Every year on the first week of February, young people across the UK celebrate Children’s Mental Health Week. Despite tricky circumstances, this year is no different, with 2021’s theme being: ‘Express Yourself’. Most of us have been told over and over to ‘be ourselves’ throughout our lives, but what if we don’t know what it means to be ourselves? Contrary to popular belief, ‘being yourself’ can often prove to be extremely difficult. So, in honour of the ‘Express Yourself’ theme, here are some activities to help you take the first steps to being yourself, from clinical psychologist and stem4 CEO, Dr Krause.
Getting to Know & Accept Yourself Exercise:
1. Get a pen and paper and trace around your preferred hand. Now write on each finger you have traced one element you think defines you. For example, you might write that you are ‘kind’ or ‘honest’ or ‘good at math’.
2. Now, next to each definition, draw a smiley face to show how much you appreciate that quality of yours.
3. Next, trace your non-dominant hand. Write on each finger something that might be different or quirky about you. For example, you might write that you ‘are fascinated by the life of bees’ or that you ‘like to eat marmalade with rice.’
4. Now draw a smiley face next to each definition to show how much you enjoy that quality of yours.
This is you. Accept yourself for who you are.
Stop Being a Chameleon in Company Exercise:
1. Think about two different social situations. Do you find that, more often than not, you agree with everyone else because you don’t want to stand out even if you have a different view?
2. Next time, work on saying your own view. If you have to ‘change colour’ every time to fit in, that stops you from ‘being you’
Being yourself is about expressing yourself – you don’t have to blend into the background to be accepted
Water Your own Grass Exercise:
1. Are you someone who constantly compares yourself to others and ends up thinking ‘the grass is always greener on the other side?’ Instead of comparing, set aside something you can do to look after yourself every day for ten days.
2. Use the analogy of ‘planting’, ‘watering’ and ‘maintaining’ your goal, just as you would your garden. For example, you might want to ‘plant’ the idea of brushing your hair into a different style every day. You might ‘water’ it by taking trouble to make it look good, and you may ‘maintain’ it by noticing how positive it makes you feel.
3. Repeat this exercise with a different goal after 10 days, regularly choosing different elements of looking after yourself.
Looking after yourself helps you to appreciate yourself for who you are rather than always wanting to be someone else.
‘Looking Forwards Rather than backwards’ Exercise:
1. Think about the things you value.
2. Now, set some goals that lie with your values.
3. See the goal as a challenge rather than a problem.
4. Devise small steps to achieving it.
5. Put up with uncertainty, notice achievement.
6. Think about the end goal and keep moving.
Being yourself is about giving yourself opportunities to grow. This means challenging negativities and giving new experiences a try
For more mental health tips, follow stem4 on Instagram and TikTok, or visit the resilience section of our website.