Fall Blog: Self Care
The air is getting colder, and fall is in full swing. This fall, we are focusing on self-care and self-discovery. There are so many ways to reduce stress and anxiety, but one of the best things is self-care. Whether that means going for a walk, journaling, or listening to music, everyone has a different style. Don’t think you have time for self-care? Don’t know what to do? Sometimes, it’s hard to know what you need at the moment, so here are a few fun October fall self-care ideas.
Take yourself on a date!
The best conversation you can have is with yourself! Do some self reflection while you enjoy your own company. Have you been wanting to try something new for awhile? This is the perfect moment! There is no shame in doing things solo, especially in the name of mental health and self care. That Indian food restaurant down the street that none of your friends wanted to go to last Friday? GO SOLO! There is something magical about exploring something you genuinely are interested in without judgements. Start a review journal and review dishes from all over town! Start reflecting on what YOU really like, and indulge in those activities without feeling held back!
Start a blog.
You don’t need to be an influencer to have a blog! Forums like Tumblr and Pinterest allow you to create vision boards with pictures that inspire you. Start a “winter fits” board, and put together some fashion ideas for the coming season! Or, you could make a page with your favorite fall activities, or your fall bucket list! Not only is it fun to create a sort of scrapbook of things you’re interested in, it’s fun to explore other’s create interests as well and get inspired. One of my favorite things to do on Pintrest is create a “mood board”. A mood board is an arrangement of pictures that are put together to project a concept visually. Have a great idea for your next school project? Want to start thinking about college dorm decor? Create a mood board! Inspiration can be found on Pinterest! As far as Tumblr goes, it has an option to share different forms of media including text, video, and photo. Turn on your privacy settings so that just you can see it, and start blogging about your day to day life. Maybe one day, you’ll want to publish or share it. Either way, it’s a great way to practice journaling, self discovery and healing.
Take a walk in nature.
A New England fall is full of bright colors and spectacular views. One of the healthiest things we can do for our bodies is exercise. When people say to “smell the fresh air”, they mean it! Now, no one is expecting you to take a full sprint, but get out there and walk around. Pick a leaf that speaks to you, and imagine where it came from. Open up your imagination, you might notice something you haven’t before. If you are more adventurous, go for a run down a woodsy trail! Something in the fall air brings a chill and comfort to a lot of people. Sitting outside, watching the leaves fall can be therapeutic and relaxing. Whether you’re the get up and sprint person, or you’re more on the relaxed side, connecting with nature can be really great self care.
Movie night!
Get on your pajamas and turn on some spooky flicks! Whether that’s the Spooky Buddies movie or Friday the 13th, you are guaranteed a great night with some snacks and a good film. One of my favorite things to do is find a movie I want to watch, and set up my space. I grab the comfiest blankets, my favorite snack, my favorite socks, my water bottle, and my weighted blanket, and I set myself up to have a little movie night. Sometimes, I’ll even get crazy and go with a theme especially in fall. One of my favorite classics is Halloweentown, and I love to put on my Halloween pajamas, light some candles, and break out the apple cider! No matter what you’re watching this fall, try making yourself a little cozy space. I promise it won’t disappoint!
Self care is extremely important, especially at this time of the year. Remember, you are important and worthy of taking care of yourself no matter which way that looks. Around this time of year, many people suffer from Seasonal Depression or “Seasonal Affective Disorder”. A mental health diagnosis that pertains to individuals who experience depression in certain times of the season. Winter can be hard,, but hopefully some of these self care ideas can be kept in your tool box and used in a time of need!
YouthQuake Graduation
What better way to kick off National Suicide Prevention month, than to welcome a new graduating class of Peer Mentors. Everyone give a warm welcome to our newest Peer Mentors, who completed their training last Friday! We can’t wait to see you all shine and be strong advocates for youth mental health. Let’s hear it for the grads!
Youth Elemento’s 2nd Anniversary
Happy 2nd Anniversary to YouthElemento! We had such an amazing time celebrating this accomplishment and honoring all of the amazing work that they do in our community
We were also so excited to purchase a beautiful piece of artwork from a youth from the Youth Elemento community to add to our office.
Mental Health First Aid Training at Eliot FRC
Yesterday, Lizzie and Nissa led a Mental Health First Aid Training for our last Summer Learning Series! We had almost 20 Peer Mentors and Eliot Family Resource Center staff attend the training, learning a five-step action plan on how to intervene if a youth is experiencing a suicidal crisis. Thank you to everyone who attended and took the time to learn this life-saving information
Let’s Chalk About it in Haverhill
Yesterday we ran our third “Let’s Chalk About It” event in Haverhill partnering with Eammon’s Heart and Haverhill Public Schools. It was a great success! After patiently waiting out some rain we had many members of the community stop by to chalk and enjoy bubbles with us. Huge thank you to Helen and Megan for helping make this happen.
National Night Out in Somerville
National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that highlights police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live.
Let’s Chalk About It in Everett
The second installment of our community engagement project, “Let’s Chalk About It,” took place last week in Everett and was a smashing success! 
Thank you to everyone who participated in spreading these incredibly important messages of mental health awareness. Also, we want to give a big shout-out to Eric Mazzeo and City of Everett for helping to make this event a special one
Summer Presentations with Malden MSYEP
This summer, we’ve been working with Malden MSYEP to present about suicide prevention to Malden’s youth! Their program focuses on providing jobs and professional development for teens throughout the City of Malden. It has been a very enriching opportunity to get to share our content and engage with this intelligent and hardworking crew
Peer Mentors Kylee and John Lead a Summer Learning Series
At our latest Summer Learning Series, Peer Mentors Kylee and John hosted a panel and workshop for their coworkers! The panels were focused on giving other mentors a chance to ask one of their seasoned peers about their experience working with the NAN Project and share some tricks of the trade! After that, John led a presentation focused on CBT and Kylee held a workshop about making personal mission statements We love to see our Peer Mentors mastering leadership skills
Coaching Day at Eliot FRC
Yesterday, we held a coaching day for our wonderful Peer Mentors at Eliot Family Resource Center! The first half of the day was focused on experimenting with new presentation formats for our content Then we spent the rest of the day exploring “what comeback means to us,” utilizing hand-made collages Another successful coaching day in the books!
