Somerset County Council’s Public Health has been working with young people to revise the successful Mental Health ‘Lifehacks’ to help them manage their mental health and wellbeing during the current Coronavirus pandemic.
Originally developed as part of an emotional health engagement project with young people in Somerset in 2015, the set of tips were designed to give people the tools they need to manage their mental health and wellbeing and enable them to feel happy when times are tough.
Thanks to a collaboration between LIFEbeat and Alice Hoyle, from youth organisation ‘On The Level’, the set of important wellbeing tips have been revised for dealing with current stresses that have come with the coronavirus pandemic.
The tips include creating a safe space to help manage emotions, practising daily gratitude and staying connected with friends and family where you can.
Alice Hoyle, who led the work to develop the original Lifehacks with young people back in 2015, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity to come back and re-visit this amazing resource and develop something with young people for young people to use during the pandemic”.
LIFEbeat, who deliver Somerset County Council’s Relationships, Sex and Health Education Programme and ran last summer’s successful young people’s camp, have continued to support teaching staff and young people through the coronavirus period with weekly group check-ins and activity sessions.
As part of this work, the hacks have been re-designed with young people for young people living through the pandemic. They aim to help people to manage their mental health during ‘lock-down’ and give tips on how to help their friends when they’re struggling too.
Lara Martin, aged 13, Deputy Member of Somerset Youth Parliament, said: ”I think it’s everything that people want to hear when they’re starting to stress out about the issues faced at the moment.”
Councillor Frances Nicholson, Cabinet member for Children’s Services at Somerset County Council said: “We all need to continue to follow the Government’s advice to help save lives.
She continued: “We also all know this may impact on our emotional wellbeing, so the Lifehacks top tips have been revised especially to respond to the challenges of coronavirus. They are a really important resource for young (and older) people, and I can’t recommend them too highly.”
As with the original hacks, the Mental Wellbeing Lifehacks for Coping with coronavirus are backed up with further ideas and links on the Public Health website: www.cypsomersethealth.org
More information on coping during the coronavirus outbreak can be found on the Healthy Somerset website https://www.healthysomerset.co.uk/covid-19/
Mindline Somerset is now operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide emotional support during this difficult time and can be contacted at 01823 276 892.
Mindline is a confidential listening service which provides a safe place to talk if you, or someone you know, is in distress. We can also give basic information about mental health and local support services.