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On My Mind | Resources for Young People | Anna Freud Centre

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On My Mind aims to empower young people to make informed choices about their mental health and wellbeing. Click here to find out more.

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Step back in time, with these feel-good tracks from across the decades

60s

1. 'You'll Never Walk Alone', Gerry & the Pacemakers (1963)

A classic, soothing reminder that we don't have to go through things alone.

2. 'Feeling Good', Nina Simone (1965)

This is one song guaranteed to put a swagger in your step.

3. 'What a Wonderful World', Louis Armstrong (1967)

Every now and then, it pays to have a reminder of the wonderful things that are happening around us.

4. 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (1967)

The ultimate foot-tapper - singalong to this uplifting classic.

5. 'Here Comes the Sun', The Beatles (1969)

An ode to looking towards the future, and the good times waiting on the horizon.

70s

6. 'Move on Up', Curtis Mayfield (1970)

The moment you hear the opening brass section, you'll know how the next few minutes are going to go down.

7. 'December 1963 (Oh What a Night)', Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons (1975)

Think happy evenings with friends and loved ones, and get caught up in this softly wistful reflection on good times.

8. 'Dancing Queen', ABBA (1976)

'ABBA' is synonymous with 'feel-good', right?

9. 'Go Your Own Way', Fleetwood Mac (1977)

Stomp along to this feel-good anthem.

10. 'I Will Survive', Gloria Gaynor (1978)

You're stronger than you think, and Gloria Gaynor is here to remind you of just that.

80s

11. 'You Make My Dreams (Come True)', Hall & Oates (1981)

Tap your feet along to the beat, for this bouncy classic.

12. 'Come on Eileen', Dexys Midnight Runners (1982)

Air violins at the ready, it's time for 'Come on Eileen'.

13. 'Sisters Are Doin' it For Themselves', Eurythmics, ft. Aretha Franklin (1985)

Featuring some of the most powerful voices in music, be swept along by this empowering anthem.

14. 'Take On Me', A-ha (1984)

Reach for those high notes, and sing along at the top of your lungs.

15. 'End of the Line', Traveling Wilburys (1988)

It's all right - need we say more?

90s

16. 'Movin' on Up', Primal Scream (1991)

It's time to take the next step up, and Primal Scream are here to help you along the way.

17. 'Friday I'm in Love', The Cure (1992)

Capture that Friday feeling, every day of the week.

18. 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', Deep Blue Something (1995)

With a chorus that's guaranteed to get stuck in your head, this track is about the little things in life.

19. 'Wannabe', Spice Girls (1996)

It really doesn't get more 90s than this - and has anyone managed to work out what a 'zigga-zig-ah' is?

20. 'Brimful of Asha', Cornershop (1997)

We may not know what a 'brimful of asha' is, but we like the sound of it.

00s

21. 'Take Your Mama', Scissor Sisters (2004)

Bop along to the groovy sounds of the Scissor Sisters.

22. 'Better Together', Jack Johnson (2005)

Take things down a notch with this touching classic from Jack Johnson.

23. 'Put Your Records On', Corinne Bailey Rae (2006)

A musical ode to the power of putting on your favourite song, we couldn't agree more with Corinne Bailey Rae's advice.

24. 'Pocketful of Sunshine', Natasha Bedingfield (2007)

Catchy, funky, uplifting? Sounds like the recipe for the perfect feel-good song.

25. 'You Got the Love', Florence and the Machine (2009)

Let's end on a belter. Throw your hands up in the air for 'You Got the Love'.
Listen to the complete playlist on Spotify. Listening to music can be a great confidence boost, to connect with a life coach to explore more ways to build confidence, visit lifecoach-directory.org.uk

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25 feel-good songs from across the decades

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1. 'You'll Never Walk Alone', Gerry & the Pacemakers (1963) A classic, soothing reminder that we don't have to go through things alone. 2. 'Feeling Good', Nina Simone (1965) This is one song guaranteed to put a swagger in your step. 3.

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Have you spotted the pinboards around school? Year 7 students have been writing messages of positivity to read as you walk past

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Sir David Attenborough | Mental health and nature

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Monopoly Board, Resources and Instructions Author: @LauraJaneHalton

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The Rolling Stones - Get Off Of My Cloud (Official Lyric Video)

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Best Coast - For The First Time (Official Music Video)

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Can you do something nice for a friend or family member without them noticing?

