MindMate

PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Su***de a charity that focuses on the prevention of young su***de. They promote positive mental health and emotional well-being among young people.

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, you can contact HOPELINE247.

This service offers support and advice to anyone under 35. If you are concerned about someone, you can also contact them on their behalf.

They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

call them on 0800 068 4141

text them on 07860 039 967

or email them at [email protected]

visit the PAPYRUS website for more information: https://www.papyrus-uk.org/papyrus-HOPELINE247/

We are currently recruiting MindMate Ambassadors to join our team. Apply and read the full job description by searching ‘jobs’ on our website or clicking the link below.
www.mindmate.org.uk/jobs/

This is a paid role with a starting hourly rate of £14 an hour.

As a MindMate Ambassador your job is to promote and raise awareness of MindMate in Leeds. You’ll attend events and go into schools and colleges in Leeds to talk to young people about MindMate and mental health support. We need people who are passionate about mental health and want to improve mental health services for young people. You will also help us generate content for our website, including written blogs and podcasts.

About you:

✅You need to be between 18 to 23
✅You’re based in Leeds
✅You have a couple of days free each month to go into schools and colleges
✅Have personal experience of mental health issues or have experience trying to access support in Leeds
✅You’re self-motivated and confident to talk to other young people about mental health and related issues


If you meet the requirements and are interested in this role, we encourage you to apply!

This is the first podcast in the new series 'Mindset Matters'. The series features discussions based on evidence-based research and personal experiences of mental health from young people in Leeds.

"Turning Bad Days into Better Days" delves into the cycles of low mood and provides practical strategies and advice that might help to improve your mood.

Click the link below to listen.
https://www.mindmate.org.uk/podcast-21-turning-bad-days-into-better-days/

New podcast going live tomorrow. Check back here tomorrow for the link to listen!

Leeds CAMHS - NHS Crisis Call Line is a mental health helpline for under 18’s that is open every day 8am-8pm.

Leeds CAMHS Crisis Call Line is available to support people whatever the circumstance by listening, advising and signposting.

Call 0800 953 0505 – this is a freephone number.

If you’re in need of mental health support, our website lists a range of other services that may be helpful to you: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/urgent-help-all-services/

If you're between 10 to 18 years old and looking for free, anonymous online counselling service, Kooth might be just what you need.

Their website offers 1-2-1 chat with trained counsellors, self-help articles and a judgement-free forum where you can chat and share your story.

Signing up to Kooth is completely free. To learn more about Kooth and sign up, you can use the following link: https://www.kooth.com/.

Thank you to Winston's Wish - giving hope to grieving children for allowing us to share Katie’s story.

Dissociation is a mental process when you can disconnect from your thoughts and feelings. When you dissociate you may feel detached from your body or feel as though the world isn’t real.

Dissociation is a normal reaction to losing someone and can be part of grieving someone.

What Katie describes, remembering the first 100 hours like a ‘dream’ is probably very relatable for many who lost someone.

Winston's Wish is a UK-based bereavement charity that supports children, young people, and families in navigating grief and bereavement. If you or someone you know needs support after the loss of a loved one, please visit the Winston's Wish website: https://www.winstonswish.org/supporting-you/

Thank you to Winston's Wish - giving hope to grieving children for allowing us to share Jake's story.

Jake shares that writing about his feelings helps him express his grief. When you write, no one else needs to read it, and it becomes your own private space to be honest about your experiences.

If you are experiencing grief, you may also find it helpful to write a letter to yourself, just like Jake does.

Winston's Wish is a UK-based bereavement charity that supports children, young people, and families in navigating grief and bereavement. If you or someone you know needs support after the loss of a loved one, please visit the Winston's Wish website: https://www.winstonswish.org/supporting-you/

Teigan originally shared her story with Winston's Wish - giving hope to grieving children, thank you to them for allowing us to share it with the MindMate community.

Grief is sometimes hard to put into words and it can be hard speaking to people about someone we’ve lost.

Although we can want to avoid talking about people we’ve lost, sharing our thoughts and feelings about those we've lost can be helpful.

Winston's Wish is a UK-based bereavement charity that supports children, young people, and families in navigating grief and bereavement. If you or someone you know needs support after the loss of a loved one, please visit the Winston’s Wish website: https://www.winstonswish.org/supporting-you/

Daisy opens up about the secondary losses she experienced after the loss of her Dad. Coping with the primary loss of a loved one is hard, and the experiences that follow, known as secondary losses, are equally significant.

