Substitute negative thinking with positive thoughts and action:
Try to turn a negative into a positive. You find out who your friends are when you are down. If they desert you when you need them the most, think of this as something positive as you no longer need to waste any more of your time, on those who have revealed themselves as being shallow, selfish people.
If You Give Me 17 Minutes of Your Time, I’ll Give You Back 20 Years of Life Experience by Quotes
“Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous a the end.”
“People who avoid failure, also avoid success.”
“Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from.”
“Learn to be happy by yourself, If you need company to make you happy, then it will make you weak.”
When making friends – Choose quality over quantity.
Updated 27/10/24 work in progress!
Some people struggle with physical puzzles, so online puzzles are a good alternative. Jigsaws can be very useful in helping with concentration problems, and can be adapted to suit your particular ability. You could try making your own.
Making a Custom Puzzle Using Cricut Vinyl Cutter, Printer and a Cereal Box by CitySideGig
When people are depressed, they lose their self-esteem and become very introverted and just want to shut themselves away. This is not good for you. Going for a walk or sitting on a seat outside is still better than locking yourself away. Museums are usually free and worth a visit.
If you no longer feel like socialising, but worry about losing your good friends, use the free time you have to learn new skills to keep yourself active and motivated. You can always invite people to your home for coffee or a meal if you can manage it. The more you achieve, no matter how small it may seem, the stronger you will become.
You could make a gift for a friend who is supporting you, to let her/him know you appreciate her/him. Hand-made items make better gifts than shop bought items, because of the effort and thought that has been put into making them.
Boost your confidence by helping those who are worse off than you and they will appreciate any help you have given them. A moments kindness can make a huge difference to others, and you will feel better about yourself. When you achieve something, especially for someone else, you are pushing away those feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness.
You may also make new friends who are more genuine than the ones you have had before, because you will be moving in different circles and with a different personality type.
If you have access to a computer, you could join Pinterest or something similar and make yourself boards of your favourite things, e.g., photos/pictures of beautiful scenery, or stormy weather, gardening, design, crafts, customising adult or kid’s clothes, DIY tips, inspirational and funny quotes – there is much more to choose from.
How to Draw Cartoons From Letters by Christopher Hart
Cartoon Character Design For Beginners by Christopher Hart
Creative Harry Potter Artwork That Is At Another Level ▶4
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/stunning-winter-garden-ideas-to-inspire-your-home–411586853447828042
If you join a local gardening charity, you will learn new skills, and you may be given free plants etc as well as contributing to the happiness of others.
Calendar 2025 by Calendar365.co.uk and you could plan what you are going to do each month in advance e.g. by adding small pictures, of seed packets, day trips etc. Or design and create one for a family member friend, for next year – to add to their christmas gifts. If you start early, you could make many presents.
Grow your own fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs – RHS
Some crops can be grown in bags/containers. Research on YouTube or Pinterest and see what you can do to help with your current food crisis. If you can interest your kids in gardening it will help wear you all out, so you will sleep better. Not only is it great exercise to help tone the body and lose weight, but whatever you grow, it will make you feel proud of your achievements and remember, home grown veg are much tastier too.
Garden container ideas from Pinterest
Gardening can help anyone with disabilities and anxieties, by providing a relaxing environment adapted to specific needs and preferences.
NHS Forest Green Space For Health
10 family garden ideas by Ideal Home
You could spend time researching plants and accessories or take ideas from old magazines, and make a design board too.
Gardening with a disability -RHS information page.
For those who are in a dark place, hang on in there, the way you feel right now is temporary, you just need to change whatever you can in your life and have faith in yourself. A good support network can be better than relying on medication (or alcohol) to avoid side-effects/adverse reactions/addictions which can add to your problems.
You could find out if you can help with any voluntary group feeding the homeless etc. I helped out with the Mind charity many years ago and the organiser (the manager), in advance – asked all the local ‘big shops, like M& S, if they could have the unsold perishable food when the shop closed, which were otherwise wasted. We put up posters inside and outside the building and invited anyone who wanted a free lunch.
Summer/ Christmas events could be planned, fund raising etc
‘Thinking can seriously damage your health’, so change those negative thoughts for something productive, which will make you feel better. If you cannot concentrate on reading, look at pictures of photos, flowers, scenery etc. If you struggle watching tv, you could watch short videos, cartoons, listen to audio books. There are a lot of funny quotes/jokes/stories online too – which may lift your mood and distract you from what is bothering you.
You could make a playlist of all the songs you loved and search for them and it will help pass the time if you find your days to be very long and you are a little anxious. Avoid any which make you sad, but look for something which may motivate you and help wear you out before bed. Perhaps you could teach yourself a dance routine to a favourite song or music.
Fall Asleep In Under 3 MINUTES | Instant Relief from Insomnia, Depression, Anxiety & Stress video by Silent Rhythm
RELAX CHILLOUT Ambient Music | Wonderful Playlist Lounge Chill out | New Age
100+ Budget recipes – delicious. magazine (deliciousmagazine.co.uk)
150 Super Cheap Meals for When You Are Flat Broke – Prudent Penny Pincher
Vitamins and Minerals Guide from the NHS.