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only7seconds has just launched a blog on the website. Uplifting stories of positivity and recovery from our volunteers and followers are being shared now!
https://only7seconds.life/blog/

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It's a hard time for students, but if you're finding things tough, you're not alone. We've put together some tips you can try to help you feel calmer. If you need support, you can speak to a volunteer on our text line by texting SHOUT to 85258.

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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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"I Believe In You" | Michael Buble (LYRIC VIDEO)

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I came up with the idea of plant positivity after looking at what happens to us when we go through rough stages with our mental health and looking at seeds and I come to the conclusion that there isn’t much difference between the two. When planted seeds are trapped in a dark cold place unable to see any light, much like how we can feel and what those with depression experience, but eventually the seed is able to break through the darkness and blossom into the beauty that it has always been, just like we can.

Plant positivity is such an easy project to get involved in all you need is a plant pot and a plant. During lockdown I sent a letter round to all of my neighbours telling them about this project and so many joined in, some even decorating their plant pots like I did! Our street looked so pretty and colourful during lockdown that was such a dark and lonesome time for many people. Lots of passers buy stop to admire the amazing work we had all done. Such a simple thing like a plant pot on the edge of your drive way can change someone’s mood and put a smile on your face.

Why not get together with friends, family and neighbours to do something that can do good for you and everyone in your local community!

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One amazing activity that Only7Seconds does is our Positive Post-It challenge. Anyone can get involved and its super easy! All you need if a post-it note, a pen, and your kind encouraging words, the stick the post-it around your school/community and snap a pic with the #Only7Seconds and SPREAD THAT POSITIVITY!!!

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I'm so excited to teach you how to create a wellness bullet journal. As you know, I'm all about planning when it comes to your wellness. You'll have a hard time reaching your wellness goals if you don't have a solid plan in place. My steps to creating wellness goals generally involve:

1. Visualization/Meditation

2. Journaling

3. Getting specific

4. Creating priorities

5. Planning

Number five cannot be skipped because without a detailed plan-of-action, your best intentions will fall by the wayside. There's way too many distracting obstacles for all of us. Actually, one of the worst is social media. Given the fact that the average time that someone spends on Facebook after quickly "checking in", is twenty five minutes, we're sunk! If you check in 4 times a day, that's 100 minutes per day of being largely distracted away from other things you could be doing to enhance your health and wellness. Now, I LOVE social media. It's where I get information, entertainment, and all kinds of inspiration, but I have to limit myself, and this daily limit gets factored into my planning for the day.
Bullet Journal
I don't know if you've tried keeping a Bullet Journal yet, but it's a fun and effective way to both keep on top of your goals, and get creative. It's not rocket science either. There are tons of great You Tube videos on how to create a bullet journal, but before you go searching for them, let me tell you why a bullet journal works beautifully for wellness goals:

You get to be really specific about your goals and set them out with daily, weekly, monthly and annual visuals.

You can get really creative with the visuals - if you're crafty or an artist, you'll love this part of it.

It's kind of like having a vision board/journal/planner all-in-one small notepad. Flipping through mine now, I get to see the goals that I have for this year, pages devoted to ideas/inspirations/ah-ha moments, and the actual plan-of-action for the days and weeks ahead.

You get to create your own key codes, which are basically symbols denoting: to-to, done, migrate, idea etc.

A bullet journal will inspire you to carry on regardless. It's your own very personal system, which allows for optimum flexibility and creativity.

What You Need To Get Started:
A journal with dotted, numbered pages (not mandatory, but very helpful- you'll see why the dots are important when you watch the videos).

Thin-tipped colored pens for unleashing your creativity.

I also recommend using regular colored pencils for coloring in
How To Get Started:
If you've spent some time visualizing and writing about what your wellness goals are for 2018, you should be ready to go. If not, do spend some time really thinking about what the specifics are. Remember "I want to get healthy" is not specific. "I plan to eliminate refined sugar" is!

So, a recent client I worked with wanted to deal with the fact that she ate baked goods and sugary coffee drinks almost everyday, she felt that her body was weak and flabby, and she was very stressed out. So, I had her visualize a healthy version of herself a year from that day. She came up with a beautiful vision of a strong, energized, calm woman, filling her body with stunning life-giving foods. She pulled images of all the above and created a "Wellness Goals" Pinterest Board. She shared her goals with her besties, and asked them for support. Then we got down to the business of how we were going to achieve these wonderful goals. The plan looked something like this:

3 Big Annual goals: Give up refined sugar and gluten and add beautiful sweet healthy treats to replace the junk with, get physically stronger, meditate everyday.

