Topic outline

  • Parent workshop about Anxiety in teens from CAMHS Inreach

    This is a copy of the presentation by the CAMHS Inreach team on how to support your teen with general anxieties, such as social situations or school work.

    it is to help parents to be able to help their child learn how to recognise and then manage their emotions so that these do not overwhelm them.

    Further support can be found at


  • Mental Health Awareness Week 15th-21st May 2023

    This week we will be talking with the students about how to manage their emotions.

    Sometimes we can experience strong emotions which can make us feel overwhelmed.

    Experiencing emotions is all part of being human; it’s the way we manage the difficult ones that can have a huge impact on how we feel.

    Here are three techniques that students can try when they start to feel a bit worried or stressed about something and this should help them to regulate and then manage these feelings

    Technique 1: Box Breathing

    Box breathing is a technique lots of people use

    to reduce feelings of anxiousness.

    It can help to calm our thoughts and clear our minds in stressful situations such as tests, difficult conversations or trying new things which scare us.

    Here is a video that shows you how to do it

    Technique 2: Exploring Worries

    Step 1: What is something you are worried about?

    When you are worried about something, it’s easy to imagine the worst thing that could possibly happen. In reality, these worries may never come true.

    Step 2: What could happen isn’t the same as what will happen.

    Thinking about what will happen, instead of what could happen, can help you worry less. Whenever you start to worry, answer these questions:

    1. What are some clues that your worry will not come true?
    2. If your worry does not come true, what will probably happen instead?
    3. If your worry does come true, how will you handle it? Will you eventually be okay?
    4. After answering these questions, how has your worry changed?
    The technique includes acknowledging and not dismissing the worry, and then getting into perspective, so that the worry is no longer overwhelming, even if it is still present

    Technique 3: settling thoughts

    Sometimes we need to distract our mind from

    thoughts which are keeping our mind busy.

    1. On a piece of A4 paper, draw five different shapes of your choice.
    2. Next, draw five more shapes which overlap with the shapes you have drawn to make new shapes.
    3. Finally, colour your shapes. You can do this at a pace that helps you feel settled. You don’t need to colour it all in, maybe you’d rather add patterns or leave parts empty.
    4. While colouring, notice what happens to your thoughts.



  • World Mental Health Awareness Day 2022

  • How to train your brain to be less anxious

    What is neuro plasticity? 

    •the ability of the brain to form and reorganise neural connections, especially in response to learning or experience
    •Our brain repeats patterns of neural connections until “trained” to do it differently, or an experience changes it
    •Every time we avoid a situation that causes us stress the brain says, “let’s avoid that again”.  This makes you more anxious about it so that you will remember to avoid it next time It rewires the neural pathways, making you MORE anxious.
    •Avoidance feeds anxiety
    What is mindfulness?
    1. the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something:
    2. a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
    What does mindfulness mean to me?

    It means training your brain to

    Concentrate

    Keep attention

    You do this by becoming aware of / noticing your body and senses and thoughts for about 10 minutes a day

    Breathing techniques

    1.Just become aware of your breathing. Focus on it, if your mind wanders, bring it back to focus on your breathing
    2.Box Breathing (last week’s ppt)
    3.Belly buddies –get a small cuddly toy. Lie down. Put it on your belly, watch your belly move up and down with your breathing. If your mind wanders, re focus it back onto your cuddly toy

    Doing this for 5-10 minutes a day is really good for you

    Mindfulness practice reduces the size of the amygdala and stops it sending out “panic” or avoidance “messages”. Your brain makes stronger neural pathways to the frontal cortex – emotional regulation

    Mindfulness practice won’t stop you feeling anxiousness or worry, but it will mean you can redirect your thoughts and manage these feelings better

    Other ways to be mindful

    1.Spend time in nature – notice it – the colours or smells or sounds
    2.Cook – notice the smells and tastes
    3.Garden –notice the smells and colours
    4.Simple crafting or model making

  • Parent workshop support for exam anxiety

    • Exam stress and anxiety File

      This is the presentation by the CAMHS Inreach team in June 2023 for parents of students to support them with exam anxiety or general school anxiety