Summer Survival Kit

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Thanks to all Reach Out Community members and DaniS for putting together this Summer survival kit in the ZenDen of the ROtreat forums!

So summer has arrived and the holidays have started (or are about to) – sometimes this is great, other times it’s not! So we have put together a summer care plan to help you through the summer and the holidays.

Who might you be able to talk to if you need to?

• A friend
• Relative
• Parent/guardian
• Sibling
• Teacher/Lecturer
• School Counsellor
• Neighbour
• Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800). Or you can do email or web counselling with Kids Helpline.
• Lifeline (13 11 44).

It may help to also read the following fact sheets if you are in a crisis situation –

• What to do in an emergency
• Are you feeling suicidal?
• Are you worried about a friend who is suicidal?
• If your friend threatens to take their own life
• If your friend has taken pills or hurt themselves

Getting through the holidays

The holiday season can be tough for a lot of reasons and can bring up some issues that are challenging to manage. So how are you supposed to get through it?

You might want to check out the following fact sheets –

• Managing grief at Christmas
• The family and Christmas
• Managing relationships over Christmas

I know Christmas at my house is often a bit stressful (everyone is frantically cooking, trying to get presents done, sending cards, putting up decorations!) – ways for managing this stress can include:

• Write a list of things you need to get done (be as specific as possible).
• Prioritise (choose the most important things to do first).
• Say ‘no’ if someone asks too much of you or you feel overwhelmed.
• Sometimes ‘agree to disagree’.
• Start getting involved early – this means you have more of a chance to say what you want and would like to do for Christmas.
• Know what annoys you – I know sometimes when I’m with my family I think they’re purposely trying to push my buttons but if I’m able to recognise what it is that annoys me about them I can respond differently.
• If you’re feeling overwhelmed tell someone.
• Discuss what Christmas might mean (or not mean in) in your family and work around this.
• Offer to help in a way that you might be able to manage.
• Try to be patient and have a sense of humour if your family starts telling the same stories they tell every year. (from Kidshelpline)

If you’re going through a tough time or need a distraction you could.. 

1. Ring a friend/relative for a chat.
2. Check out the fact sheets and stories on Reach Out
3. Write down some short, medium and long term goals. Check out the Setting goals fact sheet for tips.
4. Go for a walk/exercise in moderation (maybe in a team).
5. Go for a swim or surf
   
6. Read a book
7. Write some of your thoughts down.
8. Listen to music
9. Write some poetry
10. Have a cold or hot shower.

Read more suggestions...

What can you do if you’re bored or need something to do?

• Take your camera out on a day adventure and see what photos you end up with or take a photo and share it on the forums.
• Check out your local art gallery(sometimes they have some interesting stuff in the summer).
• Go to a different cinema from the one you usually go to or see/rent a movie that you wouldn’t normally see.
• Organise a games night for you and your friends and ask everyone to bring their favourite game and a plate of food.
• Start reading a new book that you’ve been wanting to read for ages.

How bout some more suggestions? Check these out...

What else can I do?

• Set some short term (so in the next few weeks), medium term (in 3-6months and long term goals (in a year) - there are some fact sheets on setting goals on RO for tips
• Create a ‘green box’ or positive box with things that make you feel good or help you through a tough time - check out this story about creating a 'green box' on Reach Out - anyone can have one of these!
• Organise daily activities - sometimes if you’re feeling crap or are on holidays it’s easy to lose motivation to do ‘life’ things – having some activities you can do for each day can help you to keep doing things.

For more suggestions and strategies, check this out...

There are heaps of music festivals on during the summer - here are some tips for you if you're going to one

• It’s a good idea to bring the following:
  
  • Sunscreen (even if it looks cloudy) – you can get these in travel bottles now if you don’t want to take a big bottle.
  • A water bottle (plastic - although at some festivals they won't let you bring in food or containers).
  • A hat and sunnies.
  • A rain poncho (the weather can change really quickly and a poncho takes up hardly any room in your bag)
  • A roll of toilet paper or tissue pack (my personal favourite – your mates will thank you at the end of the day, I promise).
  • Some good shoes.
  • Money as there’s often an extra charge to use your card.
  • A copy of the line up so you can make sure you get to see the people you want to hear play.
  • A map of the venue.
  • A secure bag with a zip.

• It’s also a good idea to organise a meeting place with whoever your with at the end of the festival (in case you get split up during the day - phones run out of battery and sometimes the network gets overpacked or there's no reception!)
• Drink enough water.
• Know where the toilets are!
• If you or your friend are worried that you/they have drunk too much or taken an overdose it is really important that you let someone know – usually there are St Johns Ambulance stands or something similar to help with this kind of thing. Check out the safe partying fact sheet for more info.

Be kind to yourself

But most of all – look after yourself and be kind to yourself during the summer break! All too often we place expectations on ourselves that we would never place on others - so perhaps make a pact with yourself to give yourself a break this Summer, especially since Christmas and New Year is a time when things can get tough - it can be part of your care plan :)

The Reach Out crew wishes you all a very Merry Festive season and a Happy New Year – and we look forward to seeing you back on ReachOut.com in the new year!

What can you do if you need help right now?

Check out the Emergency help button on the RO homepage.

• Call the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (free call from landline and from Optus and Virgin mobiles).
• Call Lifeline on 13 11 44 (cost of a local call from a landline or free from a mobile).
• If you are in immediate danger get to your nearest hospital now or call '000'.