3 Monthly goals: Try a meditation class, start working through a new healthy cookbook, find some online strength-training videos, and/or find trainer/or trainer at her gym.

3 Daily goals: Get up at 6 am to meditate for 10 minutes, pack almond butter + sliced apple for afternoon snack, 3 x 20 kettle bell swings.

You see how simple and doable this became for her. I then had her add her annual, monthly, and daily goals into her bullet journal. She was good to go!
Other Ideas
The sky is the limit when it comes to creating your bullet journal, but here are some of the things that I include:

Bucket List

Inspirations

Accountability grids for meditation and exercise

Grocery Store lists

New Foods I want to try

Books I want to read

Career Ideas

Smoothie recipe

Places I want to visit

Self-Care Ideas (hint: Come to one of my retreats this year!!)

Morning/Evening Routine
I also love the idea of getting really detailed in your bullet journal about your morning and evening routine. Some ideas to get you thinking about this:-
Morning

Lemon Water

Meditation

Gratitude List

Walking the dog

Reading a spiritual passage

Laying out your workout clothes at the end of your bed

Supplements

Smoothie

Placing a kettle bell by the door you exit in the morning.

Evening

Meditate

Get to bed before 10pm

Turn off phone at 9pm

Magnesium tea 30 minutes before bed

Reading time

Gratitude List

Check Bullet Journal

Ultimately, a bullet journal reduces anxiety and the panicky feeling associated with keeping all those crazy do-to lists in your head. You get it all organized on paper, and create solid, doable wellness goals.

Tip: Make sure every goal has a drop dead time line on it. If you write the date by which it needs to be completed, it will get done. These deadlines might be daily, weekly, monthly or annual goals.

Consider a separate Agenda/Planner and a Bullet Journal

I have both because I like a full-focus, jumbo desk agenda, so that I can make all my weekly plans in plain view. You could create a weekly/monthly planner in your bullet journal, but I prefer to keep them separate. My morning ritual is to spend ten minutes looking over both, starting with my agenda so that I make sure I don't miss any important appointments or deadlines.

Make sure you grab a copy of my FREE starter guide, which you can use alongside your new wellness bullet journal.

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How To Create A Wellness Bullet Journal - Sophie Uliano

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I'm so excited to teach you how to create a wellness bullet journal. As you know, I'm all about planning when it comes to your wellness. You'll have a hard time reaching your wellness goals if you don't have a solid plan in place. My steps to creating wellness goals generally involve: 1.

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This Saturday challenge yourself to do one thing to prioritise your mental wellbeing.

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If you live in Wales, sign up to our free guided self-help programme, Active Monitoring.

In just six weeks we can help with anxiety, depression, self-esteem, stress, feeling alone, managing anger or grief and loss.
Sign up here.

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If you live in Wales, sign up to our free guided self-help programme, Active Monitoring. In just six weeks we can help with anxiety, depression, self-esteem, stress, feeling alone, managing anger or grief and loss. Sign up here.

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check out the Only7Seconds website to learn more about our journey in fighting against social isolation.

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Behind every photo we see, are we truly looking at the reality of how our lives are real and raw? Media and technology are having greater and greater effects on our lives, both positively and negatively. Teens and adults alike are known to spend hours on phones, ipads, tablets, and laptops.

It is frequently said that they aimlessly scroll through Facebook, send Snapchats, and look at Instagram that entire time, yet many teens have acknowledged that they often don't use their phones for any other purpose other than for entertainment. Phone and social media usage is becoming an addiction to many, causing various underlying issues that no one likes to talk about.
Numerous studies have shown that the ever increasing usage of cell phones actually leads to anxiety, depression, and a feeling of isolation.

In 2018 alone, teens spent a shocking average of nine hours a day online.

What do we do?

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Behind every photo we see, are we truly looking at the reality of how our lives are real and raw? Media and technology are having greater and greater effects on our lives, both positively and negatively. Teens and adults alike are known to spend hours on phones, ipads, tablets, and laptops.

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46 ideas for creating your very own self care box

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Last week, I covered self-care boxes, and went over what they are and a few common misconceptions. This week, I want to help you make your own! Since no two self-care box is the same, I've opted to go with a simple list of ideas that you can throw into your own box. It's like a pick-&-mix of ideas!

In this list, I've aimed to include both self-soothe items and self-care items. They're very different! The self-care items are mostly for managing your health. In essence, they're all the things you need to keep you healthy, even in a bad time. The self-soothe items are everything else: all the things to calm you down!

