Managing anxiety
- Anxiety is normal, and everyone feels anxious sometimes. You are not alone.
- Talk to someone you trust, like a friend, family member, or teacher, about how you feel.
- Take care of your body by eating healthy food, drinking water, avoiding caffeine, and exercising.
- Try doing something you enjoy to take your mind off your worries. You could watch a film, listen to music, read, or play a game.
- Be kind to yourself. If you have a bad day, focus on what you did well instead of what went wrong.
- Take slow, deep breaths. Try tracing your finger up and down the fingers on your other hand. Breathe in as you move up and breathe out as you move down.
- Use your senses to help you stay calm. Pick up an object and focus on how it feels, what it looks like, and what it does.
- Stay in the present moment. Look at the date and time. Notice where you are and what you are doing.
- Think of a happy place that makes you feel safe and calm. Imagine what you can see, hear, and smell.
- Write down your worries and set aside time each day to think about them. You can do this alone or with someone you trust.
Mindfulness
- Place your hands on your belly and take ten deep breaths. Notice how your hand moves up and down as you breathe.
- Close your eyes and think about the happiest day of your life. Spend one minute remembering as many details as you can.
- Sit very still and focus on your senses. Notice one thing you can hear, feel, taste, and smell.
- Close your eyes and think about how you are feeling. Are you happy, sad, mad, or scared? Try to understand how you know you are feeling this way.
- Sit quietly and pay attention to the way your clothes feel on your body. Notice your shirt, trousers, and shoes. Do you feel something you didn’t notice before?
- Hold a small object in your hand, like a pencil or eraser. Think about how heavy it feels and what its texture is like. Try to notice one new thing about it.
Good sleep
- Have a bedtime routine: Try to go to bed at the same time every night, even on weekends. Changing your bedtime can make it harder to sleep.
- Relax before bed: Stop using electronic devices an hour before bed. Have a warm bath or drink some milk to help you feel sleepy.
- Turn off screens: Screens keep your brain awake, making it harder to fall asleep.
- Keep your room cool: A cooler room helps your body relax and sleep better. Try and make sure that your bedroom is slightly cooler that other rooms in your house.
- Check light and noise: A room that is too bright or noisy can make it harder to sleep. Try to keep it dark and quiet, but not completely dark that you cannot see.
- Get outside in the day: Sunlight helps your body make melatonin, which helps you sleep at night.
- Exercise: Moving your body helps you feel tired and sleep better.
- Eat the right amount: Eating too much or too little before bed can make it harder to sleep.
- Think positive: If you can’t sleep, think of happy things you will do soon. Try to push away any worries.
- Avoid caffeine: Drinks like tea, coffee, cola, and energy drinks keep you awake. Try not to have them before bed.
Body image
- Be kind to your body: Have a warm bath or rest in a quiet place to help you feel calm.
- Don’t compare yourself: Pictures online are often changed to look perfect. Remind yourself that beauty is not skin-deep and start to recognise your inner qualities.
- Think about what makes you special: Write a list of things you like about yourself that aren’t about how you look. Read it often, and add any new self-compliments.
- Spend time with kind people: Be with friends and family who make you feel happy.
- Wear clothes that feel good: Choose comfy clothes that make you smile.
Low mood
What can I do to help raise my mood
When feeling low there are steps you can take now to help you feel better.
Top tips
- Make yourself do something, even if you don’t feel like it. Lying in bed might seem like the easiest option, but it can actually make you feel worse. The best way to challenge a low mood is to stay busy. If you’re struggling, ask someone to help motivate you.
- If you start feeling low, talk to the people around you. Spend time with friends and family, as being around others can lift your mood.
- Write down some positive things about yourself, such as your strengths or things you like about yourself. Say these out loud every morning and create your own mantra. This will help you value yourself.
- Try looking at situations as if you were helping a friend. If you feel hopeless and think no one will listen, imagine a friend saying that to you. What would you tell them? You might say, “It’s okay to feel down sometimes, and there are people who care about you and want to listen”.
- Keep track of your moods and emotions in a diary or log. You could rate your mood out of five each day. This can help you understand patterns and share your feelings with others.
- Break activities into small steps to make them feel more manageable. If something seems overwhelming, tackling it bit by bit can help.
- Plan your week by writing down activities on a planner. Put it somewhere you will see it, and try to follow the plan rather than letting your mood decide what you do.