Diet and Vitamins are important to help improve your mood and help your body’s overall wellbeing, so making soup which can be frozen on days when you are able to cook, can save you time and money later. Soups warm the body and are an easy way to get nutritious vegetables into kids who say they do not like them! Try grating the fresh veg! An ordinary vegetable soup can have pasta added or spiced up with a touch of curry powder or blended for a smooth result.
MEALS FUSSY EATERS WILL LOVE! 9 PICKY EATER KIDS MEAL IDEAS by Emily Norris
Fussy eaters may benefit from helping to prepare and cook [age appropriate] food. Some children enjoy being creative with the food and by presenting choices from particular foods to make a meal, the child may eat more.
A variety of healthier meals for everyday life, for single persons or families:
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/weight/100-calorie-snacks
https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/recipes/lunch
Great Depression Cooking – The Poorman’s Meal – Higher Resolution
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/a40156696/healthy-snacks-for-kids/
Watching art and craft videos can relax you and help with concentration and there may be a local craft group you can join. Perhaps with the help of friends you could start a group locally and over time, more crafts could be introduced. You could maybe then branch out, and make a self employed business for yourselves; selling craft supplies, finished items and kits with step by step instructions on how to make other items.
Video channels with DIY tips, hacks etc also make easy watching, and can also be inspirational too. Always exercise caution as for myself, it is not always possible to try things out in advance. I watch so much and then read comments before deciding to post. Unfortunately, it would take too long to watch all of the videos.
It is never too late to learn something new.
Start collecting ideas for weekly challenges, photos etc. Then attach to your notice board or use your fridge with a magnet. You could even use an A4 size pad as a scrap book to collect ideas, divide into sections, then add links, tips, tutorials, pictures, etc.
https://www.mind.org.uk/media/9432/arts-and-creative-therapies-2021-pdf-version.pdf
Art Therapy Series #1 by Lax Lifestyle
https://www.idealhome.co.uk/diy-and-decorating/free-ideas-home-decorating-9179
If you have a laminator you can create pictures to attach to a wall, fridge etc as temporary decoration.
Plan to do something in advance so you have something to look forward to. Even if you are not up to an activity on the day, if you have prepared something or had ideas in advance, you can do it another time. Sometimes you just have to force yourself into motivating and so maybe a walk or visit to a library, or the museum could be an alternative choice, or research future projects/tasks.
Remember, the point is to feel better about yourself, *so do not attempt something too difficult. We all fail sometimes and have to shrug it off. Never dwell on failures, replace those thoughts with inspirational ones, and look for activities you know you can already achieve, and perhaps add a little extra to make it unique.
**Same as methods used to help people overcome anxieties/phobias – systematic desensitization – when you do not rush to the next phase until you have mastered and feel comfortable with the current level.
Systematic Desensitization Steps: 13 Techniques & Worksheets (positivepsychology.com
There are many who know how to crochet or knit. Look for useful ways to use those skills, and even if you can only knit garter stitch, or cannot make items, you can still add something to what you already possess. Collect/buy fancy buttons and add to a t-shirt or change the buttons on a coat/top. If you have a sewing machine, add layers of trimming to a garment or on the bottom of a child’s T-shirt to make it a dress. You could make your sons backpack look unique, work with him of course and let him decide what he likes.
Skyrim Book Nook [Breezehome for your bookshelf]by North of the Border
Family Time: If you have children, take turns in deciding what to do as a family each weekend. Encourage time spent together as a family, with older children too, as you will be closer and stronger together. You will also be creating happy memories to look back on for when they are adults living their own lives, which will help them realise that bad times pass, and life can be good again. Positive experiences and happy memories will help counteract the trauma they may experience at any point in life.
43 Fun Family Activities to do at Home website by Mum’s Little Explorers
75 Activities To Enjoy With Your Family This Weekend. website by Almost The Weekend
3d drawing on paper for beginner by Draw
Origami Jumping Paper Cat by Hello Origami
CLOTHING HACKS FOR CRAFTY PARENTS YOU MUST TRY – by Five-Minute Crafts
Teen ROOM MAKEOVER Ideas | Pinterest & TikTok Inspired
I can highly recommend reading the document and watching the video below, by Dr Bruce Perry, who is an expert on child development and trauma. If every parent/school followed his advice, we would not have so many social problems as we have today. I firmly believe they should start teaching this in primary schools, incorporating it into all areas of study and recreation time, throughout the years. There would be less violence and crime, and individuals would show more respect for each other.
Six Core Strengths for Healthy Child Development: An Overview – YouTubeMicrosoft Word – Core
Dr Bruce Perry – Early Brain Development: Reducing the Effects of Trauma
Ask grans and grandads or research traditional games, hopscotch, two balls up a wall (with rhymes) skipping (great exercise), stick in the mud, rounders, chuck stones, family card games, anything new to introduce new experiences to drag children away from phones and computer games. Juggling in the house with rolled up socks is pretty safe. Make up silly rhymes/limericks to make you laugh.