When mixing and matching the self-soothe items to go into your box, keep in mind one golden rule: add things you would have loved as a child. A core part of self-soothing is getting in touch with your inner child, and all the emotions that come with that, to soothe your emotions in a more full and whole way.

Preparing the box

You might want to start with something small, like a shoebox. But, grab any box, plastic or cardboard, plain or decorated. You can cover your box in stickers, or paint it up, or leave it plain. The great thing about these boxes is there's no wrong way to go about it. I even suggest using a bag, if that's more your style. Personally, I like those fluffy bags that double up as a soft toy.

Next, adding things! You might want to consider separating things out into "tiers" based on how badly you feel. For example, you might want to use your journal every time you open your self-care box, but only use a video game if you feel very bad. You can write a list of these "tiers" to help remind you when you open your box. Of course, it's not essential!

So, here are the ideas I've got for you so far. If you want to suggest any more in the comments below, feel free to, and I might add it to the list!

Awesome essentials

Phone numbers of friends

Handwritten letters or photos

A list of instructions on what to do in a rough situation

A list of mental health apps (you can find suggestions here)

A journal and a pen

Tissues

Flashcards with coping techniques (I have DBT skills on mine, for example!)

Feeding the senses

Sight

Glitter jar

Favourite DVD

Snowball

Concept art books from favourite games/movies

Travel books and pamphlets of your favourite locations

Taste

Chewable stim toy

Sweets

A favourite snack

Small carton or can of drink

Touch

Modelling clay

Slime

Fidget toy

Cosy socks

Blanket or other comforting, heavyweight like a jumper

Hot water bottle

Soft toy

Smell

Sound

MP3 with a relaxing/uplifting playlist on

Favourite CDs, but be sure to pick relaxing/uplifting ones!

A list of favourite ASMR YouTube channels

A playlist of meditation tracks or guided meditation.

Distractions

Puzzle books

Handheld game console

Crafting equipment

A sketchbook/colouring book (plenty of pages in this tag, if you need some!)

Favourite story books

Toys, such as Lego or wooden puzzles

Spiritual equipment (portable altar, rosary beads, etc. whatever fits your individual needs!)

Staying Healthy

A healthy snack, like trail mix

Dry shampoo

Wet wipes

Moisturiser and face masks

Bottle of water

Exercise cards with a yoga routine

Painkillers

Fan and/or heat pack (to cool down or warm up)

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Self-Care Box - 46 ideas for your box - The Confounded Crafter

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Last week, I covered self-care boxes, and went over what they are and a few common misconceptions. This week, I want to help you make your own! Since no two self-care box is the same, I've opted to go with a simple list of ideas that you can throw into your own box.

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On Friday 9 October 2020, thousands of schools, offices and community groups took part in #HelloYellow for World Mental Health Day.
A huge thank you to everyone who took part! Whether you dressed in yellow, took a yellow selfie, held a virtual event or had a yellow-filled day at school, you came together and showed young people they're not alone with their mental health. Lockdown has had a devastating effect on children and young people's mental health. It's been unbelievably hard, but thanks to the vital funds so many of you raised, we can continue to fight for young people's mental health at a time it's needed most.

Share your pictures with us

Share your #HelloYellow photos with us. We want to see your friends, your class, or colleagues all dressed up in yellow!

Whether it's your amazing banana costume, or your yellow events and activities, take a photo, post on social media using #HelloYellow, and tag us at @youngmindsuk.

Here are just some of your brilliant pictures from #HelloYellow 2020!

Paying in your donations

Paying in your donations

When donating, please make sure to use your 'Supporter Reference' and the initials 'HY' so that we know it has been raised towards the campaign. There are a number of different ways you can donate what you have raised to us.
Donate via an online fundraising page:
Join other #HelloYellow supporters and build towards a fundraising target by setting up an online fundraising page linked to our campaign here.

All donations including Gift Aid will come directly to us so there's nothing you need to do!
Donate by bank transfer:
Please use your 'Supporter Reference' or your Name/Organisation followed by 'HY' as the reference and transfer your donation to:

CAF Bank Ltd - Sort code: 40-52-40 - Account number: 00002523
Donate by post:
Make any cheques payable to 'YoungMinds' and send to us at:

Fundraising Team
YoungMinds
Fourth Floor
India House
45 Curlew Street
London SE1 2ND

Please note, we are unable to accept any cash donations sent by post.
Donate by credit/debit card:
Call us on 0207 089 5050 or donate any funds raised securely online at youngminds.org.uk/donate

Remember to share how you're getting involved with us by posting on social media using #HelloYellow and tag us @youngmindsuk on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Resources hub

Our #HelloYellow resources hub has heaps of downloadable resources to help you raise funds and have fun doing it, from photobooth props to wellbeing activities and posters for your school or office.

