News Archives - Page 2 of 26 - Wellspring Therapy & Training

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Finding motivation – 3 ideas to make a difference

March 24, 2021 By wellspring

After months of lockdown, many of us may be feeling a lack of motivation.

We wanted to share some quick ideas with you to give you a bit of inspiration and to encourage you that you can make a difference in your community!

During the first lockdown, we all had to respond quickly to our new circumstances, using our creativity to adapt and to navigate the many new challenges.

A year later, it is not surprising that we may be feeling tired, whether it’s due to the weight of emotional burdens that we’ve been carrying, or simply due to the monotony of lockdown life and that common problem… Zoom fatigue!

Inspiring Ideas

We’ve been inspired by the unique ways that our supporters have found ways to look after their mental health, add some interest into their daily routine and raise funds for Wellspring at the same time. So here are 3 simple ideas to motivate and inspire you….

1. Taking up a hobby

We recently heard Lizzie’s amazing story about how she’s been crocheting as a way of looking after her mental wellbeing. After learning how to create crochet animals, she started to take commissions, with all donations going towards charitable causes, including Wellspring. From crocheting huggable porcupines to pet dogs, it’s fantastic to see how Lizzie is using her hobby to make a real difference.

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2. Talking and Walking

One of the main ways of socialising during lockdown has been 1:1 walks. Chris from The Electric Broker (Ethos) wanted to keep fit and encourage people to stay in touch with each other, so he took on an ambitious sponsored challenge to raise awareness and to raise funds for Wellspring. His walk was a huge success, raising over £3000 for the work of Wellspring.

“After recently completing a 874 mile journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats in an EV, I wanted to do something truly meaningful.That’s why, I set myself the challenge of walking the same distance between November and New Year – 20km everyday – to help raise money for Wellspring. This pandemic has affected every single person in this country, and it’s now more important than ever to help each other. I asked for people to either donate £5 towards my walk or donate 5 minutes of their time to give someone a call and make sure they’re okay.”

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Harrogate Brigantes Rotary Club also took on an incredible walking challenge last year. Together, they did a virtual Everest trek! Their members collectively walked over 1,500 miles and climbed 1,000,000 feet, from banking their miles by trekking across Yorkshire Dales to climbing up the steps of a high-rise apartment!

We are very grateful that we were one of the chosen charities. You can read the full story here.

3. Finding new ways to celebrate and socialise!

Churches across the UK would normally be celebrating Easter with all sorts of different events, but this year Easter will look a bit different. We are thrilled that St Mark’s Youth have decided to take part in our Big Sponsored Sleepover as one of their Easter events.

We spoke to Natalie, the St Mark’s Youth Pastor, who told us all about their exciting plans to hold a virtual Easter sleepover celebration on the 3rd April! This virtual pyjama party will be a chance to have fun playing games and to learn more about mental health.

What will you do?

Maybe you want to take up a new hobby like Lizzie, challenge yourself to do a bit more exercise, or organise a social event that’s a bit different to your usual online call. Whatever it is, we hope you feel inspired by these Harrogate stories to find fresh motivation.

And if you are able to raise funds for the work of Wellspring in some way, however big or small, we would love to hear from you.

For those of you who like running, we currently have two places for the virtual 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon! It’s taking place on Sunday 3rd October and participants will have 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds (from 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 BST) to complete the distance, which they can choose to run, walk or jog – participants of all abilities are welcome!

Send us a message or email us at communications@wellspringtherapy.co.uk if you’re interested in getting involved and raising funds for Wellspring!

For further motivation and ideas for fundraising, take our quiz to find out what your fundraising personality is!

We are all in this together – Self-Care during Lockdown

March 10, 2021 By wellspring

We are all in this together.

It is easy to dismiss our own needs at the best of times. We can become experts at distracting ourselves or minimising our own importance. If there are people worse off than ourselves, which there generally always are, we can say it is our duty or humility that requires us to stay silent around our own needs.

When we are hungry, we are no less hungry by knowing that there are people who are starving in the world. Our need is not so great as theirs of course, but neither is it to be ignored.

The pandemic has brought immeasurable suffering and grief to so many, but it doesn’t mean that the individual trials and challenges we all face our insignificant.

We are not all in the same boat, but we are in the same storm.

As humanity we are all in this together. We have different boats, but if we look after our boat we can stay afloat to help others who may be sinking.

It comes back to self-care. We do not need to deny ourselves self care if others are suffering, we can use it to ultimately help them.

How can you look after yourself today? And if it helps, try and identify who else that will help?

Written by Alex Brook-Dobson

See our Resources page for more support and links.

Our building is currently closed for face-to-face counselling until further notice. But we are still offering sessions over the phone or through Zoom to the people of Harrogate and the surrounding area. Most of our clients live within a radius of up to 20 miles. However, if you live outside this area (but still in the UK) and do not have access to a local counselling service, you can still contact us through the online form as we do have capacity to see a limited number of adults from outside the area. If you would like to refer yourself for counselling, please use the link at the bottom of our Therapy page.

Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2021

March 3, 2021 By wellspring

Eating Disorders Awareness Week is taking place this week, 1st-7th March 2021.

What thoughts and feelings come to mind when you think about food and eating?

We all need food; without it we won’t last long; but the act of eating is about far more than providing our bodies with the nutrition we need to stay healthy. Life’s milestones are celebrated with food; we all enjoy cakes for birthdays and weddings! Think about those dinner dates with friends or partners; as humans we love to share food when we get together. Lots of us have missed this simple pleasure over the last year.

But for many people food and eating is complicated and stressful. Around 1.6 million people in the UK struggle with an eating disorder.

We tend to think of it as more of a problem that affects women, but 11% of that 1.6 million are male. It can affect us at any age although it is more common in young people between the ages of 14-25.

For those of us who struggle with an eating disorder it can be very isolating and frightening. It’s often a secret illness that sufferers go to great attempts to hide until there are obvious physical signs. Even then, the sufferer can struggle to acknowledge there is a problem.

So, what can we do if we have someone close to us who we think might have an eating disorder? It can feel stressful, frustrating and bewildering. We can feel very helpless.

The good news is that there is help and support out there for sufferers and their loved ones.

Beat is a leading eating disorder charity that provides education, support and help. They have a telephone helpline open 7 days a week. You can find their website at: www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk and the helpline number is 0808 801 0677.

If you have an eating disorder, talking through what is happening for you with a counsellor can give you a safe and confidential space to help you work out a way forward and start on the path to recovery.

If you are supporting someone with an eating disorder, counselling can give you a space to talk and gain strength.

Sufferer or supporter; you are not alone.

Written by Beth [Wellspring Counsellor]

See our Resources page for more support and links.

Our building is currently closed for face-to-face counselling until further notice. But we are still offering sessions over the phone or through Zoom to the people of Harrogate and the surrounding area. Most of our clients live within a radius of up to 20 miles. However, if you live outside this area (but still in the UK) and do not have access to a local counselling service, you can still contact us through the online form as we do have capacity to see a limited number of adults from outside the area. If you would like to refer yourself for counselling, please use the link at the bottom of our Therapy page.

Asking For Help – ‘Time to Talk’

February 10, 2021 By wellspring

Asking for help can be difficult. Some of us would rather do anything other than acknowledge how terrible we are feeling.

If we hide our vulnerability from others, maybe we can ignore it? Maybe we can hide it from ourselves? We certainly don’t want to share it.

There is also a temptation to rely solely on our own resources, and to keep a lid on a box that we have no wish to open. There is a temptation to believe we deserve our troubles and therefore are not worth helping. There is a temptation to think everyone else is managing and we are somehow ‘weaker.’

All these beliefs can mean it is even harder to ask others for help when we need it most. But we don’t need to ask anyone, or everyone, only someone we trust.

Sharing how we feel can be the most powerful comfort if we allow ourselves to access this balm.

This is how counselling can help, but so can a friend, colleague or family member. If we can share now how hard we are finding things, it can also give others an invitation to do the same at a later date. It is part of a conversation that allows all of us to be less than perfect; it allows us to be vulnerable. To be resilient we need to be able to access external help as well as our own internal resources.

The pandemic has taught us we are all so connected. Why don’t we use this idea of connection to help someone we care about improve their wellbeing by giving our time to talk, or listen?

Time to Change hosted ‘Time to Talk Day’ earlier this month as a way to start conversations about mental health and help end the stigma. You can find some helpful tips on talking about mental health on their website.

Written by Alex Brook-Dobson

See our Resources page for more support and links.

Our building is currently closed for face-to-face counselling until further notice. But we are still offering sessions over the phone or through Zoom to the people of Harrogate and the surrounding area. Most of our clients live within a radius of up to 20 miles. However, if you live outside this area (but still in the UK) and do not have access to a local counselling service, you can still contact us through the online form as we do have capacity to see a limited number of adults from outside the area. If you would like to refer yourself for counselling, please use the link at the bottom of our Therapy page.

The Big Sponsored Sleepover

February 5, 2021 By wellspring

Join in the Big Sponsored Sleepover this March and help us to provide vital mental health support services to children and young people!

With daylight saving time just around the corner, March is National Sleep Awareness Month. It’s a great reminder of the importance of sleep, especially when it comes to looking after our mental health. To mark this month, we’re asking you to join in with our Big Sponsored Sleepover!

You could organise a virtual Pyjama Party, you could make it your aim to stay awake all night long with a group of friends, or have an online evening pamper session to get you relaxed before bedtime. This is a sponsored challenge for all ages! So get creative, invite your friends to join in, and set up your sponsored page at Virgin Money Giving. Or simply ask your friends, family, and colleagues to donate straight to the Wellspring page: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?charityId=1014496

We’re suggesting the 5th March, but it’s totally up to you to decide upon a date that suits you. We will also be sending out an E-certificate to say thank you to anyone who raises over £30.

Simply email communications@wellspringtherapy.co.uk to register for the event!

We’re aiming to raise a total of £1000! Can you help us change lives as we provide therapy and mental health support groups for children and young people?