- Give yourself credit when you complete an activity. Take time to reflect on how you felt afterwards. Did it feel good? What could be improved next time? Would you do it again?
- We all need to feel a sense of achievement, connection with others, and enjoyment in our daily lives. A healthy balance of these three things can improve your mood.
- Think about activities that help you feel a sense of achievement, closeness, and enjoyment. Try adding some of these to your routine to boost your mood.
Eating well
Eating a diet high in fruit and vegetables with lots vitamins and minerals. Food such as bananas, oats, nuts and seeds have been shown to boost your mood.
Planning
Plan activities for the week, filling the days with things that you enjoy, this could be walking, painting, gaming. Planning out your time is one of the fastest ways to improve your mood.
Exercise
Exercise is key area known to boost our serotonin. This is also known as our happiness chemical which helps your brain regulate your mood, sleep and appetite. How about going for a walk or a run? skipping or out on a bike?
Activities
Creative activities
- Colour or draw zentangles or mandalas.
- Draw, paint, or craft.
- Start a gratitude diary, each day write down one think you are thankful for today and positive thing you have done today or plan to do.
- Write a collaborative story.
- Have a go at junk modelling, instead of throwing away plastic containers or cardboard, why not make something for fun or that might be useful.
- Make a table hammock (this is for young children).
- Make an activity spinner to get you motivated (use Pinterest for ideas).
- Fix or mend something in your home.
- Have a wacky photoshoot.
- Make a family video.
- Make a tree or leaf rubbing.
- Do some bubble art.
- Make an inspiration collage.
- Makes a dream catcher, Pinterest has great ideas and inspiration.
- Write poetry.
- Journal.
- Make your own slime.
- Drink warm beverages.
- Listen to an audiobook.
- Make tye-dye t-shirts.
Relaxation activities
- Meditation, contemplation and relaxation. use the Calm app or Headspace app to help this.
- Mindfulness colouring, There are lots of free printable sheets available online.
- Create a 20 minute calming and relaxing playlist and then find a quiet space listen to it.
- A do it yourself (DIY) spa day at home, face masks, a bath, a bath bomb, body scrub, spa music.
- Have a bath or a shower
- Unplug and read a book.
- Do yoga.
- Meditate.
- Paint your nails.
- Diffuse essential oils.
- Brush or braid each other’s hair.
- Listen to the rain.
- Watch a lava lamp.
- Call or FaceTime with family or friends.
- Spend time with your pets.
- Sit outside to do an activity.
- Freeze grapes and eat them.
Social activities
- Cook with a parent. You could video call a friend and cook the same thing together with your parents. You could eat it together too!
- Have a dance party, why not video call friends to get in on the fun?
- Send an elderly neighbour a note to say hello or a make them a picture to post through their letter box.
- Cinema night in, grab your favourite snack, get comfy and watch a movie.
- Send your friend a morning photo or selfie of breakfast and a positive quote to help them to feel positive about their day.
- Watch a film over video calling with friends or family.
- Have a family games night. You could also do this over video calling with friends.
- Make a quiz and then play it with friends and family on video calling, you could take it in turns to make a Friday night quiz and play each week.
- Record a song with friends.
- Help a parent or sibling out.
- Make a friendship bracelet with a friend over video calling.
- Make a memory photo album full of funny and uplifting memories.
- Play a game of top trumps with your family.
- Make your parent and carer breakfast in bed at the weekend, cereals and juice work perfectly!
- Give each other back or foot massages.
- Run with someone in your household.
- Play a game on video call with your friends or family.
- Write things you like about yourself and your family on a list and have them to do the same.
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Indoor activities
- Bake: Find a good recipe online and make buns, cookies or cakes.
- Get organised: This could be tidying a draw out, tidying your room or organising your photos on your phone. This could also involve organising your day or your week through planning how you want to spend your time. Top tip, set yourself small, achievable and realistic goals as this will help keep you motivated and show you are making progress. Share you progress with others as this will also help motivation.
- Make your own wind charms- have a search online for ideas.
- Make your own sundial for the garden.
- Make a bird feeder or bird house.
- Create sock bunnies or sock worms.
- Make homemade playdough.
- Research and create your family tree.
- Catching up on sleep.
- Chocolate or cheese fondue- melt chocolate and or cheese in a bowl and go dipping with snacks.