Young kids could learn how to make/draw something and show their friends at school and perhaps make even more friends. They may help reduce opportunities for the bully if there is something more interesting to do, by replacing unkind behaviour with fun. Sometimes, by including the school bully (especially the younger bullies) and asking if they have skills such as drawing, they could share, as by including them, even just having conversations, it can help defuse difficult situations. They too will be better people, for engaging in positive and productive behaviour. Obviously, parents need to teach their children to be wary of overly aggressive warning signs, and avoid this type of personality.
Many activities have learning skills built in, such as improving concentration, eye to hand contact, patience, tolerance, team building, etc, you know, all the things that are destroyed by computers and obsessional use of mobiles. Unfortunately, schools today are actually detrimental to the children’s education and welfare. Too many kids do not even learn the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. You can think of activities which will include these in a more informal way and they are more likely to remember.
Not all children learn in the same way, sometimes visual aids can substantially help.
Even encouraging them to do chores, for example with young kids you could teach counting and colours, by asking them to bring ten useful green items they need to be washed. Use available items to assist with counting, e.g. pegs while they help with hanging out clothes.Then you could follow up by decorating a clothes peg, and could add a magnet on the back, to hold a photo/card on the fridge. Try to make most things fun, instead of a chore.
Teenagers may like to join in with making crafts with younger siblings. It can help promote better relationships between them.
Whilst engaged in fun activities with young kids use it as a great opportunity for conversations to teach social skills and critical thinking skills, as well as how to protect them from bullies and more. This will help build a great knowledge base, which may help them in many situations, throughout their lives.
Please do not forget to teach your children to be kind and tolerant of others, especially with those who are a bit different. Help them create a better world for everyone and that if they are mean to others, they will be equally mean to them. If they are friendly, they will attract like-minded people who will want to socialise with them.
Relaxing Disney Piano Music ~ Beautiful Music for Studying & Sleeping by The Soul of Wind
STORYTIME
Please watch/listen first before showing stories or reading books to children to see if it is suitable for younger ones and it may give you some ideas about what to discuss. Encourage two-way conversation with your children, example after watching the video ‘I LIKE MYSELF’ by Karen Beaumont, ask what they do not like about themselves, to see if there is anything which needs support.
The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck & Tom Kitten Full Story | Peter Rabbit l Bedtime Stories l Little Fox
https://www.sensoryintegrationeducation.com/pages/free-sensory-resources Free sensory resources, including courses.
10 Simple Sensory Activities by The Hidden Gem
https://craftythinking.com/auditory-sensory/
https://www.speciallearninghouse.com/activities-for-nonverbal-autistic-child/
How to Write Humorous Limericks That Work – You and Me Tutoring
41 Inspirational Poems by Teens by Family Friend Poems
https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/you-will-never-see-me-fall
Sir Smasham Uppe by E.V. Rieu (monologues.co.uk)
Matilda poem – Hilaire Belloc (best-poems.net)
“Matilda told such dreadful lies…”
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat by Edward Lear – Poems | Academy of American Poets“The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat:
They took some honey, and plenty of money…”
Perhaps you could print off this or some other poem and draw illustrations to complement the poem and add to a frame, or laminate it and hang up on wall. Alternatively you might like to encourage your childrens writing/learning/artistic skills and ask them to choose a poem, to be framed with samples of their early skills for a keepsake.
You could sit around a table and write one line of a particular short poem. Pass the paper around the family, and the next person makes up a rhyming second line, then onto the third person etc and read it out at the end. The sillier the better!
23 Funny Poems That Will Perk Up Your Day | Fun Poems for Everyone
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/637611259730710440/
17 Famous Funny Poems: Laugh with Popular Fun Poems (familyfriendpoems.com)
Roald Dahl combines the characters in the Three Little Pigs story with Little Red Riding Hood.
“The animal I really dig,
Above all others is the pig.
Pigs are noble. Pigs are clever,
Pigs are courteous. However,
Now and then, to break this rule,
One meets a pig who is a fool.
What, for example, would you say,
If strolling through the woods one day,
Right there in front of you you saw
A pig who’d built his house of STRAW?
The Wolf who saw it licked his lips,
And said, ‘That pig has had his chips….”
If By Rudyard Kipling, Famous Inspirational Poem (familyfriendpoems.com)
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!” If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!
Don’t Quit
by Edgar Albert Guest
you’re trudging seems all uphill,
when the funds are low and the debts are high,
and you want to smile but you have to sigh,
when care is pressing you down a bit – rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns.
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow – you may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor’s cup;
and he learned too late when the night came down,
how close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out – the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
and when you never can tell how close you are,
it may be near when it seems afar;
so stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit – it’s when things seem worst, you must not quit.
