How Can We Improve Our Mental Health?

Written by on 23/05/2022. Posted in Uncategorized. No Comments on How Can We Improve Our Mental Health?

How Can We Improve Our Mental Health?

It’s important to take care of yourself and your mental health. In addition to impacting how you feel, your mental health can affect the quality of thoughts, how you cope with stress and how you relate to other people.

You might find it helpful to only try what feels comfortable, figure out what works for you and go at your own pace, and take small steps.

Here are some tips that can help you elevate your mood, become more resilient and enjoy life more.

1. Physical Activity

Staying active is as good for the brain as it is for the body. Regular exercise can have a major impact on your mental and emotional health.

Keeping active, whether it’s playing sport, going for long walks, going to the gym, or running, will help lower stress and anxiety levels, as well as help you improve your self-esteem and lift your mood.

2. Talk Positively To Yourself Throughout The Day

Perceiving your life negatively means you’ll be seeing yourself through a negative lens. Some positive words you can begin to say to yourself daily include:

I am proud of myself
My hard work pays off
I can do this
I can make a difference in the world

Express gratitude and set aside time each day to think about the good things in your life can change your outlook and help you enjoy life.

3. Connect With Others

Humans are social beings. It’s important that you have strong and healthy relationships with others. Make plans will friends and family members, and/or seek our activities where you can meet new people.

No matter how much time you devote to improving your mental and emotional health, you will still need the company of others to feel and function at your best.

4. Eat Healthily

When you eat an unhealthy diet, it can take a toll on your brain and mood, disrupt your sleep, sap your energy, and weaken your immune system. The food and drink you consume affects the development and day to day maintenance of your body. Ensure you eat a well-balanced diet will help you manage stress, positively impact your ability to concentrate and help you feel better day to day.

5. Do Something You Enjoy

What do you enjoy? Reading? Painting? Dancing? The possibilities are endless but it’s very important for your emotional well-being that you spend time doing something you love to do.

Having fun, smiling and laughing can help alleviate stress and focus your mind on something that brings you joy.

6. Ask For Help When You Need It

There is nothing wrong with seeking help for your mental health and well-being. Whether you just want to confide in a trusted friend or feel the need to engage the services of a professional, seeking help is the healthy thing to do.

Our society still carries a stigma in regards to mental health and seeking help, but this is changing. People are beginning to understand how prevalent mental health issues are and how important it is to seek help.

Look after your mental health. You don’t need to do this alone!

For more information or advice about Mental Health, check out the Mental Health Foundation or feel free to send us a message.

Every Child Needs A Champion🏆

Written by on 18/05/2022. Posted in Uncategorized. No Comments on Every Child Needs A Champion🏆

Every Child Needs A Champion🏆

Being a champion allows you to be a part of something bigger. It allows you to be a part of someone else’s story.

Meet Rosie! She is a Champion and here is why!

A story just like Helens (not her real name), a 10 year old girl, who after completing the Flourish Project, found the strength to report to the police years of abuse she’d experienced.

Helen told the police it was because of the project that she understood her worth and knew that what was happening to her was wrong.

A story like Mohammed (not his real name) who completed the Flourish Project, grew in confidence and began to engage more in class.

A story like Jake (not his real name) a 12 year old boy who had attempted to take his life twice, however after the project he said ‘I feel happier and no longer want to take my own life’.

There’s still so many stories yet to be written and so many children and young people who need a Champion!

Are you ready to Champion a child? Are you ready to Champion a young person? Are you ready to play a small role in their story?

Mental Health Awareness Month

Written by on 11/05/2022. Posted in Uncategorized. No Comments on Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental Health Awareness Week 2022

For Mental Health Awareness Month this year, we’re joining the mission to let everyone, especially young people, know that they are not alone.

Did you know…

“10% of children and young people (aged 5-16) have a clinically diagnosable mental problem, yet 70% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age.” (mentalhealth.org.uk)

Being a parent, guardian or teacher of a young person who is struggling with their mental health can be very worrying, and you may be feeling unsure of how you can help. Remember, you are not alone, and there is help for both your young person and you.

How can you help children and young people with their mental health?

Make sure they don’t feel judged.

Even though mental health problems are very common and can affect all of us in different way, there is still a stigma that can lead to discrimination, prejudice and stereotypes forming.

Thoughts and feelings can be hard to make sense of, and your young person may have new ones that they don’t understand. They may be reluctant and have difficulty talking about how they are feeling due to fears that other people will find out. Unfortunately, this results in them suffering in silence. You can help by making sure you encourage openness and reassure them that you are a safe space for them to talk.

Focus on listening to them.