Secondary losses are a normal part of grief and identifying and acknowledging them can often be the first step in grieving them.

Thank you, Winston's Wish - giving hope to grieving children, for allowing us to share Daisy’s story.

Winston’s Wish is a UK bereavement charity helping children, young people, and families navigate grief and bereavement. If you or someone you know needs support after the loss of someone important, visit the Winston’s Wish website: https://www.winstonswish.org/supporting-you/

Sleep helps prepare our mind and body for a new day, so it’s really important to get enough sleep to feel our best. However, getting enough sleep isn't always easy, and many people struggle with falling or staying asleep.

Our website has some tips that you may find helpful in improving your quality of sleep. Check them out here: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/top-tips-feeling-good/sleep/.

If you're struggling to get a good night's sleep, you may find some of the tips in this video helpful. Sleep is important as it affects not only our physical health but also our mental health.

Our website has some resources that provide more information about sleep: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/top-tips-feeling-good/sleep/

If you experience anxiety while using public transport, you are not alone. Raeesa has shared her experience of managing anxiety while using public transport in her recent blog post on our website.

In her post, Raeesa provides some helpful anxiety-reducing tips while using public transport, which may be helpful to you if you also feel anxious while travelling.

You can read her blog here: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/managing-anxiety-while-using-public-transport/

Sometimes, we may experience changes in our behaviour and lifestyle that could be clues that we need extra support. It's not always easy to recognise when we might need help, but if we notice some of these changes in our lives, it could be a sign that we are feeling stressed or anxious.

If you are feeling like you need more support, don't hesitate to reach out to a trusted adult or a friend and have a conversation with them. Our website has some useful tips on how to start a conversation about your mental health: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/top-tips-feeling-good/starting-conversations/

It's important to take care of ourselves, especially during times of stress and worry. One way to do this is by practising relaxation exercises.

These exercises can provide us with helpful tools to use next time we're feeling overwhelmed.

Take some time to do some self-care and try out some of the relaxation exercises in the guide linked below.
https://www.mindmate.org.uk/resources/relaxation-exercise-sheet-teens/

It’s coming to the end of anti-bullying week, but bullying doesn’t stop when this week is over.

We want you to take a pledge that you’ll speak up when you see bullying happening. Let us know some of the ways you’ll make noise about bullying in the next 12 months in the comments.

More resources and information about bullying are available on our website: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/coping-common-issues/worried-about-bullying/

It’s important to remember that words can hurt, and so we should think about the words we use.

Friendly banter can be fun, but sometimes it crosses a line and can be bullying in disguise.

Here are some ways to identify when banter has become bullying.

1. Would you feel upset if someone said the same to you?
2. Picking on someone’s insecurities
3. The person the banter is directed at is not enjoying it
4. Someone’s asked the ‘banter’ to stop

If you or someone you know is being bullied, there are people that can help. Our website has links to some organisations that may be useful to contact: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/coping-common-issues/worried-about-bullying/

Today is Odd Socks Day, which marks the start of Anti-Bullying Week. 🧦

Odd Sock Day is about celebrating our individuality while raising awareness for bullying.

To participate, all you need to do is wear odd socks - it’s that simple! Share a picture of your odd socks on social media to help spread awareness.

It’s important we all make noise about bullying, and we don’t stay silent when we see it happening. 💬

If you want to learn more about bullying and ways to deal with it our website is a great resource: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/coping-common-issues/worried-about-bullying/

As part of the Autism Central Programme, Daisy Chain is offering a variety of online learning workshops to support individuals and families. These workshops cover a range of topics around neurodivergence and are completely free. They are available to families living in the North East and Yorkshire.

Autism Central provides high-quality and easily accessible autism education, training, and support through peer educators, along with a dedicated website. The peer educators are autistic individuals, as well as parents and carers of autistic people, who have been trained to support other families.

To learn more about these workshops and to book a session, please click on the following link: https://www.daisychainproject.co.uk/event/learning-workshops/

This is a clip from the latest podcast on our website. In this podcast Greta and Elle talk about neurodivergence and their experiences surrounding this topic.

