U.K., removing the stigma and remodelling the services to be relevant for the Black community.

We are lifting the silence on mental health issues and raising awareness in communities. By opening up the conversation and developing services, we are ensuring that people can find and receive the support they need.

Therapy for black girls is an online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls. They offer women a chance to not only find an appropriate therapist, but also access resources and discussions around mental health without stigma.

BAATN is the U.K's largest community of mental health professionals for people of Black, African, South Asian and Caribbean heritage. They connect people to therapists around the UK and provide free resources and services as well.

Rainbow Noir is a volunteer led social, peer support and community action group, which celebrates and platforms people of colour who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans*, Queer and/or Intersex (LGBTQI). We exist to provide a voice for LGBTQI people of colour in Greater Manchester and the North West. As a community and as individuals we are too often silenced or forgotten about. We strive to influence change within and outside of the LGBTQI community on a local and a national level. As well as a commitment to represent and platform LGBTQI people of colour and our communities, one of our soul aims from our very beginning, is been to create a space of our own, places to feel safe, where LGBTQI people of colour can meet, hang out, form friendships and find community. We create monthly social spaces both online and in person.

In March 2019, Mind launched a brand new programme working with young Black men. The three year programme works with 11 to 30 year-olds by offering a range of tailored local services working specifically with young Black men. The aim of the programme is to increase understanding of mental health problems, reduce the stigma surrounding them and learn about how and where to seek help when you need it. The programme has been guided by a steering group of nine young Black men, who use their insights and experience to guide the programme. We are working with five local Minds to deliver this programme: Coventry and Warwickshire Mind, Lambeth and Southwark Mind, City, Hackney and Waltham Forest Mind, Mind in Haringey and Leeds Mind.

We improve the lives of people severely affected by mental illness through our network of local groups and services, expert information and successful campaigning. Our goal is to make sure everyone affected by severe mental illness has a good quality of life.

Black Thrive is a partnership between communities, statutory organisations, voluntary and private sector. They work together to reduce the inequality and injustices experienced by Black people in mental health services. They address the barriers which lead to poorer outcomes across a range of social factors, such as education, employment, housing, and so on, all of which may negatively impact one's health and wellbeing.

Sharing Voices Bradford (SVB) is a community development mental health organisation actively supporting and working with diverse minority communities of Bradford. Sharing Voices Bradford was established on the basis that an individual's mental health experiences often arise from issues around: poverty, racism, unemployment, loneliness, family conflicts, relationship difficulties, and other socio-economic and personal factors that cannot be merely understood through biological terms alone. Understanding where an individual is, on their journey of recovery, listening to peoples own explanation and helping find solutions based on their needs, is a key part of our work. We are committed to working with BME communities and service providers to improve services and promote mental health well being for people living with mental distress. We look forward to working with you to achieve our aims and objectives.

Podcasts

Well-being in the workplace

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Mental Health Resources for Black people and PoC - ILPA

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Mental Health Resources for Black people and PoC Black Minds Matter UK Black Minds Matter's mission is to connect Black individuals and families with free mental health services - by professional Black therapists to support their mental health. To make this happen, they want to make mental health topics more relevant and accessible for all [...]

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The Proud Trust is an LGBT+ organisation that supports LGBT+ young people through youth groups, peer support, mentoring programs and the Proud Connections chat service.

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Yellow Door Youth Hub is a distribution point for C-Card. The C-Card App allows quick, discreet, and free access to condoms for young people aged 16-24.

The C-Card App is available for Android and Apple iOS from the respective App stores.

Following a simple, secure registration process, users are presented with three short videos providing important information on consent and the law, reducing the risk of getting a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) and how to use a condom correctly.

This is followed by a short quiz that tests understanding of the key information covered. Once the quiz is completed successfully users are able to collect free condoms from the Yellow Door Youth Hub using an in-app QR code.

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Yellow Door Youth Hub is a distribution point for C-Card. The C-Card App allows quick, discreet, and free access to condoms for young people aged 16-24. The C-Card App is available for Android and Apple iOS from the respective App stores.

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24/7

You can text us any time, day or night.

Confidential

Your messages with us are confidential and anonymous.

Free

It is free to text Shout from all major mobile networks in the UK.

Get involved

Donations doubled in the Big Give Christmas Challenge

Simply support Shout's Big Give campaign by midday on 5 December, and your donation will be doubled!

Can you help us hit our match funding target of £50,000 and support a further 5,000 people this winter?

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Ways to cope with upsetting events in the news

If you're feeling overwhelmed, anxious or sad about what's going on in the news, know that you're definitely not alone. Here are some actions we can take to help us cope better through times like this.

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I think Shout saved my life tonight... no one has ever made me feel so safe, listened to and understood

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Online resources and support

However you're feeling right now, you don't have to face it alone. We're here to support you with your mental health.

Take a look at our resources, information and support, find further help or reach out to one of our volunteers.

Resources for you

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Shout - UK's 24/7 Crisis Text Service for Mental Health Support

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Shout 85258 is the UK's first 24/7 text service for anyone in crisis. Get free, confidential mental health support anytime, anywhere. Text 'SHOUT' to 85258.

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Skip to content

Watch the full video

Thinking of suicide?

Are you, or is a young person you know, not coping with life? For confidential suicide prevention advice contact HOPELINE247.

My whole way of thinking has changed. I feel positive about my future and the people around me. I'm now looking forward to the future and helping others just like me!

Thank you so much for the incredible support PAPYRUS and HOPELINE247 has given me. You helped me in that moment and it kept me alive.

I intend to continue to fundraise for and promote PAPYRUS. I am so proud and humbled to be involved with a wonderful charity, and to have received the support that I have.

Having been personally bereaved by suicide I understand the importance and need for our charity. I am surrounded by others who are as passionate as I am about saving lives.

* All feedback is provided by people who contact PAPYRUS. All feedback has full consent of the user and the user remains fully anonymous. Some feedback may have been adapted to keep the users anonymity.

Our latest news

Stay up to date with PAPYRUS; our news section is regularly updated with helpful advice and guidance, as well as information about our upcoming events and campaigns. If you have any questions or queries please get in touch.

Our upcoming events

Please see below some of our upcoming and exciting events including fundraisers and charity events we will be attending. For more information please get in touch.

