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Tools

How are you feeling today? Whether you are feeling great, a bit meh, or not good our toolkit has activities, ideas and tools to help inspire you to explore who you are, grow as a person and learn new things.

Join an iDiscover activity

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Join an iDiscover activity

We offer lots of free activities to help you to live well and learn new things. All our activities have been created with children, young people and those who care for them. They are a great way to find out more about who you are.

Our activities can include workshops, courses, webinars and more. 

Find out more about our activities

Try some apps and other tools

Glasses

Try some apps and other tools

Try some prompt cards and worksheets

We have developed some worksheets, promo cards and other tips, that some people find helpful.

Open the prompt cards and worksheets

How about some online support? 

STOPP is CBT in a nutshell. Learn this one key skill and you can start to take control of your emotions and your life.

STOPP | Get.gg - Getselfhelp.co.uk

How about trying some apps?

Note: NHFT provides the following links as suggested tools. We cannot take any responsibility for content provided on third-party websites.

Habit trackers

Daylio

 

Rabit – habit tracker and goals planner


Access Rabit on the Google Play store here
Access Rabit on the Apple App store here

Productive

Self care and mental health care

Calm

Cove – music for mental health

Headspace

Flo – for period and mood tracker

Remente – Self care, mental health and personal growth

Pzizz App | Sleep at the push of a button

Chill Panda – Reducing anxiety and improving well being in Children through a fun gaming app

Catch it - University of Liverpool

My Possible Self: The Mental Health App

Home - Calm Harm App

Meditation and Sleep Made Simple - Headspace

Rootd App - Panic Attack & Anxiety Relief Right in Your Pocket

Togetherall

Tellmi

Smart Tales - Smart Tales

Breathe, Think, Do! - Sesame Workshop

Mindful Powers (mindfulpowersforkids.com)

Quotes

Motivation

Find powerful influencers

Arrow

Find powerful influencers 

The young people we work with have picked out some of the social media influencers who inspire them. Let us know who else you think should be on this list by emailing 
Participation@nhft.nhs.uk 

Body positivity and eating disorders

Recovery Connor – body positivity and eating disorder advocate
You can head to the Recovery Connor's Instagram or listen to his podcast to find out more about eating disorders and body positivity.

I-Weigh – body positivity
You can access I-Weigh's Instagram or listen to the I-Weigh podcast for body positivity information.

Jay Shetty – body and mind positivity advocate and author
You can access Jay Shetty's website or his YouTube channel to find out more about body and mind positivity or listen to his podcast On Purpose.

Hope Virgo – body positivity and eating disorder advocate
You can access Hope Virgo's website or her Twitter or Instagram for more information on body positivity and how she overcame her eating disorder.

Nabela – body positivity and wellbeing advocate
You can access Nabela's self-care tips on her Instagram and YouTube channels. 

Health

Dr Alex George – UK Youth Mental Health Ambassador and physician
You can head to Dr Alex' Instagram, his Twitter channel or watch his videos on YouTube.

Mental wellbeing

PsychologywithLee – mental health awareness
You can access Psychology with Lee on her Instagram.

Honestly Holisitic – anxiety and wellbeing
You can access Honestly Holisitic's Instagram to find out more about how to manage anxiety.

Jim Kwik – mental wellbeing 
You can access Jim Kwik's website or find out more on his YouTube channel. 

The Depression Project – breaking down stigma on depression and mental health
You can access The Depression Project's website for more information about their work against mental health stigma. Find out more about The Depression Project on their Facebook, Instagram,and TikTok channels. 

Quotes

Anonymous Positive Love – positivity and quotes
You can access Anonymous Positive Love on Instagram.

The Good Quote – wellbeing and motivation
You can access the Good Quote on Instagram.

Read new ideas and updates

Speech bubble

Read new ideas and updates

Some helpful tips

Things that can help keep you mentally well

  • Good physical health, eating well, exercising
  • Going outside and getting some fresh air
  • Taking part in activities, joining groups or classes in something you enjoy

Other important factors that can help keep you mentally well

  • Feeling valued and understood
  • Having opportunities to learn and succeed
  • Feeling you have control over your own life
  • Having a sense of belonging
  • Having the strength to cope when things go wrong
  • Recognising what you are good at and your strengths

For more tips check out the 10 Keys to Happier Living

 

Read new ideas

Thinkng about new ideas and reading about other people's can help improve how we feel. Check out our blog for inspiration and ideas.

