Feel well

Feel well aligns with the workshop topics of breathing techniques, self-esteem, anxiety and depression, self-care, and coping with waiting times.

Online resources

Breathing to feel calm

• Listen to an audio clip about guided meditation on mindfulness of the breath from CALM.
• Hikitia te Hā is a simple breathing exercise to help you step up, lengthen, and lift.
• Square breathing techniques help you stay calm by reducing stress and worries.
• Try out this worksheet from the Mental Health Foundation to switch on your relaxation response.

Self-esteem

• Read about how practicing positive self-talk improves your holistic self-acceptance of all aspects of yourself.
• Thinkladder is an app that includes insights and affirmations that help you explore your personal development.
• Listen to Brené Brown talk about knowing your worth and where you belong.

Anxiety and Depression

• Listen to Dr Kristin Neff’s insights into the healing power of self-compassion to enhance wellbeing and reduce anxiety, pain, and depression.
• Try this muscle relaxation exercise from Small Steps to help you feel the difference between tense muscles and relaxed muscles.
• Read about seven ways to practice emotional first aid to reboot your emotional health.
• Listen to Kelly McGonigal talk about how to use stress for your own benefit.
• Mindful Watching is a skill to help you calmly focus on the present by redirecting your attention when you feel distressed or upset.
• Watch young New Zealanders talk about their experiences of depression and recovery at The Lowdown.
• Listen to Rob Mokoraka talk about creating the theatre production 'Shot Bro' out of trauma and finding a way through depression.
• Watch Heidi Grant’s TED talk about how to ask for help, so you can understand what you need and how to do it well.
• Read about the science behind why hobbies can improve our mental health from The Conversation.
• Learn how to identify feelings in your body to recognise when you are distressed.
• Reframing thoughts is a tool to notice unhelpful thoughts in your mind and reframe them with more useful thoughts.

Self-care

• Try out a series of self-compassion exercises and worksheets for increasing compassion as an effective tool for improving our lives.
• Watch Guy Winch’s TED talk about why we all need to practice emotional first aid and emotional hygiene to take care of our emotions and mind with the same diligence we take care of our bodies.
• A short video guide to what a highly rational mind might learn to appreciate with the concept of ‘spiritual’.
• Read and listen to Ōrongohau—Best New Zealand Poems 2022 from the International Institute of Modern Letters.
• Learn how to paint with Bob Ross as he explains tools, colours, and how to paint at home.
• Try out the Daylio app as a way of reflecting on your day through journaling.
• Read about why boredom can be good for you, and how you can go with the flow and embrace gaps in activity.

Self-help resources while waiting for professional services

• Try out this worksheet from CALM to create your own coping plan when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
• How to cope with suicidal thoughts, ask for help, and find ways to feel better..
• Check out connecting through kōrero, a resource guide on how to talk about suicidal feelings with others.
• Wajahat Ali talks about dealing with uncertainty and keeping anchored among the challenges and chaos of life.
• Reflectly is an artificial intelligence (AI) journal that helps you structure and reflect on your daily thoughts and problems.
• Information from CALM about finding meaning in life and through religion including audio soundbites about different religions.
• Activities you can do from Nuku Ora to support your taha wairua.
• Try out the Calm app to help you relax when you're feeling overwhelmed. It provides guided meditations and sounds for sleep.
• Take notice, me aro tonu. Remember the simple things that give you joy, from the Mental Health Foundation’s 5 Ways to Wellbeing campaign.