YMHA Talk About Stress and Anxiety

Last night, our Young Mental Health Ambassadors were joined by Kelly and Tash from National Online Wellbeing Service, who spoke to our YMHA ambassadors about different ways you can manage and reduce feelings of anxiety and stress.

We started off by asking our ambassadors what anxiety means to them and how it feels, before hearing Kelly and Tash contribute some effective methods of tackling these feelings.

We asked: What does anxiety mean to you and how do you experience it?

#YMHAThoughts: “When I feel a lack of control in my life” “Meeting new people and being in busy places” “School is the worst as I can’t control what happens” “I always imagine the worst scenario because you always hear of the worst things happening”

We asked: What does good mental health mean to you?

#YMHAThoughts: “When you’re able to live with it and without too much struggle”

Here are some stress-managing techniques that Kelly and Tash responded with:

  • Meditation: Closing your eyes and relaxing with calming sounds such as sound bowls and gentle music.
  • Journaling: Note down what you are grateful for and what happened throughout your day.
  • Safety: When travelling to unknown/new places, leave extra time and go with people you feel safe with – try to bring back control to the situation.
  • Morning activity: Focus on what your perfect day would look like if it was in a film or cinema screen. A better morning makes a better day.
  • Rest: Recharge and practice deep breathing through your gut.

We’d like to thank National Online Wellbeing Service for attending the meeting and providing these beneficial techniques, as well as our Young Mental Health Ambassadors for sharing their thoughts and experiences.