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Papyrus UK Suicide Prevention | Prevention of Young Suicide

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PAPYRUS UK is a charity for the prevention of young suicide (under 35) in the UK | Call PAPYRUS HOPELINE247 on 0800 068 4141 Now

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"Over the next 50 days, we need to raise £500,000 to ensure we can keep our services running for years to come." Lucy Harmer, CEO

Find out more

How are you feeling today?

Get tailored advice and information

Run, walk, cycle, swim or even roller-skate 149 km in a month and pledge to raise £149 to support grieving people.

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Grief can be overwhelming - you don't have to deal with it alone. Cruse Bereavement Support is here. Call our helpline or chat online.

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If things aren't right inside your head, it doesn't matter how much you can bench-press, how much you earn or how often you get laid, you won't feel good.
Stress is normal. One in four people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year. If you're a betting man, that's a 3 to 1 shot.

It's what we do about it that matters. You'll find nothing flash or clever here, just the facts in the words of men with experience. Think about the issues and react at your pace and as you want to. There are plenty of QUICK WINS plus links to help with the HARD STUFF. Take what you need and get on with your life.

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If things aren't right inside your head, it doesn't matter how much you can bench-press, how much you earn or how often you get laid, you won't feel good. Stress is normal. One in four people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year.

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Roman Kemp explores the mental health and suicide crisis affecting young men.

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StayAlive | Essential suicide prevention for every day life

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The StayAlive app is a suicide prevention resource for the UK, packed full of useful information and tools to help you stay safe in crisis.

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Samaritans works to make sure there's always someone there for anyone who needs someone. Read more.

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Struggling with an eating disorder? Caring for someone who is? Beat is here to support you.

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Eating disorders, like anorexia, are mental health conditions where unhealthy eating behaviours are used to cope with difficult feelings and issues.

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Calm Harm is a free app to help teenagers manage the urge to self-harm. Available on Google Play & App Store.

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What does depression feel like to young people and how did they cope (or not) with their feelings? The interviewees talk candidly about self harm and attempted suicide. The clip also looks at symptoms of depression and what the young people did to help themselves. Depression can affect us all at different times of our lives, whether in the long or short term. There aren't always clear triggers, and we don't always understand what makes us depressed.

This clip could act at as a stimulus for a project exploring depression in young people. Areas to explore include the extent and the causes of depression. Students could identify the key signs for individuals to help identify depression in themselves and in others. Research might also be conducted into the local and national support that is available. Students could present their project with a series of posters, leaflets, online advice sites, or in presentations to a class or assembly. Pupils could investigate the possibility of establishing a 'listening service' in their own school.

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Depression, its symptoms and self-harm - GCSE PSHE and Citizenship - BBC Bitesize

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Young people talk about how depression has affected them.

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I had a black dog, his name was depression

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Mindful Monday - Tapping for Anxiety (EFT) | Vitality UK

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What is anxiety? Anxiety is a normal, human feeling of fear or panic. How anxiety affects us: Physically - Symptoms Emotionally - Fear Cognitive - The way we think Behave - Avoidance Behaviour If we look up the word anxiety in the dictionary, we find the explanation: "An uncomfortable feeling of nervousness or worry about ...

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Supporting men through difficulties in their mental and physical ill health, ultimately to prevent suicide.

"Staying quiet about your struggles does not work. Our culture is definitely getting better at talking openly about mental ill health, but we still have a way to go. Many men still feel ashamed at confessing their own struggles. It's this shame of the fear of judgement by others, this stigma which we have to challenge."Paul Bannister Founder ManHealth

I founded ManHealth in late 2015. At this point in my life, I was very unwell with my mental ill health. Because of the stigma attached to speaking out I found it too difficult to ask for support. I had been aware for many years that I had depression but chose to ignore it and allowed it to control and define my life. I did what many men do and put on a mask and got on with life. Around this time, a series of life challenges including divorce, restricted access to my daughter, redundancy and the illness of my mother finally made me too unwell to really function; and at this point I was thinking what's the point? I thought nobody would be able to understand how I was feeling and they would be unable to help me anyway.

I now realise that this is how Depression wants you to think. It wants you to disconnect and isolate yourself so it can get to work on your mind. It was at this point that I thought to myself, what if I could talk to another man who really understood my pain, someone who had been through it and was able to manage it? I realised that there must be thousands of men who are dying because they are too conditioned by our society to feel ashamed at confessing their struggles and are often told to man up or pull ourselves together when they try to reach out for help.

I threw myself into this distraction and ManHealth was created. ManHealth seeks not just to support men in the communities across County Durham Tyne & Wear and Northumberland but also to indirectly benefit their families and employers, as well as GPs, the NHS and voluntary sector organisations, which are destinations for men suffering with mental ill health. It is clear that many of these agencies do not always grasp the real need of these men suffering with mental health conditions. Their need for a listening ear, for time to be listened too and a place which can advice and give them the knowledge to manage their illness and rebuild their confidence.

ManHealth seeks to be a response to a complex social issue.

Therefore, in some ways I am thankful for my Depression because it forced me to speak about my vulnerabilities and speak to people. It now no longer has control over my life. We understand one another. Due to regularly talking to friends and family. I can control the Black Dog.

Paul Bannister

About Men

Just over three out of four suicides (76%) are by men and suicide is the biggest cause of death for men under 35 (Reference: ONS)

12.5% of men in the UK are suffering from one of the common mental health disorders

Men are nearly three times more likely than women to become alcohol dependent (8.7% of men are alcohol dependent compared to 3.3% of women (Health and Social Care Information Centre)

Men are more likely to use (and die from) illegal drugs

Men are less likely to access psychological therapies than women.

Over three quarters of people who kill themselves are men (Reference: ONS).

Men report significantly lower life satisfaction than women in the Government's national well-being survey - with those aged 45 to 59 reporting the lowest levels of life satisfaction (Reference: ONS)

73% of adults who 'go missing' are men (Reference: University of York).

87% of rough sleepers are men (Reference: Crisis).

Samaritans.

Phone: 116 123.

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Supporting men through difficulties in their mental and physical ill health, ultimately to prevent suicide. "Staying quiet about your struggles does not work. Our culture is definitely getting better at talking openly about mental ill health, but we still have a way to go. Many men still feel ashamed at confessing their own struggles.

