Mental Health Tips
During this time we are naturally going to be anxious, stressed and tempers may get frayed. It is only natural for people to grate on each other nerves when confined to one place for long time. Patience will be needed, especially if you are a parent of teens. If you allow your anxiety, stress, anger, etc., to get out of hand then please remember that your children will pick up on this. Following the health guidelines will help you to try to protect you and your family members, which is all you can do. If you feel more anxious and stressed then there are things you can do to help yourself and your children if you have some.
I’ve listed some links to blogs below to help parents so do check them out.
Remember children can show their anxiety and stress in a number of ways including bed wetting, aggression, nail biting, sibling rivalry may get worse, not sleeping, to name but a few.
Do not be surprised that your child (no matter their age) may be anxious about returning to school/college when it happens in a few weeks. Prepare them now for that return.
Keep them informed of what is happening, but only age appropriate, don’t go overboard with the information as you don’t want them to become panicked, anxious or stressed about what is happening. Reassurance is the key here.
Try to keep everyone in their regular routine of getting up and going to bed at the same time as term time.
Blogs You Might Like
I’ve listed things you can do to help your child’s mental in the following blogs:
https://deborahbyrnepsychologyservices.com/10-tips-to-parent-your-anxious-child/
https://deborahbyrnepsychologyservices.com/understanding-aggressive-behaviour-in-children/
https://deborahbyrnepsychologyservices.com/how-to-deal-with-sibling-rivalry-in-children/
https://deborahbyrnepsychologyservices.com/understanding-temper-tantrums-in-toddlers/
There are plenty more parenting blogs on my website you can access them here:
https://deborahbyrnepsychologyservices.com/category/parenting/
Tips For Home Schooling
Some of you may know that I am not only a psychologist but also a qualified teacher (specialised in special needs). I also have a lot of experience in homeschooling due to one of my children being ill during secondary school. I hope most schools are providing online support for children at this stage but if you are a parent who needs some access to school resources at this time the list below might help. I’ve also listed some free course websites for adults to try.
Keep them doing homework, use the Pomodoro method here: 20 minutes for a subject (10 minutes for young children) then a 5 minute break. Spend no longer than 2 hours on this without a longer break for lunch or dinner. You can also access free resources for activities.
School work will keep them busy, distracted (this is a positive distraction) and help them adjust better when they return to school.
As I’ve said keep to a regular routine.
Don’t just focus on the curriculum either, arts/crafts/board games and down time is needed to keep a balance also.
Allow them to talk to their friends on your phone, they need that interaction and reassurance that their friends are okay, teens will do this themselves.
I’ve listed links to school resources below.
Parents please look after your own mental health at this time too.
Make sure you are keeping a balanced approach to what is going go at present. There are a number of things you can do to help your mental health and I’ve linked these out below in the next section. Please don’t get caught up in social media, or media, hype. Get your facts from reputable sources only. If you are worried about fiances please check out this link for support regarding social welfare payments at this time (it also includes those who are self-employed). Don’t forget to reach out to your support system also, you can still make time for friends (positve ones only) by having a vitual coffee break. Make a rota with your partner so each of you can get some time for self-care away from the kids.
If you had a previous mental health problem.
If you have previous had mental health problems then go back to using some of the tools and strategies your therapist and doctor prescribed to you. For example: Meditation, Journaling, Gratitude, Stress Reduction Techniques, Anger Management Techniques, plus any CBT, DBT techniques you have used in the past. Don’t wait for your anxiety, depression, stress levels to go up. Implement these techniques now. If you don’t have a copy of the worksheet you used then simply ask me I’m more than happy to see if I have it in my resources and upload an online copy for someone to use.
Make sure you keep to your regular routine, even when not in work we can set our own routine to keep us busy and active. Use positive distractions can be helpful such as doing a free course online (see below), going out for a walk (use social distances and other health guidelines). Stay off social media and media sources particularly if you find that it is feeding your anxiety and stress levels.
If you find your mental health is suffering or you feel a family member is suffering more, most therapists are offering online counselling near you. Your GP is still available to contract and if you feel you or a loved one is at risk then the emergency services are still there to help, 999/112. Do not panic, make that call. Don’t think you can’t bother them at this time either, it is still vital that you do. Having a list of contacts on your phone to use in emergency just in case is okay, please do that. There is nothing worse than trying to find a number when you are panicked, anxious or stressed. Don’t forget you can also call the Samaritans Free on any phone at 116 123.
Free Educational Resources For Parents And Students.
https://www.scoilnet.ie/ Both Primary and Secondary Subjects Covered.
https://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/products?ed=all&gr=Welcome%21 EBooks free. You can logon via sciolnet.ie also.
https://www.duolingo.com/courses Free language courses
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
You can also Google “Free colouring pages for kids” which you can print off.
https://global.cbeebies.com/ free games for under 6’s
There are other websites that offer free games with an educational slant; again parents need to check these out first before allowing their children to download them. Just Google free games for children.
Free EBooks are available on Kindle (Amazon.co.uk etc.) I’m sure other eBook providers such as KOBO, Google, Apple offer a similar service.
For Amazon login and go to kindle books
Scroll about half way down the page to find the list of categories (Left hand side of page). Pick a category you wish to read. Then type in “Free Books” in to search bar, they’ll give you a list of free books under that category. Be careful though, x-rated books may appear, so do not allow children to access this on their own. You are better scrolling through the books first and then allowing your child to see what they wish to pick.
For those with library cards in Ireland you can check out borrowbox app from your local library gives you a selection of digital books FREE get details on their website i.e. wexford: https://www.wexfordcoco.ie/…/ebooks-and-eaudio-books…
For Adults And Older Children (18+ or 16+ If as a parent you think the course is suitable)
Free courses you can use to distract yourself while staying at home.
https://www.futurelearn.com/your-courses
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses/full-catalogue
Work With Me.
Remember you are allowed to ask for support. No one is an island. If you need extra support then you can also work with me. We all struggle with stress and overwhelm from time to time. If you find this has become a problem for you and you’d like some support then schedule an appointment with me.
You must be logged in to post a comment.