“Life is like photography; we develop from the negatives” They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, so if you’re looking for a way to express yourself, you could try taking photos. You might have a proper camera which you can learn how to master and snap the perfect picture. Or you might be taking […]
“Life is like photography; we develop from the negatives”
They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, so if you’re looking for a way to express yourself, you could try taking photos. You might have a proper camera which you can learn how to master and snap the perfect picture. Or you might be taking pictures on your phone and you can play around with editing them in an app. Take photos of things that make you happy – places and people who remind you of good times, and you can look back at these when you’re feeling down.
Changing the way you look might be a bit of a big step, but changing the way you physically view yourself could have a knock on effect to the way you think about yourself in general, and help you start to self-care, rather than self-harm.
It doesn’t need to be a massive, permanent change – it could be something simple like getting a different hair do, or getting some new clothes in a different style to what you’d usually wear.
Crying can be seen as a negative thing, but it’s actually a positive. It’s part of the human reaction to bad situations, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s healthy to cry, and it often actually leaves you feeling a sense of relief once you’ve got it out of your system. Let yourself cry over situations – it’s part of dealing with negative things that happen. If self-harm is giving you a release, then you might be able to get the same sort of feeling by just having a good cry.
And fellas – it’s ok for men to cry too. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it – it’s not a sign of weakness, it’s you being human.
Meditating isn’t just monks sitting cross legged humming “Ohmmm”. It’s the idea of stopping and calming down your brain, to help you focus. Meditation helps you keep your mind peaceful and calm – which can be pretty rare given how hectic life can be. Just taking 10 or 15 minutes to slow down and concentrate on your breathing and calming yourself down can help you feel more able to deal with problems as they come up, and take your mind off of urges to harm yourself.
Head over to our Resources page to check out some of our favourite apps to help with meditation!
When we say “old movies” we’re talking anything nostalgic from your childhood. Maybe a Disney movie, or a film your parents used to make you watch as a young kid to stop you crying – just something that reminds you of being younger and carefree. There’s something comforting about watching a film you know back to front (even if you can recite the whole movie line by line). And if you can stop yourself from self-harming throughout the entire film, then you’ve done well – and might even find the urge has passed by the time the credits are rolling.
Music plays a really important role in a lot of people’s lives. It might be that you make music, or just love listening to it. It might be that you like happy music that picks you up when you’re feeling down, or you like sad songs because you can relate to the feeling of the artist.
Whatever it is that gets you about certain music, make a playlist of it on Spotify (other music streaming services are available..) and listen to it when you’re feeling down. You could even try sharing it with other people and getting them to add songs as well – it can be a great way to discover new music as well as help you.
Ok, for some people, this is where you’ll want to pull the curtains and make sure no-one else is around to see you. For others, this is your time to shine. But sometimes it can really help to just let your hair down, whack on some cheesy pop music and just.. dance.
It doesn’t matter what it looks like (you might even just wave your arms about); it’s all about having good, silly fun. It not only takes your mind off of what’s bothering you, but having a dance can release feel good chemicals in your brain. You can literally dance yourself happy.
Dancing is one of the things that Warren shares as being helpful.
Creating a meal from nothing is one of the most basic, yet satisfying things in the world. It doesn’t need to be a meal, it could just be some small, tasty treat. Your body is essentially a machine that needs fuel – eating (healthy) food keeps your body, and your mind, running properly.
Try checking out Pinterest or Buzzfeed articles for recipes that are simple to do.
Rob from Don Broco said he likes to make a healthy soup when he’s feeling down. Check out the video below.
Sleeping is a really important part of life. Getting the right amount of sleep can dramatically improve your mental and physical health. The key bit there is: “the right amount” – not sleeping too much and hiding from the world, but not depriving yourself of sleep (even if you think you’re being productive). Try and make sure you get at least 7 hours sleep a night.
Sometimes though, it’s just hard to get your brain to turn off and actually get to sleep. Check out some of our top tips for getting a good night’s sleep.
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