CDGHARTT Zine

CDGHARTT MAGZAZINE

ISSUE No. 01 MAY ‘22

CDGHARTT MAGAZINE Issue. 01

Mental Health Resources

MAY22

COURTESY OF THE YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH PROJECT, 2022

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. Mental health determines how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices. It’s important throughout every stage of life, you may experience mental health problems through the course of your life, and many factors contribute to this including, biological factors, life experiences, and family.

Early Warning Signs: • • • • •

Eating or sleeping too much or too little.

Having low or no energy.

Pulling away from people & usual activities.

Feeling helpless or hopeless.

Experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems within relationships.

It is important to keep up with mental health because positive mental health can allow you to realize your full potential, cope with the stresses of life, work productively, and make meaningful contributions to your community. Some ways to maintain mental health if you feel you need it would be to get professional help, connect with others, getting physically active, developing coping skills, helping others, getting enough sleep, and talking with others if you are struggling.

EXERCISE FOR MENTAL HEALTH Mental health can impact your life in many ways, and there may be some barriers to treatments that you face.

Unfortunately, almost half of youth ages 8 to 15 don’t receive the treatment they need because there are so many barriers, like stigma, costs, or side effects. This is where the benefits of exercise can come in. Exercise has been researched and validated for treating many mental health conditions, and the side effects are more on the positive side

THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF EXCERCISE AND NATURE ON MENTAL HEALTH Diffterent Types of Excercies: There are many different kinds of exercises you can do to help relieve mental health conditions, but here are some ideas: • Biking • Jogging • Swimming • Dancing Aim to get at least 1 hour of moderate to intense physical activity daily!

Exposure to nature has been linked to many benefits, including improved attention, better moods, lower stress, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders, and even increased empathy and cooperation. Nature comes in all shapes and sizes, whether your hiking in the mountains or just taking a stroll through the park, but no matter the size or activity, you can boost your mood by doing a few simple activities outside and away from technology.

BENEFITS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY There are many benefits to physical activity, especially on brain health.

The benefits can happen immediately after a session of moderate to intense physical activity. Some of the benefits include, improved thinking or cognition for youth aged 6 to 13 years and reduced shortterm feelings of anxiety for older ages. Regular physical activity is better, this can keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills quick as you age. It can also help reduce your risk of depression, anxiety, and it may also help you sleep better.

There are many different activities you can do depending on where you live in the world, here are some ideas: • Seek out green spaces if you live in a more urban area.

• Walk or run through parks of any kind of green space.

• Practice mindfulness by reflecting on the nature around you.

• Draw or write about the nature around you.

• If there is no immediate nature around you, then start a garden or buy a couple of houseplants.

CRISIS HELPLINES • • • •

Crisis Text Line: Text “START” to 741741 in USA National Eating Disorder Association: Call 1-800-931-2237 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) For LGBTQ Youth: TrevorLifeline at 866-488-7386, TrevorText -Text START to 678-678

YOUTH FRIENDLY MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES Jed Foundation: Promotes emotional health and suicide prevention among teens and young adults.

Kelty Mental Health Resource Center: Reference sheets that list top websites, books, videos, toolkits and support for mental health disorders.

Teens Health: A safe place for teens, this website provides resources on mental health issues.

Teen Mental Health: Learning tools on a variety of mental illnesses, videos, and resources for friends.

The Trevor Project: Resources for LGBTQ Youth Mindfulness for Teens: Mindfulness and stress relief resources.

20050405 ISABELLA HONEY READ