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Why big boys don't cry | Gareth Griffith | TEDxUniversityofBristol

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Raising awareness and providing resources for those struggling with men’s mental health.

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24/7

You can text us any time, day or night.

Confidential

Your messages with us are confidential and anonymous.

Free

It is free to text Shout from all major mobile networks in the UK.

Get involved

Donations doubled in the Big Give Christmas Challenge

Simply support Shout's Big Give campaign by midday on 5 December, and your donation will be doubled!

Can you help us hit our match funding target of £50,000 and support a further 5,000 people this winter?

Find out more

Get help

Ways to cope with upsetting events in the news

If you're feeling overwhelmed, anxious or sad about what's going on in the news, know that you're definitely not alone. Here are some actions we can take to help us cope better through times like this.

Find out more

I think Shout saved my life tonight... no one has ever made me feel so safe, listened to and understood

Shout texter

GET HELP

Online resources and support

However you're feeling right now, you don't have to face it alone. We're here to support you with your mental health.

Take a look at our resources, information and support, find further help or reach out to one of our volunteers.

Resources for you

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Shout - UK's 24/7 Crisis Text Service for Mental Health Support

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Shout 85258 is the UK's first 24/7 text service for anyone in crisis. Get free, confidential mental health support anytime, anywhere. Text 'SHOUT' to 85258.

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Essential support for under 25s

The Mix is the UK's leading support service for young people. We are here to help you take on any challenge you're facing - from mental health to money, from homelessness to finding a job, from break-ups to drugs. Talk to us via our online community, on social, through our free, confidential helpline or our counselling service.

Featured

The Mix. Registered charity number: 1048995

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Welcome to The Mix, offering essential support for under 25s.

Log in to submit your own content on our platform Your Voices.

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Welcome to The Mix, the online guide to life for young people in the UK.

Your Voices is a community-focused section of The Mix where you can share stories about your experiences on a specific issue. Upload your own videos, images, blog posts, and playlists to Your Voices and share them with your friends.

Don't have a Your Voices account? Sign up here to submit your own content.

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The Mix - Essential support for under 25s

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The Mix: 0808 808 4994 - Free information and support for under 25s in the UK. Get advice about sex, relationships, drugs, mental health, money & jobs.

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Kooth is your online mental wellbeing community. Access free, safe and anonymous

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On Thursday 30 November from 2:30am - 7:30am, you won't be able to contact Childline whilst we do some important maintenance to our systems. This means that 1-2-1 chats, calling and messages to Childline will be unavailable. You'll still be able to use the Childline website for advice and information.

If you're in danger or it's an emergency, you should always call 999

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Get help and advice about a wide range of issues, call us on 0800 1111, talk to a counsellor online, send Childline an email or post on the message boards.

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Friends For Lives Magazine

FRIENDS FOR LIVES MAGAZINE

Friends For Lives Magazine is distributed 'free of charge' to over 20,000 recipients every month with it's focus being to raise community awareness about mental health issues.

We include articles and promotions from a variation of sources and we do not charge for this service.

The magazines objective is to help the communities we live in become better informed, healthier, happier and safer.

Please feel free to contribute any news item or article that you feel will help us to promote this objective.

We do charge a small fee for direct advertisements but this is by way of a donation to the work we do.

Also if you enjoy reading our magazine and you wish to help us by way of a small donation then please use the donations box above.

Thank you...

The Friends For Lives Team

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FRIENDS FOR LIVES MAGAZINEClick the magazine image below to view full screen...Friends For Lives Magazine is distributed 'free of charge' to over 20,000 recipients every month with it's focus being to raise community awareness about mental health issues.We include articles and promotions from a variation of sources and we do

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Bloom is the world's first interactive self-guided video app to do therapy yourself. Start your first week free. Now available on Apple AppStore.

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Flagship of hope - SANE research centre

The Prince of Wales International Centre for SANE Research is to be a hub for a major international programme investigating the use of cannabidiol (CBD) to treat people with psychosis and schizophrenia.

The study is made possible thanks to a £16.5 million grant from the Wellcome Trust to the University of Oxford.

Global study into schizophrenia and psychosis at SANE research centre

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SANE: Meeting the challenge of mental illness. No-one affected by mental illness should face crisis, distress or despair alone.

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YoungMinds | Mental Health Charity For Children And Young People

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YoungMinds are a mental health charity for children, young people and their parents, making sure all young people can get the mental health support they need.

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Whatever's on your mind, we're here - Togetherall

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Need urgent help? Contact one of these crisis support services

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It can be easy to rush through life without stopping to notice much.
Paying more attention to the present moment - to your own thoughts and feelings, and to the world around you - can improve your mental wellbeing.

Some people call this awareness "mindfulness". Mindfulness can help us enjoy life more and understand ourselves better. You can take steps to develop it in your own life.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness involves paying attention to what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment.

It's easy to stop noticing the world around us. It's also easy to lose touch with the way our bodies are feeling and to end up living "in our heads" - caught up in our thoughts without stopping to notice how those thoughts are driving our emotions and behaviour.

An important part of mindfulness is reconnecting with our bodies and the sensations they experience. This means paying attention to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the present moment. That might be something as simple as the feel of a banister as we walk upstairs.

Another important part of mindfulness is an awareness of our thoughts and feelings as they happen moment to moment.

How mindfulness helps mental wellbeing

Becoming more aware of the present moment can help us enjoy the world around us more and understand ourselves better.

When we become more aware of the present moment, we begin to experience afresh things that we have been taking for granted.

Mindfulness also allows us to become more aware of the stream of thoughts and feelings that we experience, and to see how we can become entangled in that stream in ways that are not helpful.

This lets us stand back from our thoughts and start to see their patterns. Gradually, we can train ourselves to notice when our thoughts are taking over and realise that thoughts are simply "mental events" that do not have to control us.

Mindfulness can help us deal with issues more productively. We can ask: "Is trying to solve this by brooding about it helpful, or am I just getting caught up in my thoughts?"

Awareness of this kind may also help us notice signs of stress or anxiety earlier and deal with them better.

Mindfulness-based therapies are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a way to treat less severe depression.

