Mental health and wellbeing resources to help you through the coronavirus crisis

by Jenny Cornish

It can be difficult to manage your anxiety and stress levels during the coronavirus crisis, especially if you have a chronic illness such as arthritis. But keeping your mind healthy is as important as looking after your body.

We’ve put together a list of free resources to help look after your wellbeing – and some cultural resources to help you through lockdown.

If you have found any really useful resources that you would like to share with Arthur’s Place, please email jenny@arthursplace.co.uk and we will add them to the list!

To find links to the most up-to-date medical advice for people with arthritis during the coronavirus outbreak, click here.

Mental health and wellbeing resources

Mental wellbeing while staying at home: NHS tips

Government advice: Guidance on mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus crisis

Samaritans: Supporting you through the coronavirus outbreak

Free anxiety toolkit: www.calmer-you.com/free

Coronavirus and your wellbeing: Advice from Mind

Looking after your mental health during the coronavirus outbreak: The Mental Health Foundation

What to do if you’re anxious about coronavirus: Young Minds

Versus Arthritis: The benefits of meditation, tai chi and yoga

We Are Undefeatable: Ways to get moving around the home

Anxiety UK: Health and other forms of anxiety and coronavirus

BBC: Coronavirus: How to manage Anxiety and OCD during the pandemic

Beat Eating Disorders: Eating Disorders and Coronavirus

OCD-UK: OCD and Coronavirus Top Tips

The Guardian: How to manage coronavirus anxiety

Anna Freud Centre: Video providing guidance to parents and carers about how they can help children and young people manage their mental health and wellbeing

The University of Reading – The COVID-19: Helping Young People Manage Low Mood and Depression course has been developed for young people with low mood and depression and their parents and carers, or anyone who has contact with young people during the coronavirus pandemic.

Cultural and creative ideas

Government website: Culture at your fingertips from home

March Network: Creative Isolation

BBC: Culture in Quarantine

Live stream directory, collating live streams and videos featuring performance art and concerts from all over the world: Social Distancing Festival

The Guardian: Classical Music and Opera livestreams 

The Guardian: Music and theatre available online

Museum and gallery collections and virtual tours: Open Objects 

Instagram creative challenges:

#ArtfulDailyChallenge prompts from @artfulbox

#FunWithFaces prompts from @charlyclements

#QuarantineArtClub prompts from @gooddayclub

#DrawAtHomeClub prompts from @yeahyelhsa

Twitter creative challenges:

Noel Fielding’s Art Club @noelfielding11
Noel Fielding pics a theme and invites everyone to share their artwork. Kids especially welcome. Winners are chosen by a celebrity judge.

64 Million Artists – Create to Connect

Sign up here – http://dothinkshare.com/creative-inspiration/create-to-connect/

Online Museums

The British Museum: https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/

The Guggenheim Museum, New York: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/solomon-r-guggenheim-museum

Musée d’Orsay, Paris: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/musee-dorsay-paris

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/van-gogh-museum?hl=en

Uffizi Gallery, Florence: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/uffizi-gallery

Online Theatre

Timpson The Musical. Musical comedy imagines the founding of the popular shoe repair chain as a union between two companies, the Montashoes and the Keypulets.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfzOOWCi8Ag&feature=youtu.be

Wind in the Willows Musical: https://www.willowsmusical.com/

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – on Facebook live: https://www.facebook.com/theshowstoppers/videos/918352645246170/

The 24 Hour Plays: https://www.instagram.com/24hourplays/

The Globe Theatre. Watch (paid for) theatre performances from the Globe Theatre. Free content includes interviews and behind the scenes footage:  https://globeplayer.tv/

Royal Opera House: https://www.youtube.com/user/royaloperahouse

Creative Writing

Endless Story Ideas – free course: https://www.creative-writing-now.com/

10 Creative Writing exercises: https://www.tckpublishing.com/creative-writing-exercises/

Drawing tutorials

Tutorials to draw animals, people, flowers, landscapes and more: https://www.creativebloq.com/features/how-to-draw-animals-people-landscapes

Free online Life Drawing tutorials: https://www.lovelifedrawing.com/

Virtual Reading Groups

Lost in a Good Book: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1715381925391873/

Singing

Sing Out Strong virtual choir: http://www.singoutstrong.co.uk/virtualchoirpractice.html

Nordoff Robbins Online Choir: https://www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk/online-choir/

The Brandenburg Camino: https://www.brandenburg.org.uk/camino

Crafting

Knitting and Sewing – brilliant tutorials on this website. https://www.purlsoho.com/create/category/new-posts/new-tutorials/

Free knitting/crochet patterns:

https://www.purlandjane.co.uk/

https://attic24.typepad.com/ (scroll down, bottom left)

https://www.ravelry.com/

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