Emotional Well-Being at Wyke

June 2019 is Pride awareness month and Hull will celebrate Pride in Hull on 20th July 2019. Pride is celebrated each June in honour of the Stonewall Uprising, which took place in 1969 in Manhattan. There have been great developments in the LGBTQ community and here at Wyke we promote the equality and diversity of all our students and we expect all students to feel safe and supported. You may feel like you have questions but are not quite sure who to ask. There are a number of services available who offer advice, support and guidance, including; Yorkshire Mesmac. Web Link: mesmac.co.uk Phone Number: 01482 291190. Email: hull@mesmac.co.uk Lollipop which supports Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people aged from 13-19. Phone Number: 01482 392200 (weekdays 9am-5pm) Email: lollipop@eastriding.gov.uk Shout LGBTQ group. Phone Number: 01482 218115. Web Link: thewarren.org/lgbtsupport

Suicidal thoughts can be scary and debilitating. People talk about wanting things to ‘stop’. What they want to stop is the pain, anxiety, depression, not their lives. It is important that if you are feeling suicidal you talk to someone; Talk to a trusted adult Contact CAMHS crisis team 01482 301701 (Hull & East Riding) 01724 382015 (North Lincolnshire). Contact Samaritans, Freephone- 116123 or email jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help Contact Papyrus https://papyrus-uk.org/ , call 0800 068 4141 or text 07786209697 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org Tips for coping right now; Don’t make your decision today, you don’t need to act on your thoughts right now, focus on the here and now and making it through today, don’t worry about tomorrow or next week. The right now is what is important Contact a medical professional, visit your GP, contact the CAMHS crisis team or go to A&E Access support- (see above information) Don’t be alone, be ...

Self Help Tools What does it mean when you are feeling blue? To feel blue means to feel sad, low or even depressed. Feeling blue is a normal part of everyday life. We can’t always feel happy, there will be times when for no particular reason we start to feel sad, alone, low etc. It’s important to try and reflect on what happened leading up to feeling blue? Did anything particular happen, did you lose something, have a disagreement with a friend or relative? Did you have a few nights of broken sleep or have you been feeling unwell? Are you struggling with your courses? If you can try to pin point what initiated your feelings you can begin to understand why you feel blue. Once you understand (or even if you don’t) why you are feeling blue, your priority is to start to feel better. Think about how you want to feel, think about how you want to change what happened. If you did have an argument with a friend or relative, talk to them about it, tell them how you are feelin...

Relaxation You talk to yourself more than anyone around you, maybe not out loud like you do with your friends and family, but we all talk to ourselves. Think about how you talk to yourself, are you kind or are you judgmental? It is so important that we give ourselves positive messages, it’s not about changing yourself, it’s about cutting yourself some slack. Acknowledge when something has not gone right or the way you were expecting and then think about or picture how it could be different and more positive. Use this to make your next experience more positive. If you said all the negative things to another person, how would they react? If another person said those things to you, how would you react? Happiness comes from within, so please be kind to yourself, you will then notice your self-esteem improves, relationships will improve and you will start to feel happier. Try the following; Give yourself time: allow yourself 30 minutes per day to read a book, take a walk ...

Relaxation What does relaxation mean to you and why is it so important? We are all such busy people that the thought of relaxation seems impossible. Even if you have the time to stop for a few moments and relax your body, most people are unable to relax their minds. Students talk about feeling stressed about exams, relationships, friendships, next steps and many other issues which impact their daily lives and are unable to switch off from this. Do you ever go to bed really tired, having spent the day yawning only to be wide awake for the next 2 hours, unable to fall asleep? There are lots of tips and advice available to you on the internet which help you to relax, below is a list of the top 10 ways to relax;   Be active- exercise creates endorphins which make you feel good. If you exercise this will lift your mood and help you to relax. Try it yourself, go for a walk, clear your mind and you will feel relaxed. Be present- try mindfulness, mindfulness is about be...

Mental Health Awareness Week Mental Health Awareness Week 11th-17th May Mental health awareness week is nearly upon us. The theme for this year is Body Image. We all aspire to be something in life, but a lot of the focus is brought back to how we look, social media plays a big part in this. It’s important to understand that we are all different but equally worthy. We should be the best versions of OURSELVES not a pretend version we think is socially acceptable for others. By the best version we mean, healthy, happy, confident, content, supportive, open, honest, be kind to ourselves, respect ourselves, be kind to others, respect others, this is more important than how we look. Check out mentalhealth.org.uk/body-image blog which explores body image and its impact.

I had a black dog Winston Churchill once described his depression as being like having a black dog. Depression and feeling low can really affect our ability to function, the joy is taken out of our lives and sometimes we feel it will always be this way. Every day is a struggle to manage, we feel we have to put on a show for others so they don’t know what we are going through. However, there is lots of support available to you, take a look around you and trust they will support you. I had a black dog is Mathew Johnstone’s insight into what it is like to live with depression, check out his you tube video which has a really powerful message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiCrniLQGYc