I recently studied for a course called ‘Children and Young People’s Mental Health’, and whilst doing it, I got the chance to put what I’d learnt into practise. Amongst other topics, I had been reading and answering questions on stress, anxiety and depression, learning about various definitions and the impact that each one had on children and young people.

More importantly, I learnt how to identify triggers that could lead to mental health issues in children and young people. Having two girls in their mid-teens this is very important to me and something I felt should be on my radar.

Putting what I’d learnt into practise

To set the scene, I was studying in the shade in the garden. I was two weeks behind with finishing the course and had to apply for an extension due to working such long hours in my day job.

I was overwhelmed with my growing list of things to do and was quite stressed myself and finding it hard to concentrate. It was at that point that my youngest daughter came outside and told me that she was worried about her mock exams and needed some help looking through some practice exam papers.

I literally stopped worrying about my own situation, and recognised the stress signs that I’d been learning about. It propelled me into action and we went through a past exam paper together.

Our actions impact our children

I have so many examples of where, when I look back, I would have done things differently. This is why I continue to learn and improve my ways so that I can try and get it right. I feel very passionate about doing the right thing and my newly learnt skills are shining through. I passed the course by the way!

Being an even nicer person

The mental health course has changed my outlook on life. I really want to improve the way I communicate with my family. I actually thought I was a calm person with a tone of voice to match but when I consciously started monitoring myself I realised that there was room for improvement. Since changing my reaction to things over the last few weeks, keeping my voice calmer and generally trying to be an even nicer person that normal, I’ve noticed some changes in everyone.

Having less time for me

All of the above left me with less time for me, so for the last few weeks or so I’ve been trying to add back the me-time that I was craving. This is slowly started to bring back balance into my life and has stopped me feeling stressed.

So, how do you get the balance right when it comes to running a home, working full time and being there for the family?

Until next time…

Sandra