Most of us now understand Mental Health, and we are tuned in to noticing days when things arent’ going so well. Words like ‘mental health hygiene’ and ‘solution-focused therapy’ are making their way into our everyday vocabulary. And slowly the stigma surrounding depression, anxiety, and mental illnesses dropping away, particulary amongst the younger generation.
It is vital that we do talk about our mental health – as this of course is an integral part of our general health, and we are learning more and more about how the two are connected.
The pandemic, followed by the cost of living crisis is resulting in stressful times for us all - which can exacerbate any underlying issues, and have even been the cause of new mental health crises in many - most especially in our kids.
Across the UK the NHS is reporting increasing cases of depression and anxiety in children as young as 5. Mental health issues in youth have been described as an epidemic. It is something concerning, and something that we very very much want to address and talk about.
Just as children are sponges and pick up on our anxieties and stresses, so do the pickup and feed of our solutions, habits, and techniques for dealing with this - and this is what we would so like to promote.
What is Youth Mental Health Day?
This year #YMHD falls on Thursday 22nd of September and this was an awareness campaign started in 2020 by a charity called Stem4. This is their mission;
“Youth Mental Health Day is here to provide hope and positivity. By getting young people engaged in discussions and activities about how to improve their mental health, YMHD goes beyond raising awareness and breaking the stigma surrounding mental health. It aims to tackle the heart of the issue by giving young people a voice and agency to take steps towards positive mental health.”
With 1 in 4 young people reportedly feeling socially anxious and lonely this year’s theme is #ConnectMeaningfully and we love that. Switching off from technology, spending time with family and friends, and building on those connections is really important. YMHD this year is all about fostering positive relationships that support good mental health and knowing who to reach out to and how best to act if and when you’re struggling.
How can we use Bubbles to help children and young adults?
Here are some of our favorite ways to encourage and nurture good positive relationships with young people by using our Bubbles;
- Get outside. It genuinely never fails to change the mood, whether you’ve got tiny little ones running wild burning off excess energy or grumpy teens moaning there’s no wifi getting outside is always a winner for us! Our Eco Bubbles can be used literally anywhere and they’re specially designed to break down and leave no trace in the environment.
- Deep Breathing. As we mentioned earlier, deep breathing is a legitimate technique to help lower stress levels and improve focus. You can encourage your young people to blow Bubbles through our different wands and without them even realizing it they’re already practicing some meditative breathing techniques that will set them up for the future.
Bubble Therapy; we’re all for it!
