Wellbeing
Free Online Information Parent Night – Body Confident Teens
Kingston Youth Services are excited to welcome Eliza Charlett from Butterfly for our Term 3 Parent information night Let’s Talk Body Confident Teens. This Free online parent information night Let’s Talk Body Confident Teens is a talk aimed at parents/carers of students and young people (12-25) who live, work or study in the City of Kingston.
Butterfly Foundation is the national charity for all Australians impacted by eating disorders and body image issues, and for the families, friends and communities who support them. This parent information night is for parents to gain knowledge, practical information and tips on promoting positive body image in the home throughout childhood and adolescence. The session explores why positive body esteem, non-dieting approaches and healthy behaviours in relation to food and exercise are strong protective factors in the development of eating disorders.
This free online event, will be on Zoom on Thursday 4 August, at 6:30pm
The presentation will be 60 mins + Q&A.
Key points covered:
- Background on body image and the importance of prevention
- The spectrum of behaviours from healthy, to unhealthy, to disordered eating through to eating disorders
- Key influences on body image, including social media and the importance of ‘positive following’
- The dangers of diet culture
- Busting common myths around eating disorders
- Reducing appearance based talk
- Helpful responses if your child says negative things about themselves or others, including when they are above their healthy weight
- The power of role modelling positive body image and healthy behaviours
- The importance of early intervention
- Referral and support information – including Butterfly ED Hope line
Registration is essential. For further information and to register, please click here https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/lets-talk-body-confident-with-butterfly-tickets-370256857227
How to Manage your Anxiety & Stress
Adapted from https://au.reachout.com/articles/how-to-manage-your-anxiety-and-stress
It’s totally normal to feel anxious from time to time, but there are lots of things you can do to feel a bit better. Remember: there’s a difference between feeling stressed every now and then, and experiencing ongoing anxiety. If the anxiety is starting to take a toll and you're looking for ways to deal with it, consider talking to a mental health professional. Get started and learn how to deal with stress and anxiety.
Quick tips to help with stress and anxiety
These techniques can be really helpful if you experience anxiety every now and then or feel unexpectedly anxious.
Practise breathing techniques
The physical symptoms of anxiety can be triggered by hyperventilation. This is when your breathing quickens and your body takes in too much oxygen, reducing the carbon dioxide in your blood. You need a certain amount of carbon dioxide in your body to regulate your reaction to anxiety and panic.
Try doing one of these breathing exercises to help calm you down and slow your breathing whenever you feel anxious:
- The 4–7–8 technique: Breathe in for four seconds. Hold your breath for seven seconds, and exhale for eight seconds.
- Long exhale: Spend a bit longer exhaling than you do inhaling. Exhale fully, and then take a big, deep breath for four seconds. Then exhale for six seconds.
- Find more exercises here.
Practise muscle relaxation techniques
Also called a ‘body scan’, this technique helps you to focus on yourself and release tension you’re holding in your body.
Breathe in and tense the muscles in your face, squeezing your eyes shut. Clench your jaw and keep your face tensed for five seconds. Gradually relax your muscles over the time it takes to count to ten, then take a deep breath. You can say ‘relax’ as you relax. Next, move on to your neck and shoulders, and gradually move down your body. Be careful with any injuries or pain that you have. Get more info on how to practise progressive muscle relaxation here.
Focus on the present
Have you ever noticed that feeling stressed or anxious often coincides with dwelling on the past or worrying about the future? Focusing your mind on the present moment can help you feel a little more relaxed. Learn how you can do this here.
Take a break
Schedule regular breaks into your day. Excuse yourself for five to ten minutes, go to a different room, or put aside what you’re doing to take a walk around, try some breathing exercises, get some fresh air or do some light stretches to help you relax. Here are some more ideas for relaxation to help anxiety.
Talk to someone you trust about how you're feeling
Just talking to someone about how you’re feeling can take a weight off your shoulders. Make sure you trust the person, work out what you want to say to them, and then just go for it. If you’re finding it tricky, we’ve got four more steps for talking to someone you trust here.
If you want to talk to someone anonymously, check out the ReachOut Online Community or book a free, text-based chat with a peer worker using ReachOut PeerChat.
Wellbeing Team
Youth Survey
The Mission Australia Youth Survey is still open until 12 August. MGSC students can assist Mission Australia with Australia's largest annual survey of young people. The survey seeks the views of young people and asks their perspective on a range of important topics including mental health and wellbeing; housing; siscrimination; and the impact of COVID-19.
The online survey is open to young people between the ages of 15 and 19 and will take approximately 10 -15 minutes to complete. If more than 100 responses are received by MGSC students a report will be generated that we can use to inform wellbeing improvements for our students. Use the code 21001.
For more information: https://www.missionaustralia.com.au/what-we-do/research-impact-policy-advocacy/youth-survey