DIY Mental Health Practices
We’ve been so grateful to share this space with you during Mental Health Month, and we hope that what we’ve shared has motivated you to action, and to take your own mental health needs seriously. Life is certainly not simple, but having the support of professionals, friends, community, healthy outlets and resources make it more possible to navigate. Daicia and I have some ideas to share with you that you can try for yourself if you have a bit of time! I’ve found that when I do some of these practices regularly, my stress is more tolerable.
One of my favorite activities that can be done anywhere is the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise.
Get yourself into a comfortable position, and take some slow intentional breaths. Then take a few moments to notice 5 things that you can see around you (if you are unable to see, then imagine 5 things you’d like to have around you). Next, notice 4 things that you can hear around you (if you are unable to hear, then imagine 4 sounds that you’d like to hear or have around you). Next, notice 3 things that you can touch or feel. Then notice 2 things that you can smell. Then finally, name 1 thing that you are grateful for, or that you love about yourself. This exercise can be done anywhere, and is just a way to get grounded in your body, and to be present instead of letting the mind speed around with tension.
Another practice that I like to do is a relaxation technique.
This can be done anywhere, and it just requires you to pause for a moment, check in with your body, and notice where you are feeling tension, then breathing slowly in through your nose and out through your mouth if you’re able, and saying to yourself: “I can help my body relax.” As you do this, you may notice your body feeling heavier and calmer.
Daicia will now share some activities that she’s been able to practice and lead.
Expressive arts youtube activities:
For this therapeutic art activity that will help you close a chapter in your life. You will need a stapler, paper, and something to write with.
This activity can help with self acceptance, for this activity you will need piece of paper, something round like plate that you can trace, also something smaller like a bottle cap or smaller circle, and markers or crayons with darker and lighter colors.
This activity is for setting boundaries. For this you will need a piece of paper, markers/crayons/pastels.
One of the highlights of our month was participating in the Unity Day at Highline High School along with our school team member, Chris Harris. We got to host sessions called “Talk the Talk” where we discussed the School to Prison pipeline. We asked students how they currently felt about asking for support. This was an open conversation format where we let them lead and speak freely on the subject. Jana and Daicia introduced some helpful expressive art therapy techniques and grounding exercises. We got to share some ways CHOOSE 180 is present to support in these areas.
Overall this has been a full month of stretching, growing, and connecting and we’re really thankful you’ve been along with us.
-Jana Detrick and Daicia Mestas
Therapists at CHOOSE 180
Here are some extra resources to check out!
Free online puppet therapy- https://onlinepuppets.org
Description of activity:
A therapist can use puppets to model, explain and provide corrective emotional experiences in response to the client’s play. Puppet play is a popular play technique that helps youth to express feelings, reenact anxious events, try out new, more adaptive behaviors, and overcome inhibitions.
Free online sand therapy- https://onlinesandtray.com
Description of activity:
Sand tray therapy, or sandplay therapy, is a therapeutic approach used for people who have experienced a traumatic event such as abuse or a catastrophic incident. Although this type of therapy is used most often with children, sandplay therapy also can be helpful for teens and adults.
Examples:
Create Your World/create a Tray about your life (this is a standard sand tray direction).
Create A Tray That Describes Your Beliefs,Thoughts,or Feelings about...
Create A Tray That Describes How You Feel Right Now.
Create a tray about the emotion_____ (fill in the blank).
Create a scene about what keeps you up at night.