NICE also recommends that employers make mindfulness available to all employees, to support mental wellbeing at work.

How to be more mindful

Reminding yourself to take notice of your thoughts, feelings, body sensations and the world around you is the first step to mindfulness.

Notice the everyday

As we go about our daily lives, we can notice the sensations of things, the food we eat, the air moving past the body as we walk.

Keep it regular

It can be helpful to pick a regular time, such as a morning journey to work or a walk at lunchtime, during which you decide to be aware of the sensations created by the world around you.

Try something new

Trying new things, such as sitting in a different seat in meetings or going somewhere new for lunch, can also help you notice the world in a new way.

Watch your thoughts

Some people find it very difficult to practise mindfulness. As soon as they stop what they're doing, lots of thoughts and worries crowd in.

It might be useful to remember that mindfulness isn't about making these thoughts go away, but rather about seeing them as mental events that come and go. This can be very hard at first, but with gentle persistence it is possible.

Some people find that it is easier to cope with an over-busy mind if they are doing gentle yoga or walking.

Name thoughts and feelings

To develop an awareness of thoughts and feelings, some people find it helpful to silently name them: "Here's the thought that I might fail that exam" or: "This is anxiety".

Free yourself from the past and future

You can practise mindfulness anywhere, but it can be especially helpful to take a mindful approach if you realise that, for several minutes, you have been trapped in reliving past problems or pre-living future worries.

Different mindfulness practices

As well as practising mindfulness in daily life, it can be helpful to set aside time for a more formal mindfulness practice.

Mindfulness meditation involves sitting silently and paying attention to thoughts, sounds, the sensations of breathing or parts of the body, bringing your attention back whenever the mind starts to wander.

Yoga and tai-chi can also help with developing awareness of your breathing.

Is mindfulness helpful for everyone?

Studies show that mindfulness can help with stress, anxiety and depression. More research is needed to show whether it helps with other mental health conditions.

Many people find mindfulness helpful, but it's not right for everyone. Some people find that it does not help them, or that it can make them feel worse.

More tips for wellbeing

There are other steps we can all take to improve our mental wellbeing. Learn more about the 5 steps to mental wellbeing.

You can also get your free Mind Plan on the Every Mind Matters website for personalised mental wellbeing tips and advice to your email inbox.

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Awareness of ourselves and the world around us - sometimes called mindfulness - can improve our mental wellbeing.

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Dr Alex George's five top tips for good mental health and wellbeing

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30 seconds to mindfulness | Phil Boissiere | TEDxNaperville

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Stop.Breathe.Think is a game changing mental health service based in the UK. We give young people access to free counselling and support.

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Mindfulness. It's a pretty straightforward word. It suggests that the mind is fully attending to what's happening, to what you're doing, to the space you're moving through. That might seem trivial, except for the annoying fact that we so often veer from the matter at hand. Our mind takes flight, we lose touch with our body, and pretty soon we're engrossed in obsessive thoughts about something that just happened or fretting about the future. And that makes us anxious.

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we're doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what's going on around us.

Yet no matter how far we drift away, mindfulness is right there to snap us back to where we are and what we're doing and feeling. If you want to know what mindfulness is, it's best to try it for a while. Since it's hard to nail down in words, you will find slight variations in the meaning in books, websites, audio, and video.

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we're doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what's going on around us.

Mindfulness is a quality that every human being already possesses, it's not something you have to conjure up, you just have to learn how to access it.

The Types of Mindfulness Practice

While mindfulness is innate, it can be cultivated through proven techniques. Here are some examples:

Seated, walking, standing, and moving meditation (it's also possible lying down but often leads to sleep);

Short pauses we insert into everyday life;

Merging meditation practice with other activities, such as yoga or sports.

The Benefits of Mindfulness Practice:

When we meditate it doesn't help to fixate on the benefits, but rather to just do the practice, and yet there are benefits or no one would do it.

When we're mindful, we reduce stress, enhance performance, gain insight and awareness through observing our own mind, and increase our attention to others' well-being.

Mindfulness meditation gives us a time in our lives when we can suspend judgment and unleash our natural curiosity about the workings of the mind, approaching our experience with warmth and kindness -to ourselves and others.

8 Facts About Mindfulness:

Mindfulness is not obscure or exotic. It's familiar to us because it's what we already do, how we already are. It takes many shapes and goes by many names.

Mindfulness is not a special added thing we do. We already have the capacity to be present, and it doesn't require us to change who we are. But we can cultivate these innate qualities with simple practices that are scientifically demonstrated to benefit ourselves, our loved ones, our friends and neighbors, the people we work with, and the institutions and organizations we take part in

You don't need to change. Solutions that ask us to change who we are or become something we're not have failed us over and over again. Mindfulness recognizes and cultivates the best of who we are as human beings.

Mindfulness has the potential to become a transformative social phenomenon. Here's why:

Anyone can do it. Mindfulness practice cultivates universal human qualities and does not require anyone to change their beliefs. Everyone can benefit and it's easy to learn.

It's a way of living. Mindfulness is more than just a practice. It brings awareness and caring into everything we do-and it cuts down needless stress. Even a little makes our lives better.

It's evidence-based. We don't have to take mindfulness on faith. Both science and experience demonstrate its positive benefits for our health, happiness, work, and relationships.

It sparks innovation. As we deal with our world's increasing complexity and uncertainty, mindfulness can lead us to effective, resilient, low-cost responses to seemingly intransigent problems.

Mindfulness Is Not All in Your Head

When we think about mindfulness and meditating (with a capital M), we can get hung up on thinking about our thoughts: we're going to do something about what's happening in our heads. It's as if these bodies we have are just inconvenient sacks for our brains to lug around.

Having it all remain in your head, though, lacks a feeling of good old gravity.

Meditation begins and ends in the body. It involves taking the time to pay attention to where we are and what's going on, and that starts with being aware of our body

That approach can make it seem like floating-as though we don't have to walk. We can just waft.

But meditation begins and ends in the body. It involves taking the time to pay attention to where we are and what's going on, and that starts with being aware of our body. That very act can be calming, since our body has internal rhythms that help it relax if we give it a chance.

