Wellbeing Tips and Resources
Please visit https://portal.fromecollege.org/studentwellbeing for wellbeing resources on Frog.
Things you should do daily for good mental health
Never say something is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ – change to a more specific word
We rarely ever know whether something is actually 'good' or 'bad'; the words are mostly meaningless. It is amazing how liberating for the mind it is if we simply replace them with something that has some meaning. Try labelling something 'helpful' if it assists in whatever goals you have identified (personally, for others, or even in a society), and 'unhelpful' if it does not. This encourages you to think through why something may be 'helpful' or not, and, even though it is more mental work, the mind really enjoys it. Additionally, it better reflects what is going on in your mind
Remind yourself that change is inevitable
Permanence is probably our greatest illusion. Science tells us it is nonsense, and common sense does, too – yet we spend so much emotional and mental effort trying to pretend things do not or will not change, and get upset when we are forced to face the truth. However, the flip side of impermanence is dynamism, growth, exploration and development. Change is simply a fact - so on a daily basis try to identify where you are resisting or lamenting change, and why. Embracing change takes a lot less emotional and mental effort than trying to preserve an illusion.
Accept that you can’t have complete control over anything
Another great illusion is our control over outcomes: whether we wish it for our own ends, or to help others, individually we control almost nothing. A huge amount of causes brings about future outcomes - our actions are just a drop in the ocean. Try to recognise when you are growing frustrated because things are not turning out the way you wanted - then experience how liberating it is to accept that the outcome is largely out of your control.
Guard against tolerating other people’s unreasonable behaviour: We all forgive our friends’ outrageous behaviour, behaviour we may condemn in total strangers. Recognising when you are doing this is a useful exercise. It’s not that you should become intolerant of your friends: it is simply important to recognise how your mind works, and how standards of behaviour are actually incredibly flexible.
Accept all your emotions – even the bad ones
Having eliminated 'good' and 'bad', accept all of your emotions. Some of them will be unhelpful (anger rarely helps anything) and some will be helpful (compassion springs to mind). But, helpful or unhelpful, they are all yours. Accept them. Nurture the helpful so that they thrive. Remain aware of the unhelpful, and discourage them gently but firmly. Like an ill-tempered dog, they are there, and are fine as long as they are quiet and not roused.
Self-care
Remember that we should all think about our mental health and well-being. Like our bodies, our mind also needs ‘exercise’ and care. It is important to remember that small mental health issues can easily become large ones if left ignored. Self-care is incredibly important. Every single day try to get into the habit of doing those things that support your mental and physical wellbeing. This might be as simple as pausing to calm yourself and stop to listen to the birds or if you have had a particularly tough week recharging with a ‘lazy’ weekend duvet day and some good TV might be the thing you need to prepare you for the next productive week. Always remember to keep well hydrated and drink lots of water, try to eat healthily, exercise regularly and ensure you get lots of the right sort of sleep.
Inclusion Team
Our Inclusion team can support you with the following
Anxiety and Coping Strategies
Coping skills help you tolerate, minimize, and deal with stressful situations in life. Managing your stress well can help you feel better physically and psychologically, and it can impact your ability to perform at your best. For example, if you are struggling to complete a piece of homework that you do not understand, you might use avoidance as a way of coping and go out with friends to avoid completing the work. This in turn, can lead you to fall behind and affect your academic progress. Our sessions will look to give you clear and easy to follow strategies to help cope with the anxiety and frustration you experience when you are challenged by difficult situations and to support you to make the right decisions around seeking help and sticking with things like challenging tasks.
Anger Management
We all feel angry at times – it's part of being human. Anger is a normal, healthy emotion, which we might experience if we feel attacked, deceived, frustrated, invalidated or unfairly treated. It isn't necessarily a 'bad' emotion; in fact, it can sometimes be useful. Most people will experience episodes of anger which feel manageable and don't have a big impact on their lives. Learning healthy ways to recognise, express and deal with anger is important for our mental and physical health. Our sessions will help you develop these skills so that you are in control in those moments when you feel angry.
Improving Self-Esteem
When we have healthy self-esteem, we tend to feel positive about ourselves and about life in general. It makes us better able to deal with life's ups and downs. When our self-esteem is low, we tend to see ourselves and our life in a more negative and critical light. As well as sessions on improving general self-esteem we also offer sessions about Grief and Bereavement, Friendship and Social Communication and Behaviour Management but also recognise some wellbeing concerns will not fit under these titles so we will always look to help and support whatever you may be dealing with.
Mentoring
We can offer a weekly opportunity for positive mentoring where we can look at identifying and managing emotions, looking at your triggers or help engaging with school.
Young Somerset Wellbeing Practitioner
We have a Wellbeing Practitioner who comes in once a week from Young Somerset who has been trained in cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT) for mild to moderate mental health difficulties. Wellbeing Practitioners support you to learn new tools to put into practice, to make changes in the here and now to help you to help yourself with your wellbeing. Young Somerset Request Support
Counselling
We have a counsellor that comes into College once a week from the charity We Hear You that deal with issues to do with bereavement or the impact of illness. We Hear You can provide up to 16 sessions of counselling. The number of sessions is very much up to the individual child or young person and how much support they need at the time. Contact We Hear You
Place2Be
Frome College works with Place2Be, a mental health charity that helps young people to explore their emotions and feel better about themselves. Young people can go to the Place2Be room in school to express themselves by making art, talking and more.
When is Place2Be useful?
Sometimes young people can feel particularly anxious, low, confused or angry. Maybe something difficult happened at home, like losing a family member or parents separating. Or perhaps they’re struggling with something at school, like bullying. This can make them behave differently, lose confidence in themselves or find it difficult to concentrate in class. Place2Be is there to help young people find ways to cope, so their worries don’t get in the way of their friendships, their learning or how they feel about themselves.
What does Place2Be do?
Place2Be’s professionals work with young people one-to-one or in small groups, giving regular support for pupils who need it. Young people can also book a short appointment to talk about any problems or worries they have – this is called Place2Talk.
How does Place2Be work with adults?
Place2Be provides support and advice for parents and carers, as well as teachers and school staff. Visit place2be.org.uk/family or get in touch with our Place2Be staff member to find out more.
Any questions?
Ellen Lloyd is our Place2Be staff member. You can either arrange to meet her at school or get in touch on ELloyd@fromecollege.org
If you want to find out more about Place2Be visit place2be.org.uk
Signalling support outside of the College
As well as the support we offer in College we can also help point you in the direction of out of College support and resources if you would prefer. We can signpost you to websites or agencies that may be useful to improving your mental health or refer you for professional help such as counsellors or CAMHS. We know that home can have an impact on College life, so we also refer and liaise with outside agencies who might work with your family like CAMHS, Social workers or family intervention workers who have specialist training to help families and individuals.
Need some advice?
We are here to help. You can speak to your Head of House, Deputy Head of House, Tutor, Teachers, the Inclusion Team or anyone from the Senior Leadership Team anytime you have comments, concerns, feedback or ideas.
Frome Medical Practice
Advice and support on all aspects of healthcare for young people.
www.fromemedicalpractice.co.uk
Kooth
Want someone to understand or advice to help a friend? Free, safe and anonymous online counselling and support.
www.kooth.com
Young Minds
YoungMinds is the UK’s leading charity championing the wellbeing and mental health of young people.
www.youngminds.org.uk
Health Connections Mendip
Local directory for support in the community to improve your health and wellbeing.
healthconnectionsmendip.org
Somerset Big Tent
Directory of emotional wellbeing and mental health providers for children and young people aged 8-18 within Somerset.
www.somersetbigtent.org.uk
Childline
Childline is available to anyone under 18 years old. You can talk to Childline about anything: Bullying, running away, school friends, gangs, cyber bullying, puberty, peer pressure, crime, abuse, how you look, pregnancy, drugs, families, online safety and much much more.
Telephone: 0800 1111
Website: www.childline.co.uk
Body and Soul
Body and Soul is a charity promoting the respect, dignity and wellbeing of children, teenagers, adults and families living with and affected by HIV. This service is available to children and young people of all ages.
Telephone: 020 7923 6880
Website: www.bodyandsoulcharity.org
Victim Support
Information for young people on types of crime, how it can affect you, the help they can give you and information on how a court case works. You don't have to report a crime to get their help and you can call them anytime after your experience, even if it happened years ago.
Telephone: 0845 30 30 900
Website: www.victimsupport.org.uk/help-victims/help-young-victims
B-eat
Information about eating disorders, how to get help and how to help someone you know with an eating disorder. If you are 25 or under, call the Beat Youthline. The Youthline is open Monday to Thursday 1.30pm – 4.30pm. Youthline also offers a call back service. They aim to get back to you within 24 hours.
Telephone: 0845 634 7650
Call back service: text 'callback' to 07786 20 18 20
Website: www.b-eat.co.uk/
Email: fyp@b-eat.co.uk
Crimestoppers
Contact Crimestoppers anonymously with information about crime. You don’t have to be scared about coming forward because they don’t record any personal details about you. They make sure your identify can not be found out.
*Remember!!! Crimestoppers is not an emergency service and if you see a crime taking place you should ring 999 to report it immediately.
Telephone: 0800 555 111
SWISH Services
This is a Somerset-Wide Sexual Health Service. SWISH welcomes young people to all of their clinics. They offer non-judgmental confidential service to any young person including under-16s. This includes information and advice on contraception and repeat contraception, sexual health advice and screening and C-Card sign-up.
Website: https://swishservices.co.uk/local-services/
Telephone: 0300 1245010
Pace
Get Connected is a free confidential helpline service for young people under 25 who need help but don’t know where to turn.
Telephone: 0808 808 4994
Send your text to: 80849
Website: www.getconnected.org.uk
Selfharm UK
SelfharmUK is a project dedicated to supporting young people impacted by self-harm, providing a safe space to talk, ask any questions and be honest about what's going on in your life.
Email: info@selfharm.co.uk
Website: www.selfharm.co.uk
Kidscape:
An anti-bullying website offering guidance and support.
Mermaids
A safe place for transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse young people to find support and help one another
The Proud Trust
The Proud Trust is an LGBT+ youth charity empowering young people to be proud of who they are.