Self-care strategies
Although the pandemic and restrictions have been hard, many teenagers told us they were working hard to take care of themselves.
We know that many people can take care of themselves quite well without a lot of professional input or support.
However, that’s not true for everyone, and sometimes self-care can be quite hard - and some teenagers might try to cope using strategies that might be harmful in other ways, like smoking or self-harm.
It can be helpful to create time to talk about self-care and coping with difficult situations and encourage teenagers to reflect on the steps they have taken to help promote awareness of the importance of self-care and of the strategies that can be used.
Resources
The resources below provide tips and prompts to encourage young people to develop healthy coping strategies and self-care for their wellbeing.
- Australian charity Kids Helpline has developed a resource all about self-care and coping for young people.
- Every Mind Matters has produced self-care videos with tips and advice around exercise, sleep and taking care of yourself on social media.
- New Economics Foundation has published an article on five ways to wellbeing at a time of social distancing.
- The TELL Supporting Teenagers Toolkit lesson plan aims to develop young people’s knowledge and understanding of self-care, allow them to differentiate between healthy and unhealthy coping strategies, and encourage them to develop healthy coping strategies to support their mental health and wellbeing.
- Psychology Today has produced 11 self-care tips for teens and young adults.
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