And check out our Pinterest page for more fun ideas.

Sign up for #HelloYellow 2021

Sign up to take part in #HelloYellow 2021 and be the first to receive our #HelloYellow tips, fundraising ideas and wellbeing resources in the lead up to next year's event.

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On Friday 9 October 2020, thousands of schools, offices and community groups took part in #HelloYellow for World Mental Health Day. A huge thank you to everyone who took part! Whether you dressed in yellow, took a yellow selfie, held a virtual event or had a yellow-filled day at school, you came together and showed young people they're not alone with their mental health.

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Progress is progress, no matter how small

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Progress is progress, no matter how small

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Looking for random acts of kindness ideas? These Kindness Clips are perfect for Random Acts of Kindness Day (February 17th), and they also make a great school-wide encouragement activity for children! A fantastic RAOK idea that's great for all ages!
Kindness Clips - Random Acts of Kindness Idea

I have to give credit to my boys' middle school for coming up with this wonderful heartwarming Random Acts of Kindness idea that I thought was just TOO good not to share! Earlier in the school year, we learned that the school was leading an activity that was designed to uplift, encourage, and inspire students to be kind and compassionate. They gave each student a clothespin decorated with an inspirational word or phrase, and the goal was for each student to anonymously deliver that message to another student. The children carefully and secretively clipped the messages on to each other's backpacks, lunch bags, and lockers when they weren't looking, and the results were incredible! My boys came home beaming from ear to ear when they discovered that their backpacks were covered in messages like "You Matter," "You Are a Good Friend," and "Believe in Yourself."

This activity is awesome for any day of the year, but I think it would be an extra special Random Acts of Kindness Day idea! All you need are some clothespins and paint!

For the lettering, we used iron-on vinyl that I cut with my Cricut Maker machine, but you could also use letter stickers or even just write the message on the clips with Sharpie marker!

We chose phrases that were short, sweet, uplifting, and perfect for all ages and genders.

We opted for an entire rainbow of inspirational messages, but if you're planning on doing this activity at your school, it would also be fun to paint the clips in your school colors!

This Random Acts of Kindness idea makes my heart SO happy! Kindness clips are a great way to spread encouragement, motivation, inspiration, and of course, kindness to friends and loved ones!

Pin this Random Acts of Kindness Idea for Later!

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Kindness Clips: Random Acts of Kindness Idea

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Looking for random acts of kindness ideas? These Kindness Clips are perfect for Random Acts of Kindness Day (February 17th), and they also make a great school-wide encouragement activity for children! A fantastic RAOK idea that's great for all ages!

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There have been some amazing acts of kindness across the world and especially closer to home in Derby during the current pandemic. Everything from people offering their time to volunteer to people taking the time to ask others if they are ok. From generous donations of food and money to support local food hubs to corporate donations of toys and games for local families. An act of kindness - big or small - can make the difference between someone having a good or bad day.
Join in with a random act of kindness - not sure how?
Here are 20 random acts of kindness for you to try! Let us know how they go - you can tweet with the hashtag #communitykindness

Call a friend that you haven't spoken to for a while

Arrange to have a virtual cup of tea and catch up with someone you know

Arrange to watch a film at the same time as a friend and video call

Tell someone you know that you are proud of them

Tell someone you know why you are thankful for them

Send a motivational text to a friend who is struggling

Send someone you know a joke to cheer them up

Send someone you know a picture of a cute animal (if they like animals!)

Send an inspirational quote to a friend

Send an interesting article to a friend

Call friends, family or neighbours experiencing loneliness or self-isolation

Donate to a charity

Call a colleague and ask how they're finding the change in routine

Arrange to have a video lunch with a colleague, family member, and friend

Donate to a foodbank

Offer to skill share with a friend via video call - you could teach guitar, dance etc.

Offer support to vulnerable neighbours

Look at volunteering within your local area.

Try and share positive stories of kindness on social media.

Cook a meal for a neighbour - remember to social distance to keep safe.

For support around wellbeing or to get involved email Staywell Derby.

CommunityActionDerby

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There have been some amazing acts of kindness across the world and especially closer to home in Derby during the current pandemic. Everything from people offering their time to volunteer to people taking the time to ask others if they are ok.

