At MAP, we meet young people every day who care deeply about the world around them. Through groups like the Young Activist Network, Loudspeaker, Youth In Mind, and the Youth Advisory Boards, young people in Norfolk are calling for change in everything from the climate crisis, to mental health, discrimination, and more.
Watching the news and staying informed can be a really big part of helping us create change and stay connected with the world, but the news can also be hard to avoid and can sometimes become overwhelming.
It’s perfectly natural to feel concerned about everything that’s going on right now, but if you’re starting to feel overwhelmed, remember you can always get advice from MAP on managing your mental health.
Here’s a few signs that you might be feeling overwhelmed:
- Doom-scrolling: Do you sit scrolling and scrolling on social media, even though it makes you more and more anxious and sad? It’s important to take breaks from social media, especially if your feed is full of scary or upsetting news. If you’re unable to stop yourself scrolling, this could lead you to feeling overwhelmed.
- Not doing things you used to enjoy: Maybe you used to meet up with friends more, but now you feel too stressed or sad, so you just stay at home. Or you used to have lots of hobbies but now you just don’t have the energy to do them.
- Changes in your appetite or sleep: If you’re eating or sleeping much more, or much less than you used to, this could be an effect of some difficult feelings getting on top of you.
- Ability to focus: Are you finding it difficult to pay attention at school or college? You might be finding it hard to focus if you’re feeling especially tired, or restless. You could be full of energy, or have no energy at all! All of this can make it hard to focus when you need to.
If you're experiencing any of these things, it could be because you’re overwhelmed and struggling to deal with your thoughts and feelings.
There are loads of different ways you can reach out to us at MAP for support with your mental health, including email, phone, and face to face. If you think you could use some advice on managing your mental health, we would love to help.
Visit our mental health page to get in touch or find out more.
Get support from our Advice Team:
