Back to School: Balancing Wellness with Everything Else
Going back to school can be difficult after time off. It’s important to be kind to yourself and take a step back when things are feeling overwhelming for you. If your feelings are starting to take over your everyday life, reach out and get support whenever you need it. Read on to find resources to help you during the back to school season.
We’ve put together some wellness resources to help support you and to help navigate how to deal with the return to school.
It’s totally okay to have mixed feelings about going back to school. You might be experiencing things like:
- Anxiety
- Excitement about joining extracurricular activities or volunteering
- Changing moods or depression
- Stress
- Joy with friends or other personal relationships
- Feeling like your body has changed, or having trouble with how you see your body
We’re here to help reassure you that you’re not alone and we want to support you in whatever way we can. It’s important to be kind to yourself and take a step back when things are feeling overwhelming for you. If your feelings are starting to take over your everyday life, reach out and get support whenever you need it.
Back to School Resources for Just About Everyone
What to do if you’re Falling Behind in Class
When you’re struggling with mental health, it can be really hard to complete daily tasks, let alone assignments and exams. Read on for tips on what to do if you feel like you’re falling behind in school.
Tips for a new school year
You may be really excited to go back to school, you may also not be looking forward to it at all or you may lie somewhere in between. It can be a scary, exciting, daunting, but also a very rewarding time. Here are five tips to help make the new school year a healthy and successful one.
5 Tips for Staying Motivated (even if you’re really not feeling it)
5 Tips for Studying Effectively
Exam time is around the corner, and you may be feeling unprepared. While you may be feeling the heat, there are some ways to keep cool and effectively make the most of the study time you’ve got.
5 Ways to Help You Beat Procrastination
Feeling overwhelmed with all the things you have to do… especially when you realize you could’ve given yourself much more time to get it all done? Here are some ways to to help you check off all the things on your task list.
Connections: Making and Keeping Relationships With Others
Finding Support When You’re Always the Supporter
If you are someone who leans towards supporting others, it’s easy to forget about yourself and end up dismissing your own feelings and emotions. When that happens, you might experience compassion fatigue otherwise known as empathic strain, which can lead to burn out. Does this sound like you? To learn more about compassion fatigue and discover tips to support you, the supporter, keep reading!
Finding a Safe Space Online
Safe spaces provide a network of support and understanding. They are places for people to maintain a sense of wellbeing and belonging. Read on for more information on safe spaces and what to look for when choosing one.
Dealing with a Friendship Breakup
There’s a lot out there about breaking up with a romantic partner, but what if a friendship isn’t working out anymore? Navigating separations in any relationship is difficult – read on for our tips on how to handle friendship breakups.
Active Listening
Listening is an important part of nurturing relationships with people in your life. When a person knows you’re listening, it can make them more comfortable, especially when talking about tough topics.
What Makes a Healthy Friendship
Friends are here to laugh with, spend time doing things we enjoy with, and to turn to when we are struggling. They are there for us and are often the first people we turn to when we need support. In this section, you can learn about what makes a healthy friendship, how to know when a friendship is not healthy, and peer pressure.
Gender & Sexual Identity
It’s important to understand your own sexual and gender identities – and accept others for theirs.
Unconscious Bias
There are times we judge someone or something with unconscious bias – without knowing that is what we are doing! Read on to find out ways you can identify unconscious bias in your life, and what to do when you notice it.
Wellness: Ways to Take Care of Yourself That Aren't Just Bubble Baths
From Cedar to Sweetgrass: Let’s Talk About Wellness
This article explores what wellness means for Indigenous peoples. This includes First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures.
Different Ways to be Mindful
6 Tips for Getting a Good Night’s Sleep
Tips to Declutter Your Social Media - Update Link to New Site
Sometimes, social media can get to be too much. When it does, there are a few things you can do to take back control of your feed.
5 Easy Ways To Keep Up With Journaling
So you’ve decided to keep a journal! But how can you be sure you can keep up with it? Or maybe you’ve tried journalling before but always stopped eventually? Here are a few ways to get your hands in writing mode.
How to Use Technology in a Healthy Way
Technology makes things so much easier, that it’s hard to keep away from it. This section shows how modern technology affects us and our daily activities.
Tough Stuff: When Other Things Feel Overwhelming
Be an Active Witness
It is important to learn how to safely interrupt and intervene if you witness discrimination. This article explains how certain words and actions can help us de-escalate and defuse such an incident to prevent more harm.
Intro to Discrimination
It’s important to recognize discrimination and find support if you experience it. Recognizing and challenging discrimination helps build more inclusive spaces for us all. Learn more about discrimination and what you can do about it.
Am I a Bully?
If you think you are bullying someone and want to change the way you act, you have taken an important and positive step. Read the section below to learn why people bully and how to stop.
Tips for Moving Out
Moving out can be exciting as well as stressful. You may feel ready for the independence, and look forward to having a place of your own. Before you move you should consider the following tips to make sure you are ready and prepared.
LGBTQIA and Two-Spirited Identity in a Virtual World
A youth peer supporter at Foundry Virtual, talks about the advantages of connecting with others online as an LGBTQIA or Two-Spirit young person.
Anxiety about climate change is real, but there is something you can do about it
The fear of the consequences of climate change is a real thing. It can affect your health and mental health. It’s important to take care of yourself, but there are also things you can do to help fight against climate change.
Living With Loss
The process of grieving does not have a time limit and there is no one ‘right’ way to grieve. It is important to find healthy ways to cope with the pain of loss, and know these strategies can change over time.
Tips to Help if You are a Victim of Violence or Abuse
Get support
Feeling ready to talk to someone about how you feel? That’s awesome! We have resources to help you find the person you’re looking for (whether it’s online or in-person). If you’re feeling a little awkward, we have a few tips for talking to someone to help you start the conversation.
Groups & Workshops
Foundry Virtual BC offers virtual groups & workshop for young people ages 12-24 and their caregivers across BC.
Anxiety When Seeing a Counsellor
Anxious about counselling? Whether it’s your first time or 100th time, your feelings are valid and it’s okay to feel this way. Read on for what you need to know from someone who’s been in your shoes.
Phone & Online Chat
Whether it’s by phone, online chat or text, connect with a counsellor or trained volunteer to ask questions, help you understand what’s going on for you and find resources online or in your community.