With Exam season in full swing we are pleased to be able to share this blog post from MyTutor on how to recognise Exam Stress and ways in which you can help.
4 Signs of Burnout in Your Teen
The piece includes useful information such as:
Humans are masters at adapting to changing environments and circumstances, but that doesn’t mean that we find it easy. We have all had to adjust to this ‘new normal’. Whether becoming masters at keeping our distance when out and about, or face timing our elderly relatives and subjecting ourselves to half an hour staring up their nostrils. There is so much about this situation that is out of our control. Feeling out of control can increase feelings of anxiety. So this blog is about things that we can all do to ensure that we are taking care of our mental health the best way we can. Noticing what we have control over, and taking steps to do so can help adjust the balance in our lives somewhat. As we get used to this way of life it is easy to get stuck in a rut and it may become harder to look after our mental wellbeing the longer this situation continues.
Each week I’ll suggest a few things that you can try to put in place. For things to work well it would help if you can keep track of your progress. Maybe mark on your calendar days when you’ve managed to do some of the suggestions. Hopefully you’ll notice a pattern that the more things you manage to do, the more your mood improves. But it’s important to be forgiving of yourself on days where you don’t manage to do anything. That is ok. Just draw a line under it and start again tomorrow. Just aim for progress, not perfection.
I am a couch potato by nature; maybe it’s the Irish in me. I love nothing better than lying on the couch, glass of wine in one hand, bar of chocolate in another with a Netflix box set for company. For the first few weeks of lockdown that is all I did. However, as the lbs. piled on, the novelty wore off. I was feeling exhausted a lot of the time, and fed up. In an effort to boost my mood I started doing online workouts on YouTube. The difference in my mood and motivation levels was noticeable from day one . I still have to force myself to do an exercise class but I find if I do it first thing in the morning straight after I get up I can get it over and done with before my brain wakes up and comes up with lots of reasons not to do it. I then start the day off on a good track, which means I’m more likely to make better choices about what I eat. Also with better energy levels I’m relying on sugar hits much less which is better for my mood.
If you’re new to exercise, you don’t need to start anything strenuous. Try to get in a walk around the block once a day. Use this time to walk mindfully if you can, notice your surroundings and the feeling of your body as you move. Our bodies want to move, they are designed to move, and will be happier if they can do this regularly. In addition to releasing endorphins to enhance mood, regular exercise will strengthen your immune system and help to promote sleep.
The NHS provides some good advice on exercise; their couch to 5k program is especially popular if you feel that you might want to try running.
YouTube has a lot of workout videos. I’m currently using The Body Project, which provides a free 2 week workout program.
Tools
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/exercise-for-depression/
Get enough sleep – how much sleep we need varies. Adults typically should get around 8 hours, teenagers need between 8-10. It is normal for a teenagers sleep pattern to move to later in the evening, so sending them to bed at 10 pm may not work. What I would suggest is that they try to get to bed at the same time every evening before midnight. An hour before bed they should come off screens. Phones emit a blue light that actually prevents the sleep hormone from being released, keeping the brain alert. A good routine each night will also help prepare the brain that it is time to wind down. If you find it very hard to get to sleep, experts advise getting up out of bed for a while and going to do something like making a camomile/ non-caffeine tea. When you start to feel tired return to bed. It’s important to break the cycle of tossing and turning for hours in bed at night. Try to keep your bed as a place that you associate with sleeping.
Lack of quality sleep is linked to mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. Researches are unsure of whether the lack of sleep is a cause of the disorders, or a consequence. It is a bit of a chicken and egg situation. One thing is for sure though, or resilience and ability to cope with adverse situations is depleted when we have not had a good nights sleep the night before.
During this pandemic it is very easy for us to lose track of routine, and perhaps start going to bed extremely late and get up late. This won’t do our biological mechanisms any good. Try to get up at the same time every day and go to bed at the same time, it will help stabilise your mood and enable your body to adapt to sleeping.
Sources
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics
Tools
You can download a sleep diary here to help you keep track
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/SleepDiaryv6.pdf?x39985
A lot of people who haven’t been to counselling may wonder what is the difference between talking things out with a counsellor and talking things out with family or friends? This blog post hopes to give some information about what counselling is, and why and how it works. This should give you more knowledge so that you can decide if you think counselling might be something you want to try.
It’s good to talk as the old BT advert goes (showing my age) but why would you pay to talk to a stranger about your problems when you can talk to your friends? There are a number of reasons why in some situations taking the time and effort to engage a professional in your discussion can be a good thing. Unlike family and friends the very fact that the counsellor does not know you on a personal level can be strength. Friends and family may sometimes be influenced by their memories and expectations of who you are and how you should behave. This can sometimes mean that they are unable to be objective about your situation. This is not a problem a counsellor would have, and their objectivity may enable you to gain more insight into your situation.
In relationships with friends and family there is usually give and take, and a desire not to hurt the other person. This can sometimes limit what we can share of say to these people because we care about their feelings. When you are in a counselling session, you are free to say honestly how you think and what you feel without worrying if this is going to hurt the counsellor or damage your relationship with them. I remember saying to my counsellor a few years ago that going to see her was like having a good offload to a best friend, but without having to repay the favour and listen to her problems in return!
Research has shown the most important part of counselling, even more so than the type of training your counsellor has done or the years of experience they have, is the relationship that you build between you. This relationship is built on mutual respect, trust and the ability of the counsellor to accept you as you are. An important part of this relationship is the fact that apart from few exceptions (where there is a real risk to life of your or someone else for example), what you disclose to a counsellor remains confidential between yourself and your counsellor.
Through the process of training counsellors are skilled at listening to what you are saying, and more importantly to picking up on body language and tone of voice to give insight into what you may not be saying, but feeling. Counsellors use various techniques and depending on their training will have different tools at their disposal to allow you to unravel your thoughts and gain deeper understanding of yourself. Depending on the issue you bring, they can also help you to develop strategies to cope with difficult emotions, or to assist you to take action in areas of your life that you need to change.
In order to get the most out of your counselling experience you need to make a commitment to attend sessions weekly. This will enable you to build a good relationship with your counsellor and also help you keep on top of your situation rather than having to catch up every few weeks which will take up lots of time in the session and inhibit the work that can be done.
Coming to counselling is an investment in yourself. It is a chance to look at beliefs and life stories that you have been carrying around for years, probably since your childhood, and decide if they are helping or hindering you now in how you want to live your life. Most people come out of counselling with a deeper understanding of themselves and an enhanced ability to treat themselves with kindness and respect. This personal change has long lasting benefits in their relationships with people they care about also.
I hope that this blog has been useful. If you’ve any questions ARC are always happy to help.