mh stories

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great book for children on feelings and emotions and what it can do to mind and body.

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For the days that even getting out of bed seems as hard as climbing Mount Everest.

Listen to positive affirmations on youtube- it is a game changer and doesn't require any effort. You could repeat the affirmations out loud, in your head, or just have them playing in the background while you do other activities. Essentially they reprogram our brain into a self loving machine- something every one of us deserves. 

We always self-criticize, let's see how life will be like if we love.

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so this is something which is really cool that this exists. it is in my city and I just learned about it! 

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1. Connect with other people

2. Be physically active

3. Learn new skills

4. Give to others

5. Pay attention to the present moment (mindfulness)

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Five Ways You Can Help Youth Take Care of Their Mental Health When Going Back to School

Starting a new school year is an exciting time but can also be a stressful one. Preparing for a new grade level, joining a new classroom and making new friends can cause feelings of anxiety and fear. This year adds

Ask how they’re doing. 

Give reassurance. 

Provide practical help.

Develop a routine. 

Be a role model. 

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Mental health in pre-teens and teenagers

Teen mental health is about happiness, good relationships, exercise, belonging and more. Signs of mental health problems include mood and other changes.

“Key points

Good mental health is important for healthy teenage development, strong relationships and resilience.

Strong and loving relationships can have a direct and positive influence on teenage mental health.

Physical health is key to mental health. Encourage teenagers to stay active, eat well, sleep, and avoid alcohol and other drugs.

If you’re concerned about your child’s mental health, start by talking with your child.

There are many support options for teenagers with mental health problems.”

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someone shared their history with eating disorder with me and some other people. i didn’t know this person was dealing with this and i just told them, it’s okey to eat. i don’t know if it was right or wrong from me.

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I do meditate, breath work and journaling for my wellbeing.

a young person from Northern Ireland

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If talking about the present, I will say that I'm confused.

My personal experience around this topic hasn't been too extensive, luckily. I've faced some stress and anxiety problems throughout my, and especially last, years of high school, but I'm not sure if they should be treated as mental health disorders. Anyways, I will share a bit of my story, even though it's not really important. I remember the first time I felt real anxiety was three years ago. I had caught lice and was so worried people would talk about me and stop being friends with me because of it, that I started crying desperately, to a point my chest started hurting. The next time I felt something out of my usual feelings was two years later (or at least that's what I can remember). This time I dealt with stress issues, mainly because of school. And well, that's the two things I would stand out of these past years. If talking about the present, I will say that I'm confused. There have been some "big" changes in my life recently and it hasn't been easy to deal with them. Sometimes I find myself happy, motivated, and wanting to "be in the moment". Others, I get lost within myself. I arrive home, and I don't want to do anything. I start thinking, better said, overthinking, and I saturate. Then, I just feel like crying it all out. For those moments, I have some activities that help me. One of them is going for a walk in nature, listening to music, and observing the landscape. Another way I deal with it is by writing in a journal. This system helps me clear my thoughts and reflect on them. The last and more common thing is hanging out/talking to friends or family. Maintaining a conversation with them, even about random stuff, reminds me that I can do better. I'm aware that teenage years are a complicated stage, but life in general is complicated, isn't it? So, yes, these feelings might come back at any time. In that case, I'll remember all the good things I'd miss if I let them control me, and I will carry on, just like we are used to doing.

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The pandemic made things worse. Seeking mental health help has become more and more accepted but it is impossible to find treatment. Many don’t seek help in Germany knowing that they will need to wait 6 months to make an intake appointment. On top of that young people wanting to become therapists have barely any chance to study it in Germany. The social isolation of the lockdowns and the difficulties of finding a therapy placement made the mental health crisis worsen.

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Are we all good? Yeeyt! No and yes, we all not good all the time. We all not bad all the time. 

Life has many different steps in very diverse way for all of us. We just passing trough them, sometimes with pain sometimes with happiness and completing small parts of our learning journey day by day.

I’d love to say from here to everyone, if having laugh is something super, having cry is also something super.

Let’s remind all together each others, your mental health is matter! Having pain as normal as having laugh. We will cry we will laugh and we will go on in our unique ways! 

Hug to you virtually! 

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One of the Youth Goals is Mental Health & Wellbeing, number 5: “Achieve better mental wellbeing and end stigmatisation of mental health issues, thus promoting social inclusion of all young people.”

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The Buddy Project

The Buddy Project is a nationwide program, it’s not only prevention, but helps students acquire life skills such as taking responsibility, conflict management, change of perspective, ability to co-operate, reflection and empathy.

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Cyber bullying is most common in Macedonia and the sad thing is that it usually happens with younger children.

So about my school, we have 9 years of the middle school or whatever it's called in English and 4 years high school. When I started high school we formed this antibullying club and for a year and a half, me and some other people had workshops on peer mediation. The idea was, when there is bullying of any kind, before it gets serious we would step in and try to fix the problem by creating a safe environment for all the parties involved so everyone can tell their side of the story and together with the mediator (in this case classmates) we would come to an understanding and work on the issue. This would not be the only time we meet, we would meet more often during the following period and work more on the issue. Also our jobs/obligations as peer mediators was to also see and try to work on some problems we might notice before they happen, before it's too late and the conflict escaleted. This is about my high school and unfortunately this was created by us from our ideas and our motivation, it's not something that is mandatory or something that other schools know about, to my knowledge. There isn't too much bullying from my point of view, yet again that is just the people that I'm surrounded with. Cyber bulling is most common in Macedonia and the sad thing is that it usually happens with younger children. I would roughly say between the age of 12 to 14. Although what is mandatory is that all schools have a psychologist. Again they dont really do their job because they are given stuff to do in the schools that are not in the job description. I have had luck and pleasure in my high school to have an awesome psychologist She is good at what she does, and she really gives her best to be always available, even if it is only on the phone. But to the public is still not in the mentality of going to the psychologist or psychiatrist. If a teacher says to you to go to the psychologist it's usually to change your behaviour because they dont like it, not in a way that helps you but in the way that they have the vision of what you should or shoudnt do, or wear, or say. So it's making the students less motivated to go to the psychologist if they have a problem. For me I am a regular at her office because i individually want to work on my mental wellbeing and even if I do not have something specific to talk about I always feel better after I see her. During the pandemic, we had online classes (I know it's still a pandemic, I'm talking about when it was a crisis in Macedonia) it was difficult for her to approach the students and for the students to approach her. But yet again me being me I was on the phone with her quite often, because I was struggling with not being to live as I did My country isn’t doing anything regarding mental health, not in an a good or bad way. Or mental wellbeing. But im happy that more and more projects and stuff like that are happening between young people and a bit by bit raising awareness with them.

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Nummer gegen Kummer hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, Kindern, Jugendlichen und Eltern ein kompetenter Ansprechpartner zu sein bei Sorgen & Ängsten

Nummer gegen Kummer e.V. has set itself the goal of being a competent contact for children, adolescents and parents with small and large worries, problems and fears. The children's and youth telephone has long since developed into a contact point that receives around 1,500 calls a day. It is about lovesickness as well as school problems, but also very serious situations such as sexual abuse or thoughts of suicide are discussed here.