How to Sit for Meditation Practice

Here's a posture practice that can be used as the beginning stage of a period of meditation practice or simply as something to do for a minute, maybe to stabilize yourself and find a moment of relaxation before going back into the fray. If you have injuries or other physical difficulties, you can modify this to suit your situation.

Take your seat. Whatever you're sitting on-a chair, a meditation cushion, a park bench-find a spot that gives you a stable, solid seat, not perching or hanging back.

Notice what your legs are doing. If on a cushion on the floor, cross your legs comfortably in front of you. (If you already do some kind of seated yoga posture, go ahead.) If on a chair, it's good if the bottoms of your feet are touching the floor.

Straighten-but don't stiffen- your upper body. The spine has natural curvature. Let it be there. Your head and shoulders can comfortably rest on top of your vertebrae.

Situate your upper arms parallel to your upper body. Then let your hands drop onto the tops of your legs. With your upper arms at your sides, your hands will land in the right spot. Too far forward will make you hunch. Too far back will make you stiff. You're tuning the strings of your body-not too tight and not too loose.

Drop your chin a little and let your gaze fall gently downward. You may let your eyelids lower. If you feel the need, you may lower them completely, but it's not necessary to close your eyes when meditating. You can simply let what appears before your eyes be there without focusing on it.

Be there for a few moments. Relax. Pay attention to your breath or the sensations in your body.

Begin again. When your posture is established, feel your breath-or some say "follow" it-as it goes out and as it goes in. (Some versions of the practice put more emphasis on the outbreath, and for the inbreath you simply leave a spacious pause.) Inevitably, your attention will leave the breath and wander to other places. When you get around to noticing this-in a few seconds, a minute, five minutes-return your attention to the breath. Don't bother judging yourself or obsessing over the content of the thoughts. Come back. You go away, you come back.

That's it. That's the practice. It's often been said that it's very simple, but it's not necessarily easy. The work is to just keep doing it. Results will accrue.

Try This Beginner's Mindfulness Meditation:

A 5-Minute Breathing Meditation To Cultivate Mindfulness. This practice is designed to reduce stress, anxiety, and negative emotions, cool yourself down when your temper flares, and sharpen your concentration skills.

Learn more About Mindfulness:

Explore the science of mindfulness, learn how to meditate, and how to practice mindful movement, plus dispel some of the myths of mindfulness with Mindful's Getting Started Guide.

Becoming more aware of where you are and what you're doing, without becoming overly reactive or overwhelmed by what's going on around you. Read More

As more and more of us seek mindfulness guidance and instruction, where should we turn to find teachers and programs we can trust and recommend? Read More

Your day-to-day activities offer ample opportunities to call up mindfulness in any moment. These simple practices will breathe space into your daily routines. Read More

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What is mindfulness? Are you supposed to clear your mind, or focus on one thing? Here's the Mindful definition of Mindfulness.

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Mental health and emotional wellbeing - Brook

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We all have mental health in the same way we all have physical health. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing. It affects how we think, feel, and act.

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Resilience is what gives people the psychological strength to cope with stress and hardship. It is the mental reservoir of strength that people are able to call on in times of need to carry them through without falling apart. Psychologists believe that resilient individuals are better able to handle adversity and rebuild their lives after a struggle.

Dealing with change or loss is an inevitable part of life. At some point, everyone experiences varying degrees of setbacks. Some of these challenges might be relatively minor (not getting into a class you wanted to take or being turned down for a promotion at work), while others are disastrous on a much larger scale (hurricanes and terrorist attacks).

How we deal with these problems can play a significant role in not only the outcome but also the long-term psychological consequences. The good news is that there are things you can do to become more resilient.

What Is Resilience?

People who remain calm in the face of disaster have what psychologists call resilience. Resilient people are able to utilize their skills and strengths to cope and recover from problems and challenges. These problems may include:

Instead of falling into despair or hiding from problems with unhealthy coping strategies, resilient people face life's difficulties head-on.

This does not mean that they experience less distress, grief, or anxiety than other people do. It means that they use healthy coping skills to handle such difficulties in ways that foster strength and growth. In many cases, they may emerge even stronger than they were before.

Those who lack this resilience may instead become overwhelmed by such experiences. They may dwell on problems and use unhelpful coping mechanisms to deal with life's challenges.

Disappointment or failure might drive them to unhealthy, destructive, or even dangerous behaviors. These individuals are slower to recover from setbacks and may experience more psychological distress as a result.

What Resilience Provides

Resilience does not eliminate stress or erase life's difficulties. People who possess this quality don't see life through rose-colored lenses; they understand that setbacks happen and that sometimes, life is hard and painful. They still experience the negative emotions that come after a tragedy, but their mental outlook allows them to work through these feelings and recover.

Resilience gives people the strength to tackle problems head-on, overcome adversity, and move on with their lives. In the wake of traumas such as the 9/11 attacks and the Hurricane Katrina disaster, many individuals demonstrated the behaviors that typify resilience-and they experienced fewer symptoms of depression as a result.

Who Is Resilient, and Why?

Some people come by these abilities naturally, with personality traits that help them remain unflappable in the face of challenge. However, these behaviors are not just inborn traits found in a select few. Resilience is the result of a complex series of internal and external characteristics, including your genetics, physical fitness, mental health, and environment.

Social support is another critical variable that contributes to resilience. Mentally strong people tend to have the support of family and friends who help bolster them up in times of trouble.

Resilient people may also show characteristics like:

Holding positive views of themselves and their abilities

Possessing the capacity to make realistic plans and stick to them

Having an internal locus of control

Being a good communicator

Viewing themselves as fighters rather than victims

Having high emotional intelligence and managing emotions effectively

How to Build Resilience

Fortunately, resilience is something that you can build both in yourself and in your children. There are distinct steps that you can take to become more resilient.

Reframe Your Thoughts

Resilient people are able to look at negative situations realistically, but in a way that doesn't center on blame or brooding over what cannot be changed. Instead of viewing adversity as insurmountable, reframe your thoughts to look for small ways that you can tackle the problem and make changes that will help.

You can also use this approach to help children learn how to better cope with challenges. Encourage them to think about challenges in more positive, hopeful ways. This way, instead of getting stuck in a loop of negative emotions, your child can learn to see these events as opportunities to challenge themselves and develop new skills.

