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Let’s Stress Less: Youth-Powered Mental Health Resource Guide

Made with the help of over 45,000 DoSomething members.

Date Published: January 29, 2020

You don’t need us to tell you that this past year has been stressful, to say the least, and while 2021 is giving us a lot more hope, there’s still plenty to feel anxious about. Young people especially have been deeply affected by the challenges of the past year -- mentally, emotionally, and developmentally.

The good news is that young people also have the power to support each other during this generation-defining era in history. Through DoSomething’s Let’s Stress Less campaign, we received 45,202 mental health tips from young people across the country, and we used them to create this youth-powered mental health resource guide.

Table of Contents:

Relationships & Community

“I get through by thinking that I'm not alone. My friends and family are struggling as well as me. I believe that sticking together helps everything.” (Dominique, 19, Texas)

In an era of physical distancing and lockdowns, there are still plenty of ways to connect with the people you care about, whether that’s in-person activities with members of your household or online activities with friends from a distance. Remember that you can lean on your loved ones for guidance, emotional support, or just a simple distraction from everything going on. If you’re worried about being a burden to others, just try to imagine that one of your friends needed your support -- you’d probably be happy to help, right? Extend that kindness to yourself, and expect that your friends feel the same.

If you’re not sure how to stay in touch from a distance, here are some tips for caring for your friendships during COVID-19, and some simple questions to ask when you’re checking in that go beyond just, “How are you?”. And if you want to cultivate some new relationships, there are definitely still ways to safely make new friends during the pandemic. If you want to join a community that’s more explicitly focused on guidance and comfort, try joining a support group for specific issues like anxiety, depression and bipolar, surviving COVID-19, and more.

Hobbies & Self-Improvement

“I am coping with these times by focusing on improving myself. I was dejected at the beginning because I couldn’t go to school or the mall. Then I realized I had many hours on my hands. I learned about the world around me by reading and watching educational programs. I exercised and learned skills.” (Israa, 17)

Most of us are spending a lot of time at home, and that can feel pretty stifling after a while. If you’ve got a lot of free time and nowhere to go, try picking up a new hobby or skill. (And honestly, even if you just have a moment or two each day to dedicate to it, it may still be a nice escape from...well, everything.) Now’s the time to experiment and get lost in an activity that you can do from home.

Maybe you wanna dip your toes into baking with these easy recipes for beginners, or learn how to draw through YouTube tutorials, or finally get started on your first knitting project (because all the Bernie Sanders’ mittens memes have certainly got us inspired). You could even challenge yourself to learn a new instrument -- even if it’s a virtual version, like this online piano or online drum kit.

These are all ways to express yourself creatively, unwind for a while, and show yourself just what you’re capable of, even in the worst of times. You don’t have to be great at it because you’ll benefit just from trying. (Though wouldn’t it be cool to come out of this strange period of our lives with a newfound passion?). Here are 125 more hobbies to explore if you’re not sure where to start.

Self-Care

“I have been monitoring my mental, emotional, and physical health more closely and by taking better care of myself than I have been in the past.” (Brooke, 20)

“Self-care” as a concept has been talked about so much that it’s kinda started to lose its meaning in some ways (like when you repeat a word so often that it starts to not feel like a word anymore). At its most basic, self-care is what you do to keep yourself healthy -- physically, emotionally, mentally, etc. That means that it can look really different depending on the person and their needs at the moment. So sometimes tackling the dirty laundry that’s been building up in the corner of your room or preparing a healthy meal can be self-care just as much as taking a bubble bath or doing a face mask.

Keep in mind that to truly care for yourself, you need to address all of the things that impact your wellbeing negatively or positively -- your physical health, environment, relationships, work or other duties, etc. Here’s a self-care checklist for every area of your life (no need to do all of them, just the ones that feel doable and necessary). You can also look into some realistic self-care ideas, social media self-care tips, and ways to practice self-care as a person with a mental illness.