🔈Listen to this podcast in full using the link below.
https://www.mindmate.org.uk/podcast-19-not-an-excuse-but-an-explanation/

Next time you’re feeling stressed take some time for yourself and follow along with one of our short meditations. Focusing on your breathing can help you de-stress and give you time to process what you’re feeling.

Visit our website to view our collection of guided meditations: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/top-tips-feeling-good/mindfulness/stop-listen-relax/

When we feel stressed, things in our life can seem overwhelming. However, there are some things you can do to help you manage these feelings. Here are some tips:

1. Take deep and slow breaths: Breathe in through you nose counting to five and then breathe out through your mouth counting to five.

2. Try taking break from situations that are causing you stress. Refocus your attention on something you enjoy doing.

3. Ask for help when you need it - you may find talking to a trusted adult or friend might relieve some of the stress you feel.

4. Get active - when we exercise it releases endorphins, which are happy chemicals in our brain that can help us feel better.

5. Split up big tasks - try splitting up tasks that feel overwhelming into smaller manageable chunks.

Our website below has more tips on how to de-stress: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/tips-de-stressing/

This week is International Stress Awareness Week, a time to focus on stress management and fight against the stigma associated with stress.

If you’re interested in learning more about stress and want to explore ways to reduce stress, visit our website. ⬇️
https://www.mindmate.org.uk/coping-common-issues/feeling-really-stressed-worried/

If you want to learn more about ADHD, we recommend checking out our Neurodiversity Hub. It’s a great resource that provides information and links to support available to those with ADHD. You don’t need a formal diagnosis to access our Neurodiversity Hub, it’s open to everyone: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/nd/

Talking to someone you trust about your mental health can be helpful. Speaking to other people may allow you to see things differently. They may be able to suggest ways to cope or assist in changing something in your life that worries you. If you’re not sure who to talk to about your mental health, our website has some suggestions: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/top-tips-feeling-good/starting-conversations/

When meeting up with people you don’t know, it’s important to make sure they are who they say they are. If you’re meeting someone new, read our guide to staying safe here:https://www.mindmate.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Mindmate_Stay-Safe-online-PDF-2019-20.pdf

Knowing how we feel isn’t always straightforward. You may be experiencing feelings you haven’t dealt with before.

Our website helps explain the difference between stress and anxiety so you know what you’re feeling the next time you feel different. Find out more about stress and anxiety here: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/coping-common-issues/feeling-really-stressed-worried/

Follow us on our other social platforms to keep up with us.
We share:

✅Free accredited services available in the city
✅Advice and information on a range of mental health issues
✅Stories and experiences of young people and their mental health

All our socials are linked below⬇️

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MindMateLeeds
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindmateleeds/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg9DQ6unTNz4dNLYDJPLl3A
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/

Our blog is a great place to hear about other young people's experiences and stories about their mental health.

If you're under 25 and have an idea for a blog, please email it to [email protected]

We're interested in what you have to say.

Kim, one of the MindMate Ambassadors, writes about the importance of reaching out when you’re struggling: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/reaching-out-when-youre-struggling/

Follow the 12 Wishes campaign on Child Friendly Leeds as they highlight issues most important to young people in supporting their mental health.

This World Mental Health Day, it’s time to get talking about things that may be worrying you.

Ask a parent, carer or trusted adult for help with this homework exercise. This homework isn’t going to be marked. The aim of this homework is to get you talking about your mental health.

Follow the steps in this video to complete the Britain Get Talking homework.

If you’re not sure how to start the conversation about mental health, our website has some great tips and resources that you may find helpful: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/top-tips-feeling-good/starting-conversations/

Talking about your mental health is sometimes the first step in feeling better. World Mental Health Day is a great opportunity to chat with the people around you about how you’re feeling. If you’re not sure how to start the conversation about mental health, our website has some great tips and resources that you may find helpful: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/top-tips-feeling-good/starting-conversations/

Got a spare 5 minutes? Play one of the games on our website to take your mind off things and have some fun.

Browse the games on our website by following the link below.
mindmate.org.uk/games/

Did you know that October is ADHD Awareness Month? ADHD is often misunderstood, and the goal of ADHD Awareness Month is to correct these misunderstandings and educate about ADHD.

To learn more about ADHD visit our Neurodiversity Hub, a one-stop shop for information and support: https://www.mindmate.org.uk/nd/what-is-nd/adhd/