Seek Support

Talking about the difficulties you are coping with doesn't make them go away, but sharing with a supportive friend or loved one can make you feel like you have someone in your corner, which could help you build your resilience. Discussing things with other people can also help you gain insight or even new ideas that might help you better manage the challenges you're dealing with.

To help your child develop a support network, try modeling good social skills like sharing your feelings, being empathetic, cooperating with and helping others, and expressing gratitude-and remember to reinforce your child's good behavior.

Focus on What You Can Control

When faced with a crisis or problem, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by things that feel far beyond your control. Instead of wishing there was some way you could go back in time or change things, try focusing only on the things that you can directly impact. Encourage your child to develop this skill by talking about their situation and helping them make a plan for how they can react.

Manage Stress

Building healthy stress management habits is an effective way to increase your overall resilience. These habits could include behaviors that help your overall health, like getting enough sleep and exercise, as well as specific actions you can take during moments of stress, like:

With some practice, these skills can be learned and mastered by adults and children alike. Eventually, you or your child will feel prepared to face stressful situations and resilient enough to bounce back quickly. If you need help learning to keep your stress levels under control, consider enlisting the support of a cognitive therapist.

Get Advice From The Verywell Mind Podcast

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How Resilience Helps When Coping With Challenges

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Resilience is what gives people the psychological strength to cope with stress and hardship. It is the mental reservoir of strength that people are able to call on in times of need to carry them through without falling apart. Psychologists believe that resilient individuals are better able to handle adversity and rebuild their lives after a struggle.

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The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong | Amy Morin | TEDxOcala

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The three secrets of resilient people | Lucy Hone | TEDxChristchurch

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Sleep Is Your Superpower | Matt Walker | TED

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Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

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Why is sleep important? - Wellbeing video

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If you're stressed, whether by your job or something more personal, the first step to feeling better is to identify the cause.
The most unhelpful thing you can do is turn to something unhealthy to help you cope, such as smoking or drinking.

Not taking control of the situation and doing nothing can make your problems worse.

Some of the keys to good stress management are building emotional strength, being in control of your situation, having a good social network, and adopting a positive outlook.

What you can do to address stress

Try these 10 stress-busting suggestions:

Be active

Exercise won't make your stress disappear, but it can reduce some of the emotional intensity that you're feeling, clearing your thoughts and letting you deal with your problems more calmly.

For more advice, read about exercise for depression.
Get started with exercise
Take control

If you think you cannot do anything about your problem, your stress can get worse.

That feeling of loss of control is one of the main causes of stress and lack of wellbeing.

The act of taking control is in itself empowering, and it's a crucial part of finding a solution that satisfies you and not someone else.

Connect with people

A good support network of colleagues, friends and family can ease your work troubles and help you see things in a different way.

The activities we do with friends can help us relax and relieve stress.

Talking things through with a friend may also help you find solutions to your problems.

Read about 5 steps to mental wellbeing, including the benefits of connecting with other people.

Have some "me time"

Many of us work long hours, meaning we often don't spend enough time doing things we really enjoy.

It's important to take some time for socialising, relaxation or exercise.

You could try setting aside a couple of nights a week for some quality "me time" away from work.

Challenge yourself

Setting yourself goals and challenges, whether at work or outside, such as learning a new language or a new sport, can help build confidence. This may help you deal with stress.

It can also make you want to do things and be active.

Avoid unhealthy habits

Don't rely on alcohol, smoking and caffeine as your ways of coping.

They might provide temporary relief, but in the long term, these crutches won't solve your problems. They'll just create new ones.

It's best to tackle the cause of your stress.

Help other people

Evidence shows that people who help others, through activities such as volunteering or community work, often become more resilient.

If you don't have time to volunteer, try to do someone a favour every day. It can be something as small as helping someone cross the road or going on a coffee run for colleagues.
Find out more about giving for mental wellbeing
Work smarter, not harder

Working smarter means prioritising your work, concentrating on the tasks that'll make a real difference.

Leave the least important tasks to last. Accept that you will not have time for everything.
Get tips on how to manage your time better
Try to be positive

Look for the positives in life, and things for which you're grateful.

Try writing down 3 things that went well, or for which you're grateful, at the end of every day.

Accept the things you can't change

Changing a difficult situation isn't always possible. Try to concentrate on the things you do have control over.

For example, if your company is making redundancies, you could focus on the things that you can control, such as looking for a new job.

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How to beat stress, including exercise, taking control, social networks, work-life balance, and being positive.

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Exam stress affects most students in varying ways. It is important to manage this stress and find little ways of helping to eliminate the risk of burnout.

For some students, exams can be a breeze; revision is second nature to them and they could ace an exam with their eyes closed. But for others, sweaty palms and heart palpitations are just a part of the territory, and it seems that nothing is more impossible than sitting down and revising. Here are some handy tips that can help to dissipate stress and make sure you can get through exam season.

1. Take regular breaks and schedule in fun things to look forward to

Even the most intense exam timetables will allow a little time for a study break. This can include 20-minute breaks during your revision day, and longer activities that you can look forward to. Go out for dinner with friends, go to the cinema, attend a gig, anything that you like doing in your spare time that will take your mind off exams. Spending a little time away from the books will leave you feeling more refreshed and relaxed the next time you revise.

2. Exercise and get outdoors

Easily one of the most frustrating things about exam season is that it seems to occur just as the weather brightens up. Use this to your advantage and go out for a walk, or a run, or head to the gym or swimming pool. As well as keeping you healthy, exercise is known to boost your mood and can help to make you more productive while revising.

More exam resources
Video: 10 common Exam Results Day questions - answered
How to deal with stress over exam results
How to survive A-level Results Day
How to deal with pressure at university
3. Don't (always) listen to others

As the old saying goes: "comparison is the thief of joy". While it is helpful to discuss topics with fellow students and often to revise together, try not to compare other peoples' revision to your own. Chances are you're doing just fine, and listening to other people talk about what they've learnt will only stress you out and may make you feel like you aren't progressing as well as them. Plus, if they themselves are stressed this can rub off on to you and other people's stress is not what you need right now.

4. Speak to someone

If the stress gets to a point where it is overwhelming, and is affecting your day-to-day life, try and speak to someone about it. Your university or school should have a service where you can speak to people about your concerns, and will be able to offer more advice on how to manage it. If that seems like too big a step, open up to a family member or a friend about the pressure you feel. You'll be amazed to know that you aren't alone in feeling like this.

