When my mum told me that she wanted to run a session on mental health with her Explorer Unit (a group of 14 - 18 year olds) because it is coming up to exam season and she wants them all to know that it is okay to be stressed out about it, I jumped straight in to offer my services.
I have been a lot more aware of mental health, the issues it can bring and the ways in which we should look after ourselves, a lot more in the last few years. After working on projects in my last job to raise awareness of mental health and share positive ways you can look after your own mental health, I was really pleased to find out that mental health and wellbeing are also a high priority in my current role.
A Million Hands is a community impact campaign which reflects The Scout Association's ambition to, by 2018, mobilise half a million people in support of four social issues chosen by young people (Dementia, Disability, Mental Wellbeing and Clean Water and Sanitation). It means that Scouts are committed to removing social barriers, connecting communities and improving lives. The Explorer Unit have not decided which issue they would like to work on yet but educating them on the issues will help them to make their own informed decision and generally boost their knowledge on the topics.
Although a night with the Explorer Unit is only an hour and half long we managed to cover a lot of ground including: what mental health is and who has it, what to do if you are having issues with your mental health, ways in which we can positively affect our own mental health, what to do if someone tells you they are having problems with their mental health, some myth busting around mental health issues as well as some games that required everyone to use and improve on their listening skills.
At the end of the session I asked each of the Explorers to write down five things they do on a daily or weekly basis that positively affect their mental health. It was not a surprise when most of them looked at me pretty stumped as to what they could write down as most of them didn't raise their hands at the beginning of the session when we said 'Put your hand up if you have mental health'.
In general most people don't think about their own wellbeing enough and so when asked what you do to positively affect yours it can be difficult to come up with an answer. I reflected on the five I had written for myself last year and below are my current five things. My mum is going to check in with her Explorer Unit in 6 months time, when exams are over, and see if they still do those 5 things they wrote down. Find out if there are new things to add to their list or if there are things they had forgotten about and have stopped doing.
1. Running - I would have never said this in 2015, but since starting couch to 5k I have really found that running 3 times a week makes me feel great and I sleep so much better too.
2. Spending time with Lady - Having not lived in Essex for 4 years it is so nice spending time with our family dog, Lady. Whether it is long weekend walks or just having a cuddle when I get home from work, seeing her always makes me smile.
3. Netflix - Some things never change. My viewings in 2016 so far have included Season 13 of Hells Kitchen, Series 1 of LOVE and Series 1 & 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer...to name just a few.
4. Gyoza - These Japanese dumplings of ridiculous deliciousness are one of my all time favourites and this month I had a go at making them myself. For a first time they were pretty good and still uber tasty.
5. Instagram - I would be lying if I said I didn't check Instagram first thing in the morning. I guess it depends on who you follow on Instagram but waking up to scroll through pictures of tattoos, jewellery, catch up on what my favourite bloggers are up to and maybe some tasty food pictures if I am lucky always starts me off to a good day. Every time I question myself about my lack of photography (which feels like a lot recently) I always go back to my Instagram feed and look over my pictures and the memories that go with them and remember - you got this.
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