KEEP SAFE TIPS

Tip 1, 2, 3

Recognise that our negative self-talk is very often wrong!

When you feel depressed, angry, anxious or upset, use this as your signal to stop and become aware of your thoughts and ask yourself these questions - What is my evidence for and against my thinking? Are there any other ways that I could look at this situation? Is this situation as bad as I am making it out to be? Is thinking this way helping me to feel good or to achieve my goals?

Recognizing that your current way of thinking doesn’t make you feel good or help you to get what you want, can motivate you to look at things from a different perspective.

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Reference: Challenging Negative Self-Talk (psychcentral.com)

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Choose your influences wisely – the people you listen to, the things you read etc – are they positive and uplifting, helping you to grow?

Peers seem to have a large impact on our decision-making as can the types of things we read and watch. But there can be a positive side to these influences that might lead to an increase in more positive behaviours. Ask yourself, are these influences going to help me to get to where I want to go and who I want to be? If not, only you can change your course!

Reference: Peer pressure in adolescence: Choose your friends wisely - Leiden Psychology Blog

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Keep a journal about your thoughts, feelings, events and hopes for the future. Identify at least one thing that you have achieved each day.

It turns out that this simple practice can do a lot, especially for those striving towards more positive mental health. Overall, journaling has been found to - boost your mood; enhance your overall well-being; reduce symptoms of depression before an important event (like an exam); reduce intrusive negative thoughts and avoidance symptoms post-trauma; improve your working memory (Baikie & Wilhelm, 2005).

In particular, journaling can be especially helpful for those with PTSD or a history of trauma.

Reference: 83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress (positivepsychology.com)