Helping Others

“I'm coping during these hard times by not only educating myself on the issues we are facing, but also practicing ways to solve the issues we have been given.” (Abbey, 17)

It doesn’t matter who you are, we have all been impacted in one way or another by the ongoing health crisis, and there are a lot of folks who need help right now in these uniquely challenging times. We may not be able to control the events of the pandemic, but we can make an impact on the lives of others by offering a hand. (And science shows that when you do good for others, you feel good too.)

You can take action to help people facing hunger in your community or support incarcerated people who are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. There are plenty of ways to volunteer in your community, volunteer for the environment, or even just volunteer online without ever having to leave your home. Through DoSomething’s Strength Through Service program, we’ve even got a whole collection of volunteer and advocacy actions to make a difference from a distance. Just be mindful of your own needs and boundaries to avoid compassion fatigue -- and learn how to safely care for others when you can barely care for yourself.

Coping

“This pandemic has not been easy on anyone, especially the class of 2020. We did not get to enjoy major life milestones. Even though this pandemic was a major setback on life, I learned things about myself to help cope.” (Zahria, 18)

We all deal with stress in different ways, and after all, we’re also all dealing with different circumstances, challenges, and traumas. When you’re facing a difficult situation, there are healthy coping skills and… not-so healthy ones. Learning the difference will set you up for success in managing your emotions and reactions. A lot of it has to do with preventing catastrophic thinking to stop your anxieties from spiraling. (You can also try an evidence-based app like eQuoo to train up your general emotional resilience.)

Here are some strategies for tackling common pandemic-era challenges. Of course, this list is not exhaustive, but it’s a place to start.

Mindfulness

“Something as simple as taking just 30 minutes with no interference to reflect on your day and your goals ahead can help to ground yourself when you are overwhelmed.” (Joanna, 14)

Mindfulness is “the ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” When you’re being mindful, you can identify your thoughts and feelings objectively, accept rather than avoid your experiences, and begin to address the things you really need in that specific moment.

Some people achieve mindfulness through meditation, and there are tons of beginner-friendly apps out there that can help you with guided exercises. Here’s a helpful guide on the basics of meditation if you have no idea where to start. Breathing exercises can also be good mindfulness tools because they force you to slow down and focus your attention on your body -- and you can do them anywhere, any time, with no equipment! Try these breathing exercises for anxiety or one of these guided breathing videos.

And if those still aren’t your style, try some other grounding techniques to pull you out of a panic, calm you down, and get you to a headspace appropriate for sorting out the way you’re feeling. Emotions are complex, so if you need a little extra help, How Right Now is a great resource for figuring out how you feel and what you need. For those recurring negative thoughts, you can try reframing them with this exercise from the Mental Health Alliance.

Physical Health

“I like playing basketball or going on a run in the morning and that has helped me significantly in keeping myself sane. Exercising releases endorphins that make you feel a lot better about yourself. Honestly, even getting under the sun helps. Just go outside!” (Joostin, 16)

Mental and physical health are closely connected to one another, and if you aren’t doing your best physically, then you probably aren’t feeling all that great mentally either. Your physical health is impacted by your level of activity, nutrition, and rest, so keep an eye on them to make sure your body’s at its best.

A good night’s sleep is critical to not only physical health (digestion, blood pressure, immune response, etc) but mental health too (mood, memory, concentration, etc). Make sure you’re staying well rested with these tips for getting better sleep during the pandemic, or try a guided sleep meditation.

When it comes to exercise, the best kind is the one that you’ll actually do regularly. Don’t feel obligated to take on a complicated, high-intensity workout plan -- regular walks around your neighborhood or simple strength exercises are enough to get your blood pumping. There are so many resources out there to help you work out from home, no matter your skill level. If you’ve fallen off from exercise since the pandemic began, here are some tips to start working out again when it’s been a while. (And make sure you’re properly fueling your body with these tips for eating healthy during the pandemic.)

Additional Resources

BIPOC Mental Health

LGBTQ Mental Health

General Mental Health

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