10 quick ways to help eliminate exam stress

Watch a film, a TV show or listen to a podcast or comedian that makes you laugh.

Drink some herbal tea or a hot chocolate. It's a well known fact that hot drinks are known to soothe the soul (avoid too much caffeine though!).

A shower or a bath can help to relieve stress.

Cook or bake something. Just the thought of having something delicious to eat can bring you joy. As a bonus side note, try and cook something healthy too. You can't feed your mind well, if you don't feed your body well.

Get some sleep. The virtues of a good night's sleep during exam season should not be underestimated.

Keep things in perspective. Yes, exams are important. But you are so much more than your exam results.

Avoid other stressed people. You know the ones I mean. The ones with cue cards outside of the exam hall, frantically trying to remember key dates and equations. They will do nothing for your stress levels.

Avoid the exam "post-mortem". You don't need to know how other people fared in the exam. You've done your best, you can't go back and change your answers so the second you step out of the exam hall, focus on your next exam.

Be flexible. While having a revision time table is one of the best tools in your arsenal for exam success, don't be too hard on yourself if you don't stick to it. If you accidentally oversleep, don't write the day off.

Write down everything you feel like you need to do and try and tick one thing off. Just the act of feeling like you are in control of your revision can help.

Read next: 5 revision tips to help you ace exam season

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Exam stress affects most students in varying ways. It is important to manage this stress and find little ways of helping to eliminate the risk of burnout. For some students, exams can be a breeze; revision is second nature to them and they could ace an exam with their eyes closed.

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UEA webinar: Life skills for getting motivated and dealing with anxiety

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Exam Stress | How To Deal with Exam Stress

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It's normal to feel a bit worried about exams, but sometimes they can make you feel anxious or depressed. Find out how you can deal with exam stress.

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We offer non-judgemental, confidential support 7 days a week, 365 days a year including bank holidays and Eid. Every month we listen to over 430 people through our helpline service. Hear more from our callers. See our impact reports In our resource guides, you'll find our recent research report, mental health and wellbeing tips, and lots of news and updates on our blog.

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Supports Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic children (11+), young people and parents and carers who have been affected by Covid-19. You can call to talk through any worry or problem, including around issues such as bereavement, physical or mental health, financial issues or unemployment, or bullying and racism.

You can speak to someone in English, Gujarati, Urdu, Bengali, French, Spanish, Arabic, Punjabi, Mirpuri, Pothwari, Hinko, Hindi and Sundhi. Interpreters are available for other languages.

Webchat service available here during opening hours.

Opening times:

10am - 8pm, Monday - Friday; 10am - 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays

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Black Mental Health Matters | Racism & Mental Health

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Supports Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic children (11+), young people and parents and carers who have been affected by Covid-19. You can call to talk through any worry or problem, including around issues such as bereavement, physical or mental health, financial issues or unemployment, or bullying and racism.

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If you prefer to have an online chat with a specialist support advisor, you can do this via the live webchat by clicking on the icon on the bottom right.

Getting in touch for professionals

To contact us, or refer someone to the helpline (with their consent), you can do so via:

Free phone: 0800 151 2605

Email: Boloh.helpline@barnardos.org.uk

Advice, emotional support and therapeutic support to for Hong Kong BN(O) Nationals and Asylum Seekers

Practical support with meeting your needs, or the needs of your child e.g. food, devices, clothing

Our Helpline Advisors and Therapists speak a range of languages with access to interpreters when required.

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Boloh - the Black and Asian family Helpline

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If you prefer to have an online chat with a specialist support advisor, you can do this via the live webchat by clicking on the icon on the bottom right.

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There's no shame in taking care of your mental health | Sangu Delle

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The Black community isn't any less likely than others to develop mental illness, but Black Americans may lack the resources to get help for their psychological problems. They're greatly underrepresented as patients, even though some reports say Black Americans experience even more psychological distress than other ethnic groups.

In fact, only half of Black adults with mental illness get treatment, according to the nonprofit organization Mental Health America.

A number of factors contribute to this trend. The legacy of systemic racism in health care has bred distrust in communities of color, for example; and just 4% of psychologists practicing today are Black.

Now, add in the cost of treatment, especially for therapists who don't accept health insurance, and the difficulty that patients with full-time jobs have scheduling therapy appointments during weekdays. It's easy to see why obtaining therapy can be challenging for Black Americans.

These mental health resources and organizations are striving to destigmatize Black mental health and provide support to the Black community.

The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation

Actress Taraji P. Henson has not only been open about her experiences with anxiety, depression, and grief. She's also become a mental health advocate for Black Americans.

In 2018, the Golden Globe winner launched the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, named after her late father, whose mental health suffered from his military service in the Vietnam War. The foundation raises awareness about mental health in the Black community and works to reduce stigma about the issue.

The foundation also partners with other nonprofits to provide scholarships to Black students pursuing mental health careers and works to reduce recidivism in the prison system. It also offers mental health services to youth in urban schools.

Over the past three decades, the suicide rate of Black children between the ages of 5 and 11 is two times greater than the suicide rate of their white counterparts. Black teens are also more likely than white youth to attempt suicide, making outreach in schools a top priority for Henson's group.

The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation has also conducted outreach to Black Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has offered free virtual therapy to Black Americans directly impacted by the coronavirus and the racial justice protests that followed the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020.

The Liberate Meditation App

New York-based software engineer Julio Rivera launched the Liberate meditation app in 2019 specifically for people of color. An Afro-Latino, Rivera could not find an online meditation resource designed for Black and Brown people, so he created his own.

Many meditation apps for general audiences may discuss issues such as stress, overwork, busyness, and relationships. Liberate includes guided audio meditations and presentations related to topics including sleep, mindfulness, ancestors, and gratitude.

Additionally, the app provides meditations that touch on the pain of racial discrimination and shows users how to honor and nurture their feelings in the wake of microaggressions (subtle forms of racism) that can take a toll on a person's mental health over time.

Other meditations on the app encourage users to think of all the people who care for and support them. Although Liberate users come from all racial backgrounds, Black women comprise the largest group of users, according to Rivera.