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Don't Be So Hard on Yourself - Jess Glynne

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Don't Be So Hard on Yourself - Jess Glynne

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Jess Glynne - Don't Be So Hard On Yourself [Official Video]

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Learn the technical skills to get the job you want. Join over 50 million people choosing Codecademy to start a new career (or advance in their current one).

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Origami animals are a popular choice of origami. They're fun and easy to fold and it's really cool to see them begin to take shape and look like their real life counterparts. There are instructions for various origami animals so just choose your favorite one and start folding.

We're always looking to add more instructions for origami animals because there is a lot more to share, but it takes time to take pictures and make instructions for them. Just keep coming back and you'll see new origami animals every now and then.

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Learn how to make origami animals with these easy to follow instructions. Lots of animals to choose from!

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Chase & Status - Spoken Word (Official Video) ft. George The Poet

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Idris Elba - You Give Me Love (feat. Maverick Sabre)

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Motivation - Mama Sol and Tha N.U.T.S featuring G. Dash and Liza Garza

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Motivation - Mama Sol and Tha N.U.T.S featuring G. Dash and Liza Garza

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WALK THE MOON - One Foot (Official Video)

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The Greatest Showman Cast - This Is Me (Official Lyric Video)

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Our webchat and helpline are for people in the UK who are down or have hit a wall for any reason, who need to talk or find information and support.

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Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM)

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It can be difficult to know what to do if you're worried that someone close to you is at risk of suicide. Our helpline is there for everyone, not only those in crisis, so you can call to find out more information on how you can help. You can also find support information on our worried about someone page, and our help section has information on particular issues.

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Get Help & Support With CALM's Helpline & Webchat

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Get help with CALM's helpline and webchat. We are here to listen, support, inform & signpost with our free, confidential and anonymous services. Contact us today.

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OK Go - I Won't Let You Down - Official Video

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George Ezra - Shotgun (Official Lyric Video)

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We know it can be difficult to talk about mental health and especially hard to talk to people or ask for help. Here are some tools that could help you prepare for the first time you visit a doctor to discuss your mental health.

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Doc Ready helps you get ready for the first time you visit a doctor to discuss your mental health.

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Supporting positive mental health in teenagers

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stem4 - supporting teenage mental health

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stem4 is a charity that supports positive mental health in teenagers. Mental health information, apps and education. Founders of Youth Mental Health Day.

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If you've heard of the term 'mental wellbeing' and don't know what it is, or you want to find out how you can look after your wellbeing and feel good, we're here to help you learn more.

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Regular exercise can improve our mood and self-confidence, increase our energy and help us sleep better. You could try:

something small, like a short walk or talking the stairs instead of the lift

going for a walk, swim, run, or bike ride

a group activity, like tennis, rounders or football.

There are options for you to get your body moving, whatever your ability. For easy suggestions and links to video tutorials, visit the NHS page on physical activity for young people.

Before you start exercising: if you experience compulsive or addictive feelings about exercise, medication side-effects, or other health problems, it's a good idea to talk to your doctor first.

"I feel that exercise releases a lot of tension and gives me purpose."

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Regular exercise can improve our mood and self-confidence, increase our energy and help us sleep better. You could try: something small, like a short walk or talking the stairs instead of the lift going for a walk, swim, run, or bike ride a group activity, like tennis, rounders or football.

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Make a yummy breakfast from another country

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Make a yummy breakfast from another country

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Recipes for Breakfast Around the World * Curious Cuisiniere

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What does the rest of the world eat to start their day? Find out and start your day off right with these great recipes for breakfast around the world.

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The Diana Award Crisis Messenger provides free, 24/7 crisis support across the UK.

Trained volunteers will listen to how you’re feeling and help you think the next step towards feeling better.

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What is The Diana Award Crisis Messenger?

The Diana Award Crisis Messenger provides free, 24/7 crisis support across the UK. If you are a young person in crisis, you can text DA to 85258.

Trained volunteers will listen to how you're feeling and help you think the next step towards feeling better.

Texts are free from EE, O2, Vodafone, 3, Virgin Mobile, BT Mobile, GiffGaff, Tesco Mobile and Telecom Plus.

This service is powered by our trusted partner, Crisis Text Line.

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The Diana Award Crisis Messenger provides free, 24/7 crisis support across the UK. If you are a young person in crisis, you can text DA to 85258. Trained volunteers will listen to how you're feeling and help you think the next step towards feeling better.

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Panic! At the Disco - High Hopes (Lyrics)

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Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk ft. Bruno Mars

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Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk ft. Bruno Mars

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Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk (Official Video) ft. Bruno Mars

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Create some meaningful and colourful stones/rocks. Leave them around parks/your area to brighten someone's day!