Go to the blog now

Relax and game

Paper plane

Relax and game

Here are some of favourite relaxing games:

Note: NHFT provides the following links as suggested tools. We cannot take any responsibility for content provided on third-party websites or apps. NHFT does not endorse any adverts that appear on this third-party content.

Mindful colouring

Pixilart – colour by number colouring book

Happy Color
You can access Happy Color on the Google Play store here
You can access Happy Color on the Apple app store here

Hoop Stars
You can access Hoop Stars on the Google Play store here
You can access Hoops Stars on the Apple app store here

Peak – brain games and training
You can access Peak on the Google Play store here
You can access Peak on the Apple app store here

Numpuz – classic number games and free riddle puzzle
You can access Numpuz on the Google Play store here
You can access Numpuz on the Apple app store here

Watch videos or listen to podcasts

Watch videos or listen to podcasts

Watch and listen

Watch a video

We have put together some great videos full of tips and advice. 

Check out the iDiscover video collection

 

Listen to podcasts

These are some of our favourite podcasts. Find these on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Note: NHFT provides the following podcasts as suggested tools. We cannot take any responsibility for content provided on third-party podcasts

  • Calm
  • Get Sleepy with Spotify podcast
  • Good Vibes, Good Life with Vex King
  • Happy Place with Fearne Cotton
  • I-Weigh with Jameela Jamil
  • Mental: Destigmatise Mental Health
  • Mindful in Minutes
  • Open Mind with Frankie Bridge
  • Radio Headspace by Headspace
  • Recovery Connor
  • The Introvert's Bubble
  • The Self Care Club
  • The Waiting Room with Dr Alex George

 

Support

There are lots of services in Northamptonshire ready to support you. To get you started did you know you can:

  • Text a school nurse – for friendly, helpful advice on almost any health questions you have. This service is designed for 11- to 19-year-olds: 07507 329 600 Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm. Find out more Children’s 0-19 Services

Mental health support from NHFT:

  • Live chat about your mental health – talk to us on CAMHS live 9am to 7pm, Monday to Friday

  • Phone about your mental health – the consultation line for parents, carers, young people and professionals is available 9am to 9pm, Monday to Friday on 0800 170 7055

  • Visit an Espresso Yourself Cafe - no need to book an appointment, just pop in and chat to the teams about how things are going for you. Find out more on Espresso Yourself Cafe

If you are in a crisis, at risk of self-harm or suicide – the CAMHS crisis team is open 24/7 and can be accessed by calling 0800 170 7055

Or: 

  1. Text Shout to 85258 at any time day or night. You can find out more by accessing the Give a Shout website 
  2. If your life is at imminent risk, call 999 for emergency help

Check out all NHFT services for young people

 

We have also gathered together some really useful organisations and services that are here to support you, your parents/the person who cares for you.

Please note NHFT provide this list of services for information and does not have a responsibility for any of the services offered outside of the organisation.

 

  • Emotional support
  • Your mental health
  • Family support
  • Special needs support and neurodevelopment
  • Money and daily life advice
  • Carers
  • More services

Topics

Did you know the NHS.uk website has information on every topic or condition you can think of?

Check out the NHS website

 

We have created information on some topics, related to the services we offer here at NHFT.

Your Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health

Your Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health

Your Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health

We have 5 core emotions: Happiness; Sadness; Anger; Fear and Disgust and over 200 different feeling which relate to them. Our emotions are a natural part of our body’s and our mind’s response to the world around us and how we are processing the things that are happening. Our emotions and important, they can give us warnings about dangers and help us to survive:

Sometimes we can become hyper-aware and start to see dangers where there isn’t really a threat, this can make us feel worried or panicky. The good news is that when we stop and notice how we feel, naming the emotion and checking if it has been triggered by a threat or a perceived threat we can stop worry or panic taking over and regulate our emotions and feel safe again.

 

Breathing is a really important strategy to help regulate our emotions. When we feel stressed, angry or worried we naturally take quicker and more shallow breaths. When we intentionally breathe more slowly and more deeply it changes the physical feelings in our body and helps us to regulate our emotion. There are lots of different breathing techniques to try:

  • 7-11: breathe in for a count of 7 and out for a count of 11, do this 3 times.
  • Square: with your finger trace a square in front of your, breathe in for a count of 4 along the top, hold for 4 down the side, out for 4 along the bottom, hold for 4 along the side and repeat twice more.
  • Blowing bubbles: breathe in slowly and blow bubbles – as you blow the bubbles imagine your worries/tricky feelings blowing away in the bubble.