It is essential to be mindful of listening when they are opening up to you. Sometimes as a parent or guardian, you can feel angry that your child is not opening up to you about what they are feeling and thinking. However, the most helpful thing you can do is keep calm, let them know you are hearing them out and empathise with them. This can help them feel understood, encouraged and acknowledged.

Create a positive, health environment for them.

When children and young people are experiencing a mental health problem, you will very likely notice changes in their sleep and appetite patterns. To help with this, encouraging them gently to eat regular healthy meals, take part in light physical exercise and develop a self-care night routine.

Be mindful that difficulties with mental health can impact their physical energy levels and motivation, so building in activities they enjoy doing and creating a new routine will be big help.

Ask them how you can help. Show trust and respect. Be open-minded, and remember to also look after yourself!

2022 Champion Update

Written by on 29/03/2022. Posted in Champion Membership. No Comments on 2022 Champion Update

Champion 2022 Update

1 year of The Champion Membership

In the last year we’ve been able to impact almost 1000 children, young people and facilitators.

The Flourish Project is being delivered in 17 different locations throughout England, Scotland and Wales, and we’re about to train another 7 Hubs who will begin to deliver the project before the end of this academic year.

As a team we’ve expanded and welcomed the amazing Hanna Palliser as our Flourish Administrator. Hanna is a very gifted administrator, and having her on team has been instrumental in making the process of recruiting and training Hubs so much easier.

Within our first year of Champion membership we’ve added 55 Champions. Without you and our other Champions, we’d never have been able to achieve so much in such unprecedented times. Thank you for partnering with us and Championing children and young people.

Our Aims for 2022

Of course we’re not resting on our laurels; this year we know we’ll be able to impact even more lives and communities.

We’re aiming to establish 20 brand new Hub locations across the UK to begin to deliver the Flourish Project. We’re in the process of adding 7 new Hubs already!

We’d like at least 10 of our existing Hubs to continue delivering the Flourish Project in their community. Hanna joining the team has given us the opportunity to be more intentional about building relationships and supporting Hubs that are continuing to deliver the project.

Speaking Engagements

As a team we’re aiming to get the word out about Flourish and becoming a Champion. We’re planning to talk in a number of different churches sharing the Flourish project and inviting people to partner with us. If your church or organisation would like to invite a team member along to talk about our projects, please don’t hesitate to contact: Hanna.palliser@theflourishproject.org

The Mustard Seed Gift Fund

We’re launching a brand new initiative! Something that we’re really excited about! The Mustard Seed Gift Fund will be a fund made available to partner and support other projects, charities, organisations or individuals who have a heart or vision that compliment our own.

This Mustard Seed Gift Fund is unique in a way that we’ll be sharing with you soon.

Once again, thank you for partnering with us to champion children, families and communities across the UK and beyond.

Good News Stories

Written by on 28/02/2022. Posted in Flourish Project. No Comments on Good News Stories

2022 Goals

We ended 2021 with some amazing stories of the impact that the Flourish Project made in the lives of children, teachers and parents.

Now 2 months into 2022, we have some big goals we would like to achieve to see this impact spread across thousands of lives!

We want to see 1500 children complete the project.

We want to see 12 schools become a hub.

We want to see 8 churches become a hub.

What impact do we want to see in the local community?

We want to see an increase in young people’s self-esteem, mental health, and resilience.

We want to see young people know that life is worth living and have hope for their future.

Thank you for supporting the Proton Foundation❤️

Without your encouragement and generosity, we wouldn’t receive these amazing testimonies and have faith to achieve our goals. Don’t forget to stay up to date with all our work by following our social media accounts.

Your friends, The Proton Foundation Team.

Children’s Mental Health

Written by on 11/02/2022. Posted in Champion Membership, Flourish Project. No Comments on Children’s Mental Health

Children’s Mental Health

Recently, BBC News released an article about the rise in the number of children needing specialist treatment for severe mental health crisis, especially as a result of the pandemic. Now more than ever, everyday conversations about mental health can help support children’s wellbeing.

Click the link below to read the full article.

BBC News: Children’s Mental Health

Our response to the above article:

“We are in a mental health pandemic of epic proportions. As an organisation who has worked alongside 1500 young people over the last 5 years, we have seen this evidence first hand. Schools are feeling overwhelmed and under resourced.

We, the ‘Flourish Project’, are seeing increases in self-harm, suicidal thoughts, low self-esteem, self-destructive behaviours, anxiety, the list could go on and on.

Everyone has a part to play in helping to tackle this crisis, we ‘society’ can no longer be spectators and say it’s not my problem. It is our problem and it is all around us. We need to look to solutions that can be put in place now…to stop this from spiralling further out of control.”

Everyone has a part to play in helping to tackle this crisis. Keep the conversations happening!