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Nothing warms your heart as much as giving. It spreads over you like a cozy blanket. Here's an idea for sending love into the universe without spending a lot of money; all you need is a little creativity and some paint.

Decorate rocks with positive, uplifting messages and place them in random places. Imagine the unexpected smile the rocks will bring to others who find them. And the best part about them is how easy they are to create. Here's how:

Materials

Smooth river rocks will be the canvas for your messages. (Photo: Kelly Ladd)

Smooth river rocks (you can buy these at your local hardware store or find them in a riverbed near your house)

Black paint

White paint pen (I used an oil-based pen)

Foam brush

Thin paint brush

Multiple colors of craft paint

Here's how you do it

1. Paint your river rocks black. Let dry.

2. With your white paint pen (or a brush with white paint on it if you have a steady hand), write a positive message on your rock. A white paint pen on a black-painted rock makes your message pop. (Photo: Kelly Ladd)

3. Create colorful designs by creating dots with your thin paint brush all over your rock and around the message. Let dry. Bright colors will make your random act of kindness rocks even more eye-catching. (Photo: Kelly Ladd)

4. Leave the rocks in random places around your favorite park, nature trail or even on the doormat of a neighbor. Leaving your kindness rock in various locations means their impact will truly be random. (Photo: Kelly Ladd)

Share the love with DIY random acts of kindness rocks

Send love into the world with a little bit of creativity and paint.

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Share the love with DIY random acts of kindness rocks

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Nothing warms your heart as much as giving. It spreads over you like a cozy blanket. Here's an idea for sending love into the universe without spending a lot of money; all you need is a little creativity and some paint. Decorate rocks with positive, uplifting messages and place them in random places.

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NATHAN LANE, ERNIE SABELLA, & JASON WEAVER - Hakuna Matata (OST OF DISNEY'S LION KING)

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7 ways to make kindness normal in  your everyday life

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7 ways to make kindness normal in  your everyday life

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Follow the link to find out how to make your very own Ninja Stress Ball

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Here's a fun ninja craft for kids to make! Use balloons to create squishy stress balls that look like ninjas.
Use yellow balloons if you want your ninjas to look like the LEGO® Ninjago characters. These would make great birthday party favors!
The secret to a good stress ball is a good filling! I've got two choices for you, and I'll tell you the pros and cons of each.
Flour - This is good for making a nice firm stress ball. Flour is also inexpensive and readily available. Filling the stress balls with flour does make the stress balls firm and hard for little hands to squeeze.

Play Dough - A play dough filling makes a soft and squishy stress ball. We preferred the play dough filling overall. The other benefit of play dough is that if the balloon breaks (and there are multiple layers, so it's not a huge risk, but could definitely happen), play dough is much less mess than flour. If you decide to go the play dough route, I would highly recommend making your own play dough as it took 1.5 cans to fill each balloon. The play doh brand cans seem to be shrinking and yet the price stays the same... hmm...

You can find our simple homemade play dough recipe here.

We made some stress balls with both types of filling. I emphasized to the boys that these are for squeezing, not throwing, as they are too hard to throw. The feel great, though, and my husband has requested a blue one for his desk at work!
To make them you will need:

Balloons - white or yellow for the face, and other colors for the ninja mask

Scissors

Sandwich baggies - either fold-over or ziploc (if you use ziploc, you'll have to cut the zipper off)

Flour or play dough

Ballpoint pen

Step 1: Fill a baggie with 3/4 cup of flour (or play dough). Filling a baggie is SO much easier than trying to stuff a balloon with flour! We saw this tip on Tip Junkie from a link in Red Ted Art's juggling balls post, and it made the job so much easier.

Step 2: Fold over the baggie and squeeze out all the air. Cut the blowing end off of a white balloon so that you are left with a round balloon with a hole.

Step 3: Stuff the baggie filled with flour or play dough into the balloon.

Step 4: Cut off the blowing end of another balloon. Cut an opening for the ninja face. Then, stretch this balloon over the white balloon with the opening facing the opposite way (so that the flour baggie can't come out). Add a ninja face with a ballpoint pen. We tried Sharpie initially, and the faces kept rubbing off when the boys played with them. We made another ninja ball and used ballpoint pen, and the face still looks great even after lots of handling.

If you find that even ballpoint pen ink comes off, try a different pen. That helped for us.