What if I hate breathing exercises?? Some people find this really tricky, if that is you, don’t worry. Perhaps you would find it better to have a cold drink of water and sip it slowly; suck a sweet for a minute or practice a grounding exercise: Look around, what 5 things can you see? Stay still, what 4 things can you hear? Notice, what 3 things can you touch or feel? What 2 things can you smell? Name 1 good thing about yourself.

From Resources: This is where the video links need to be:

 

 

Promoting wellbeing and mental health

Promoting wellbeing and mental health

 Promoting wellbeing and mental health

Sometimes we find ourselves stuck in a rut or on a bit of a negative cycle but the good news is that by taking little actions we can start to shift that towards feeling better. Take a look at the Action for Happiness website, it is full of resources and great ideas which can help you to boost your wellbeing.

There are some really basic tips to helping us be in the best place for feeling good:

Sleep well

Research has proven that most teenagers need at least 9 ¼ hours sleep each night so if you need to be up for a school bus by 7am you need to be asleep by 9:45pm – lots of young people find sleep a bit tricky, we have a couple of videos in which we share our top tips for getting a great nights sleep:

Why is sleep important video

How to sleep well video

These websites are also packed with helpful tips and advice:

The Sleep Charity

Teen Sleep Hub

Sleep Scotland

Eat well

We need to eat a range of different foods everyday and this should include 5 portions of fruit and vegetables. If we leave long gaps between meals we can get hungry and this can make us feel angry, tired or sad, so eating little and often can be helpful – 3 meals and 3 healthy snacks over the day. If we eat sugary foods (apart from the risk of weight gain and tooth decay) we can end up with having big peaks and drops in our blood sugar – this can make us feel very tired and low in mood when we are in an energy slump. What we eat really does impact our mood, there are even good mood food lists available online such as the BBC Food: Eat Yourself Happy

Exercise

Young People should be physically active for about an hour every day and this helps to burn off stress hormones in our bodies and boosts feel good hormones called endorphins. If you find it awkward to go to a gym or an exercise class and don’t enjoy team sports, try putting some music on and dancing around in your room – you might feel silly at first but it will really boost your mood. There are also loads of YouTube workouts for teenagers which can help you to know what to do and reduce your risk of injury.

Relax and Laugh

Try to plan something to do with family or friends where you can enjoy some relaxed time together, the Anna Freud centre has loads of ideas for fun activities which can boost your mood: Self Care, Anxiety, Depression, Coping Strategies | On My Mind | Anna Freud Centre

Talk

If you have worries or difficult things on your mind talk to someone you trust. If you feel too embarrassed to talk to a person face to face you could use our ChatHealth text service where you can text a school nurse and share your concerns. The number is 07507 329600

Struggling with tricky Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviours

White outline of a clock

Struggling with tricky Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviours

During our teenage years our brains undergo enormous change – the pathways are being reorganised, you have got an amazing ability to think quickly and widely about a huge range of topics. You are gaining more and more control of our emotions and thoughts all of the time, but your brain isn’t fully developed yet and it is going to carry on maturing well in to your 20’s. With all this change going on it is no surprise that sometimes you feel a bit overwhelmed and this can mean that your emotions and behaviours are difficult for you to regulate by yourself sometimes. These two short videos talk about how our brains develop and also why we sometimes struggle to control of emotions and behaviours:

Practicing the breathing and grounding techniques explained above can really help to make changes to how our brain pathways work – this means that even if we have often got angry and slammed a door in the past that we can change that behaviour in the future by using the strategies we have shared – have a look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELpfYCZa87g

Our Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviours are all interlinked – we can learn how to influence them on purpose which can make it easier for us to make good choices, feel well and challenge unhelpful thoughts.

When we feel a strong emotion it can drive us to act impulsively, the STOP technique can help us to pause, weigh up our thoughts and feelings and choose our behaviour:

To help you to make decisions when things feel difficult and confusing or to solve a problem, this technique can be really helpful:

It is very common during our teenage years to be a little unsure about our own identity and where we fit with frineds and family, this is part of becoming yourself and over your teenage years you might explore lots of different ways of being you and then as an adult you settle on the version that feels like the best fit. This can make us vulnerable to feeling low self-esteem, this video will give you some tips on boosting your self esteem: Self esteem – an introduction 

Courses

Community CTA

Activities 

Introducing iDiscover activities

We offer lots of free activities to help you to live well and learn new things. All our activities have been created with children, young people and those who care for them. They are a great way to find out more about who you are.

Our activities can include workshops, courses, webinars and more. 

Find out more about our activities