Black Therapists Rock

With headquarters in Washington, DC, Black Therapists Rock aims to "reverse racial trauma through collective healing." A book of the same name, authored by 15 Black mental health professionals, debuted in 2018. That effort has blossomed into a Facebook group, a therapist directory, and training events. Black Therapists Rock is a resource for the public and mental health professionals alike.

Therapy for Black Girls

Therapy for Black Girls aims to make therapy more accessible for Black women and lift the veil on mental health in the Black community.

The platform includes a podcast hosted by licensed psychologist Joy Harden Bradford that explores topics such as complex PTSD, Black women and intimate partner violence, and talking to kids about race. Therapy for Black Girls also includes a provider directory, a community called the "sister circle," and a blog.

Therapy for Black Men

Therapy for Black Men works to change the perception that therapy is a sign of weakness and make therapy easier for Black men and boys to access. It includes a national directory of roughly 150 therapists and 30 coaches (providing help for issues such as relationships, weight loss, and confidence-building) who are equipped to provide culturally competent care to Black men.

The organization also provides financial assistance for economically disadvantaged Black Americans, a blog, and articles about topics such as relationships and triggers.

Therapy in Color

Therapy in Color strives to create spaces for healing with the goal of making sure that Black, Indigenous, and people of color can access psychotherapy by culturally diverse professionals.

Aiming to destigmatize therapy, the organization includes a blog, directory of therapists, and resources to help patients better manage anxiety and other mental health problems. It is the brainchild of licensed psychotherapist Ashley Bryant, who advocates for inclusivity in the mental health realm.

The Black Mental Health Alliance (BMHA)

With a database of Black psychiatrists, a questionnaire to match prospective patients with therapists, and other resources, the Black Mental Health Alliance promotes and organizes educational forums, training, and referral services to support the Black community.

The organization has also provided school-based mental health services, fatherhood initiatives, and after-school programs. BMHA programs and workshops are culturally relevant and address race-based trauma, structural racism, and mental health stigma in the Black community.

Black Mental Wellness

Black Mental Wellness collaborates with community stakeholders to provide culturally relevant educational resources about Black mental health. It offers training opportunities for Black mental health professionals and students interested in pursuing mental health and wellness careers.

The organization also provides fact sheets about mental health problems such as ADHD, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorders.

Some mental health professionals share their expertise with audiences on YouTube. Among them is Atlanta-based psychiatrist Tracey Marks, MD, who uploads weekly videos about a variety of mental health topics, including mood disorders, personality disorders, medication, and treatment options. With more than a half-million subscribers, Marks is one of the most popular mental health professionals on YouTube.

You can also find licensed professional counselors such as Támara Hill, psychologist Joy Harden Bradford of Therapy for Black Girls, and Black Therapists Rock on the site, among many others.

YouTube is no substitute for seeing a trained psychologist, psychiatrist, or other mental health professional. That said, the licensed experts who share their knowledge on the platform can help Black people better understand mental health topics, find professionals who look like them, and connect with other Black Americans interested in learning more about mental health.

Some viewers have their own mental health struggles, while others want to better understand their loved one's experiences.

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Mental Health Resources for the Black Community

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The Black community isn't any less likely than others to develop mental illness, but Black Americans may lack the resources to get help for their psychological problems. They're greatly underrepresented as patients, even though some reports say Black Americans experience even more psychological distress than other ethnic groups.

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Mental health problems such as depression or self-harm can affect any of us, but they're more common among people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBTQ+).
This may be linked to LGBTQ+ people's experience of discrimination, homophobia or transphobia, bullying, social isolation, or rejection because of their sexuality.

Other things, such as their age, religion, where they live, and their ethnicity can add extra complications to an already difficult situation.

How talking therapy can help

It might not be easy, but getting help with issues you're struggling to deal with on your own is one of the most important things you can do.

Talking with a therapist who's trained to work with LGBTQ+ people may help with issues such as:

difficulty accepting your sexual orientation

coping with other people's reactions to your sexuality

feeling your body does not reflect your true gender (gender dysphoria)

transitioning

low self-esteem

suicidal thoughts

depression

coping with bullying and discrimination

anger, isolation or rejection from family, friends or your community

fear of violence

Read about different types of talking therapy and how they can help.

When to get help

Do not suffer in silence. You should get help as soon as you feel you need it. It's never too late to get help, no matter how big or small your problems might seem.

You could benefit from getting help if you:

feel tired, lack energy or have problems sleeping

feel anxious, agitate, irritable, low or depressed

shut yourself away from people

no longer want to do things you used to enjoy

use alcohol or drugs to help you cope with your feelings

harm yourself or have thoughts about self-harming

think about suicide

If you're struggling to cope right now, contact Samaritans:

Samaritans offers a safe place for you to talk about whatever's on your mind, at any time.

Find out more about where to get urgent help for mental health.

Where to get help

Speak to a GP

Consider talking to a GP. They'll know what help is available locally and can help you decide which treatment is best for you.

When discussing your situation, try to be as honest as possible with the GP so they can suggest the best type of support for you.

Support organisations

These organisations offer mental health advice, support and services for LGBTQ+ people.

Gendered Intelligence
The organisation runs youth groups in London and Leeds for trans, non-binary and questioning young people. It also runs a peer-led support group in London for people aged 18 to 30.

Consortium
This membership organisation works to support LGBTQ+ organisations and projects around the country. Use the site's Member's Directory to find local mental health services.

LGBT Foundation
The LGBT Foundation offers information, advice, and support services, including a Talking Therapies Programme to LGBT people.

London Friend
London Friend offers support groups and services, such as counselling and drug and alcohol support, to LGBTQ+ people in and around London.

Mind
Get information about mental health support for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, non-binary, queer or questioning (LGBTQIA+).

Pink Therapy
Pink Therapy has an online directory of therapists who work with people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer or questioning (LGBTQIA+), and people who are gender- and sex-diverse (GSD).

Switchboard LGBT+ Helpline
Switchboard provides a listening service for LGBT+ people over the phone, via email and online chat. It can provide you with contact details of an LGBT-friendly therapist.

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Help for mental health problems if you're LGBTQ+

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Find out where to get support if you're an LGBTQ+ person with mental health problems such as depression or anxiety.