They boys have been carrying their ninja balls everywhere. They are fun to squish and squeeze and then shape them back into balls again.

These ninja balls would make great gifts or party favors! They were very inexpensive, and quick to put together (5 min. per ball once we got the process down).
Need more craft ideas for kids?
If your kids like ninjas, you might also want to check out our pipe cleaner ninjas. Those were another big hit!

Here's a collection of 30 Paper Crafts for Kids. Crafting with paper is awesome because it's so affordable, especially if you have a classroom full of kids and a tight budget!

I also highly recommend rock painting with kids!

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How to Make Ninja Stress Balls - Frugal Fun For Boys and Girls

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Here's a fun ninja craft for kids to make! Use balloons to create squishy stress balls that look like ninjas. Use yellow balloons if you want your ninjas to look like the LEGO® Ninjago characters. These would make great birthday party favors! The secret to a good stress ball is a good filling!

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46 ideas for creating your very own self care box

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Last week, I covered self-care boxes, and went over what they are and a few common misconceptions. This week, I want to help you make your own! Since no two self-care box is the same, I've opted to go with a simple list of ideas that you can throw into your own box. It's like a pick-&-mix of ideas!

In this list, I've aimed to include both self-soothe items and self-care items. They're very different! The self-care items are mostly for managing your health. In essence, they're all the things you need to keep you healthy, even in a bad time. The self-soothe items are everything else: all the things to calm you down!

When mixing and matching the self-soothe items to go into your box, keep in mind one golden rule: add things you would have loved as a child. A core part of self-soothing is getting in touch with your inner child, and all the emotions that come with that, to soothe your emotions in a more full and whole way.

Preparing the box

You might want to start with something small, like a shoebox. But, grab any box, plastic or cardboard, plain or decorated. You can cover your box in stickers, or paint it up, or leave it plain. The great thing about these boxes is there's no wrong way to go about it. I even suggest using a bag, if that's more your style. Personally, I like those fluffy bags that double up as a soft toy.

Next, adding things! You might want to consider separating things out into "tiers" based on how badly you feel. For example, you might want to use your journal every time you open your self-care box, but only use a video game if you feel very bad. You can write a list of these "tiers" to help remind you when you open your box. Of course, it's not essential!

So, here are the ideas I've got for you so far. If you want to suggest any more in the comments below, feel free to, and I might add it to the list!

Awesome essentials

Phone numbers of friends

Handwritten letters or photos

A list of instructions on what to do in a rough situation

A list of mental health apps (you can find suggestions here)

A journal and a pen

Tissues

Flashcards with coping techniques (I have DBT skills on mine, for example!)

Feeding the senses

Sight

Glitter jar

Favourite DVD

Snowball

Concept art books from favourite games/movies

Travel books and pamphlets of your favourite locations

Taste

Chewable stim toy

Sweets

A favourite snack

Small carton or can of drink

Touch

Modelling clay

Slime

Fidget toy

Cosy socks

Blanket or other comforting, heavyweight like a jumper

Hot water bottle

Soft toy

Smell

Sound

MP3 with a relaxing/uplifting playlist on

Favourite CDs, but be sure to pick relaxing/uplifting ones!

A list of favourite ASMR YouTube channels

A playlist of meditation tracks or guided meditation.

Distractions

Puzzle books

Handheld game console

Crafting equipment

A sketchbook/colouring book (plenty of pages in this tag, if you need some!)

Favourite story books

Toys, such as Lego or wooden puzzles

Spiritual equipment (portable altar, rosary beads, etc. whatever fits your individual needs!)

Staying Healthy

A healthy snack, like trail mix

Dry shampoo

Wet wipes

Moisturiser and face masks

Bottle of water

Exercise cards with a yoga routine

Painkillers

Fan and/or heat pack (to cool down or warm up)

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Self-Care Box - 46 ideas for your box - The Confounded Crafter

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Last week, I covered self-care boxes, and went over what they are and a few common misconceptions. This week, I want to help you make your own! Since no two self-care box is the same, I've opted to go with a simple list of ideas that you can throw into your own box.

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Childline is yours – a free, private and confidential service where you can talk about anything. Whatever your worry, whenever you need help, we’re here for you online, on the phone, anytime.

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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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We’re leading the fight for a future where all young minds are supported and empowered, whatever the challenges. We’re here to make sure they get the best possible mental health support and have the resilience to overcome life’s difficulties.

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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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Kooth, from XenZone, is an online counselling and emotional well-being platform for children and young people, accessible through mobile, tablet and desktop and free at the point of use.

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