Disclaimer: I am not a certified therapist and if at any time you are feeling you need to talk to a professional or are having suicidal ideations please call:
1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK) - National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-784-2433 (1-800-SUICIDE) - National Hopeline Network
1-866-488-7386 (1-866-4.U.TREVOR aimed at gay and questioning youth)
I myself, have lived through episodes of depression (seasonal patterns and acute depressive disorder) and have anxiety. I want you to know that you are not alone and that you matter in life.
I recognize the importance of peer support (this is where people with shared experience are trained to support others with similar experiences). Click peer support to learn about Canada's Peer Support, if you live in a different country, google, 'Peer support and (name of country or province/state)'.
To learn more about emotional health, check out Grow Through Flow's Blog by clicking here!
My 7 Recommendations:
1. Journalling
Leisure education brief: it has been shown that journaling helps improve quality of life and helps meet goals, it also allows us to better our connection with our mind and how we are feeling. Journaling offers many benefits, if you would like to know more, click on this to be transferred to an article explaining more benefits.
Apps:
I recently discovered this app and highly recommend it, it feels as if you are having a genuine conversation with a close friend or a psychologist. In this app is checks up on you, asking how you are. It then goes on to further to get you to describe that feeling; on what level are you feeling that emotion? What is making you feel that way?
I recommend this App because of its journal prompts for gratitude journaling, it has premade affirmations and a section for you to create your own affirmation that best support you.
Other:
2. Meditate
Leisure education brief: meditation offer benefits such as clearing away built-up information that relates to stress, and help give you a sense of peace, balance, and calmness. Click on this to be transferred to an article explaining more benefits.
Apps:
I recommend this app because of the ease of use while learning and practicing concepts such as mindfulness, meditation, and mental health. We also love this app because of the science behind it!
I recommend this App because of its variety of topics and lengths of meditation. I also enjoy the ability to download practices so you do not need the internet to relax and meditate. (Let's Meditate has a new practice on COVID-2019 which offers some relaxation specific to these times)
I recommend this app because of the education and guided exercises offered while being able to track your progress!
YouTube Channel:
I enjoy the culturally rich practice of meditation and appreciate the visuals of the various videos the Heartfulness Mediation channel have.
Meditation and Healing
These videos offer tranquil sounds that make for calming background noise for your meditation practice. If you are new to meditation I would recommend coming back as they are not guided.
3. Inspirational Adult Colouring
Leisure education brief: coloring has been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, increases our awareness of our thoughts and feelings, and allows us to feel calmer. Click on this to be transferred to an article explaining more benefits.
Apps:
This app has inspiring quotes while also having a variety of colors and templates.
This App has a huge variety of paint by number pictures and event has various categories to choose from.
Other:
I recommend this website as it has a wide variety of inspirational coloring pages and a wide variety of other categories of free printable pages.
4. Write Affirmations for Yourself and Others
Leisure education brief: affirmations help your mental health, it has been proven to decrease health-deteriorating stress, build resiliency of "threatening" messages, increased feelings of hopefulness and more. Click on this to be transferred to an article explaining more benefits.
Apps:
I recommend this App because of its wide variety of categories of affirmations that offer positivity to your day.
I recommend this App because it not only gives you affirmations, it also has an option to record yourself saying the affirmation so that you can listen to yourself say the affirmation. On top of that, all of the affirmations are created by top experts.
Other:
I personally have an affirmation deck of cards from Louise Hay, not only are they beautiful they also give me a positive intention of the day. I often use them as journal prompts.
5. Art Therapy - EXPRESS Yo'Self
Leisure education brief: art therapy offers a place for self-discovery, building self-esteem, emotional relief, stress relief, and more. Click on this to be transferred to an article explaining more benefits.
Other:
Positive Psychology not only offers great information about mental health they also offer resources for activities, books, and more!
6. Taking a Night off & Relaxing
Leisure education brief: taking good care of yourself through self-care offers time to connect with yourself and with others. This is beneficial to you as it gives you time to check in with yourself and can allow you to feel validated by the ones around you who you choose to share your story with. Click on this to be transferred to an article explaining more benefits.
Other:
I recommend this article as she talks about a wide variety of ideas, note that some of them you can do from home but not all of them. Many of them relate back to the previously mentioned activities.
7. Listen to Music
Leisure education brief: music is an important piece of many peoples lives, and it also provides us with various benefits. Music has been used as a strategy to elevate your motivation and mood, aid in relaxation, and increases the efficiency of processing in your brain. Click on this to be transferred to an article explaining more benefits.
YouTube Playlists:
I enjoy the upbeat songs on this playlist. YouTube has endless amounts of pre-made playlists, music, and lots of recent 'Concert from Home' videos.
Spotify Playlist:
The Nostalgic Plug Playlist
I am a sucker for the early 2000's music, so many of these songs bring nostalgia and allow me to reminisce on my childhood. Similar to YouTube, Spotify has endless amounts of music, podcasts, and pre-made playlists.
Happy World Health Day! Let's share the wellness and celebrate all of our Health Care Professionals!
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