The Big Chill

Following on from Children’s Mental Health Week 1 – 7 February, we are delighted to be sharing with you our 2021 virtual ‘Big Chill’.

At this challenging time the ‘Big Chill’ offers activities you might like to try to help look after your wellbeing. While small amounts of stress are healthy and can help us get things done, high levels of stress can seriously impact our mental and physical health, so it is important that we find ways to manage this.

The menu of on-demand activities below can help you to develop skills and techniques to reconnect with yourself, nurture yourself and relax. These activities will also help you to learn how to deal with times of stress and pressure in your lives, improving resilience and self-reliance.

Last year’s ‘Big Chill’ event was devised to help students struggling with stress and exam pressure and received incredibly positive feedback. This year, in its virtual form, the sessions can be accessed by anyone who is feeling anxious or stressed due to the current situation or would just like some time to chill out and learn new skills. We hope that you enjoy these activities over the coming weeks.

‘Words Work’ with Gary Studley

Use mind mapping to identify stress, reconnect with yourself, improve your resilience and find ways to focus on goals.

‘Poetry Workshop’ with Tommy from CCCU 

An opportunity to express yourself, process your feelings, reflect on lockdown and look to the future.

‘Yoga for Resilience’ with Alicia from Still Yoga

Learn how to move, breathe and connect to yourself; to feel invigorated and grounded in your body and mind.

‘Sleep and the body clock’ with Kirsty Vant 

Factual and physical ways to get the best restful and restorative sleep. If you wish to print off the presentation you can do so here: EKST sleep and the body clock handout and if you wish to do this short quiz following watching the film.

‘Simple book Binding’ with Esther Miles

Working with your hands, try something totally new and relaxing to create your own beautiful  handmade jotter using simple materials you will have at home. To accompany the video you can print this: Book binding – a guide how to