- Read inspiring quotes and make a collage of them for your wall. Pick your top 7 and have a different one for each day of the week.
- Do a puzzle.
- Make a scrapbook.
- Reorganise your room.
- Build a fort and play a game or read a book inside it.
- Take a nap
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Outdoor activities
- Grow veg in the garden from old veg in you fridge or cupboard. You can make planters out of old juice or milk cartons.
- Go camping in the garden.
- Plan seeds and watch them grow.
- Go for a walk to a local field, woodland, river or lake with a member of your household and find the strangest looking bug you see and spot a bird you have not seen before. You could take a photo if the bug and bird and see if you can find out what it is online.
- Stargaze out of your window or in the garden.
- Go for a walk and find the perfect stone or rock to take home and paint on to create a garden ornament.
- Create a treasure hunt.
- Make a time capsule and bury it in the garden.
- Lay down outside and listen to the birds.
- Watch the sunset.
- Outdoor water painting.
- Lay in the sun and cuddle, read a book, or talk.
- Create an upbeat running playlist and join the Strava app to help stay motivated.
- Explore the garden.
- Go on a picnic in the garden.
- Play the cloud game, what shapes are the clouds making?
- Listen to music.
- Play hide and seek or eye spy.
- Put some water or leaves outside for the birds and hedgehogs.
Exercise activities
- Go for a bike ride, skate or scooter.
- Go for a walk.
- Go jogging or running, couch to 5km app it a good support to do this.
- Play football in the garden.
- Make a do it yourself (DIY) basketball hoop from a hanger and string or a bin and shoot some hoops.
- Skipping.
- Practice gymnastics.
- Play tag.
- Do a zumba video on YouTube.
- Learn a martial arts routine from YouTube.
Achievement, closeness, and enjoyment (ACE) activity
An achievement, closeness, and enjoyment (ACE) activity refers to an activity that includes three key elements:
- achievement, something that gives a sense of accomplishment, like finishing a task, learning a new skill, or completing homework
- closeness, an activity that involves social connection, such as spending time with family, playing with friends, or talking to someone you trust
- enjoyment, something that makes you happy, like playing a game, listening to music, or doing a hobby you love
Balancing achievement, closeness, and enjoyment (ACE) in daily activities can help improve mood and mental wellbeing. See examples of the following three elements:
Achievement
- Do something you’ve wanted to do for a while.
- Set goals of what you want to achieve, daily or weekly.
- Creative writing.
- Art work.
- Making something.
- Exercise.
- Sports.
- Completing your homework and enjoy the sense of achievement.
- Tidying your room.
- Eating healthily, the right amounts and the right foods. This is important for our mood. You can make this enjoyable by cooking or baking new, healthy things.
- Get to bed and wake up at the same time each day, a routine helps to keep your body and mind healthy.
Closeness
- Connect daily with your friends, family, girlfriend, boyfriend, trusted adults, neighbours or family friends.
- We get different things from different connections: spending time with your gran will be different to hanging out with your best friend.
- Instead of just messaging, try phoning or video calling others, this can help you to feel more connected.
- Seeing people face to face is important too.
- Meeting up in person doesn’t have to cost money, you could go for a walk, run or bike ride, do homework together or make someone a meal.
- Reach out to someone you’ve not had contact with in a while.
- Send someone a nice message or a card to let them know you’re thinking of them.
- Suggest an hour of family time once a week.
- Join a new group or club.
- Who’s in your support network, are the people you spend time with good for you? If you don’t feel better around them, maybe rethink the friendship. Don’t be scared to distance from people who have a negative impact.
- Let trusted others know if you feel low, you could write this down.
Enjoyment
- Lots of things on the achievement list can also be enjoyable!
- Try to do something enjoyable every day, no matter how small.
- Have a think about what you find enjoyable, it’s different for everyone.
- Watching a TV show or film you like to wind down.
- Hobbies, for example, running, photography, football.
- Try something new, a book, recipe, music artist or hobby.
- Do regular self-care or relaxation time, this could be having a long bath, a colouring book, doing breathing exercises or meditation online or on apps.
- Limit the time you spend in your room or doing one thing. Being in the same place or doing the same thing for too long will affect your mood.
Page last reviewed: February 21, 2025
Next review due: February 21, 2026
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