Wellbeing and Mental Health

Mental Health - #okaytosay

What is wellbeing? Wellbeing involves both your mind and your body. Wellbeing is about living in a healthy way that is positive for you and for others around you.

Emotional health Our wellbeing is more than just feeling happy; it is about being emotionally healthy: feelings of contentment, enjoyment, confidence, self-worth, choice, engagement with the world around you All add up to an overall positive feeling of wellbeing.

However; Having good emotional health and wellbeing does not mean never experiencing difficult feelings or situations. It does mean that you feel you have the resilience to cope when times get tough.

Mental health and wellbeing can take many different forms, but it generally means “feeling good and functioning well”

It is definitely not easy being a teenager. Sometimes it is hard to avoid feeling stressed, and pressure can build up in many areas of life (socially, in school, at home and then making big decisions)

Being a teenager

Worrying about these pressures is normal. Mental health is unfortunately only thought about when there are problems.

Why is mental health important? It affects your relationships with others It affects how you learn, including; How well you concentrate, How well you behave in the classroom; Your ability to express yourself/communicate Your ability to organise.

Resilience Having resilience means that you have the ability to bounce back from trauma and stress. It’s how we deal with the worries that is important. Resilience is important because it is part of achieving good mental health and wellbeing.

What helps our resilience?

Resilience secure early attachments confidence of being loved and valued by one’s family and friends clear sense of self-identity (personal, cultural and spiritual) sense of self-efficacy (being able to make decisions and act independently) confidence to set goals and attempt to achieve them

What can I do to help my mental health and wellbeing?

With the people around you With the people around you. With family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community. Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day.

Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits your level of mobility and fitness.

Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to school, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.

Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility in tutor. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun.

Do something nice for a friend, or a teacher. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you.

So what do you do if.... You’re worried about your own wellbeing? You’re worried about your friends...? STILL is Rotherham’s campaign encouraging all young people to stop, listen and reach out to friends who may be experiencing a mental health problem.

Tutor time activity Reflection of this assembly and what you can do to have positive mental health. Think of everyday activities that you can do. Take a survey which will support school in supporting you Important that you take this seriously.

Remember… #okaytosay Talk to people if you feel you are not okay. Know who you can talk to; friends, family, teachers, PLT, ARC. Look out for your friends Find information on the internet www.mymindmatters.org.uk