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What helps your mental health

Meditation:

Quiet your mind and thoughts in a calm environment.

Mindfulness:

Bring your attention to your surroundings.

Physical Activity:

Include your favorite physical activity in your daily routine to improve your sense of wellbeing.

Breathing Exercises:

Calm your mind with breath. Try 4-7-8 breathing. Breathe in 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, and exhale for 8 seconds.

Grounding Skills:

Find five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.

Journaling:

Write down all your thoughts and experiences to help process and make sense of them.

Self-Compassion:

Self-compassion is the ability to treat yourself with kindness and understanding, like you would treat a dear friend.

Connect With Others

Spend time with friends and loved ones or seek therapy. Care Solace is a free resource that can help you find a therapist in your local community.

What doesn't help your mental health

  • Avoidance and procrastination
  • Substance abuse, self medicating with substances, or other unhealthy habits
  • Violence and abuse
  • Hurting yourself or others
  • Disconnecting from your thoughts and emotions
  • Thinking about the worst-case scenario
  • Isolating yourself from your support system
  • Not talking about it with a trusted adult

Signs your mental health needs attention

  • Feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness
  • Difficulty communicating or maintaining relationships
  • Eating too much or too little
  • Less attention to personal hygiene or appearance
  • Low energy levels
  • No interest in activities usually enjoyed
  • Self-harm — for example, cutting or burning
  • Obsessing over outward appearance
  • Purging after overeating
  • Feeling guilt over food consumption
  • Expressing bizarre ideas or paranoid thoughts
  • Experiencing hallucinations, such as hearing voices
  • Increased irritability, anger, or hostility
  • Trouble staying focused and experiencing racing thoughts
  • Overly interested or involved in risky activities
  • Substance use
  • Slowed thinking, speaking, or body movements
  • Poor school performance or frequent absences from school
  • Talking fast about a lot of different things
  • Inability to sit still
  • Thinking about death or having thoughts of suicide
  • Extreme self-consciousness or sensitivity to criticism
  • Recurring fears and worries about routine parts of everyday life
  • Chronic complaints about stomach aches or headaches
  • An inflated sense of ability, knowledge, and power

National Crisis Helplines

Suicide & Crisis Lifeline........................................988

National Helpline........Text ‘HELP’ to 1-800-622-4357

Crisis Text Line………… .Text Help or Hello to 741741

Trevor Project Text Line……..Text 'START' to 678-678

Community Resource

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School Resources

Care Solace...............................(888) 515-0595

Care Solace is a free resource that can help you find mental health support.

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INSERT RESOURCE........................LOCATION/HOURS

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