It can be hard to motivate yourself to get up and work out, but doing something athletic releases endorphins (good chemicals) in your brain that make you feel good. So exercise is scientifically proven to be good for your body and mind. Exercise doesn’t have to be some big intense routine – you could just […]
It can be hard to motivate yourself to get up and work out, but doing something athletic releases endorphins (good chemicals) in your brain that make you feel good. So exercise is scientifically proven to be good for your body and mind.
Exercise doesn’t have to be some big intense routine – you could just go for a jog around a park, or even do some press ups or sit ups in your living room, while you’re watching TV.
If you really want to go for it, you could join a gym, or work with a personal trainer for some extra motivation or help with what to do. Or you could simply find a friend to exercise with, and talk with them as you’re getting your sweat on.
Physical exercise can be a good way of dealing with aggression if you find yourself feeling angry. Keeping a regular workout schedule can also help give you some structure if you’re feeling overwhelmed with life.
If you’re not ready to talk out loud about what you’re going through, but you want to get it all out of your head, you might find it helpful to write down what you’d want to say to someone else. Or if it’s someone else who’s making you upset, you could write down everything that they’ve done to you, and why it’s hurt you. Writing when you’re angry can be better than shouting or having an argument.
You could even write a letter to yourself, reminding you of the things that you’ve got to look forward to, or times that have made you happy, or even just saying how you feel about yourself right now.
You don’t even have to give your letter to anyone – it could just be for you to keep hidden, or even destroy it if you want to physically get rid of the problems you’ve written down.
People have told us that physically writing down a letter, on pen and paper, helps get everything out of their head and onto a page where they can actually see their problems in front of them. Once your problems are in front of you, you can start to figure out the best way to approach and overcome them one by one.
Talking is something we all do pretty naturally anyway, but talking about self-harm can seem scary or hard to do. It doesn’t have to be. When you’re ready to, just talking about what you’re struggling with can be really helpful.
People have told us that talking with someone they trust and telling them what they’re going through, to get everything out of their head and off their chest leaves them feeling relieved. Sharing how you’re feeling is better than keeping everything to yourself, and it could leave you feeling like a big weight has been lifted off your shoulders.
Talk to someone you feel comfortable with. If that’s friends or family, make sure it’s someone you know and trust. If you’d prefer talking to someone outside of your situation, you might find it useful to ring a helpline. Check out a list of helplines here.
If you’re feeling angry and need to let it out in a way that doesn’t hurt you or someone else, you could try taking it out on your pillow. Or a teddy bear. Just something soft! Punch it, kick it, throw it, scream into it. Take out your aggression and frustration in a positive way, just make sure you save it for the pillow.
Do something you didn’t think you could do. Push yourself to do something challenging, and once you’ve done it, you’ll be able to look back and know that anything is possible.
A great example is Vicky, who shared her story with us. She challenged herself to climb a mountain that she didn’t think she could make it up. Even when she wanted to give up, she kept on pushing until she got to the top. From then on, whenever she thought she couldn’t do something, like beating self-harm, she reminded herself of climbing that mountain.
Anger and sadness are natural and normal human emotions. You don’t need to make yourself feel bad if you feel them. It becomes a negative cycle that gets really hard to break out of.
When something bad happens, ask yourself if it’s really worth feeling continually down about. Chances are, it’s worth you being upset for a while, but not forever.
Let yourself be angry or sad about your situation for a while, and then you can know that you’ve given yourself time to deal with it properly and normally. Then the next step is moving on, and leaving the negative stuff behind.
Get involved with a class or a group to learn some new skills and help you deal with stress.
Find somewhere in your area that you can go along to and give something new a try. It could be joining a gym or going to a yoga class. Maybe it’s something art-y. You could try learning a new instrument, or singing. You can even find online courses to learn new skills digitally! Find something that interests you.
Being part of a community where everyone’s doing the same thing can help you build friendships, and know that you belong to something, so you’re not alone.
Some people distract themselves by losing themselves in a TV show. Others let their imagination run wild by burying themselves in a good book. If you’re feeling like you want to get away from your current situation, just grab a book and read for a while.
Reading a book could be particularly useful if you struggle getting to sleep. Swap out scrolling through your Instagram feed in bed for reading for half an hour instead – it might help your brain switch off a bit.
A really popular way of expressing how you’re feeling is to write it out in the form of a poem or song lyrics. If you feel things are building up in your head too much, you can pour it all out onto paper. Try writing them to music – either something that inspires you, or something instrumental that could be like a blank canvas. Writing creatively like this is a great way to have something positive come from a negative situation.
Don’t forget, poems don’t have to rhyme! It’s more about you expressing yourself and getting how you’re feeling out onto a page.
If you’re looking for some inspiration, catch this spoken word by our friend Mikey!
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