Going to the cinema
If you are able to go, the cinema can provide a great distraction or escape from daily stresses and worries. Often there are concessions for students or young people, or certain days of the week when tickets will be cheaper. It’s also a chance to spend time with a friend or loved one in a way that’s less intense than talking.
You can find our more about the latest film releases of the best films of recent years on IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes. Maybe write a list of films down that you would like to see and plan to see one as a reward for achieving a personal goal or create your own film blog or submit your review to Into Film.
Before you check out the latest releases, you may want to have a look at our own little blockbuster, our We all have mental health animation which we created with young people to help provide other young people with a common language for talking about their own mental health:
What young people have told us:
'Yes, going to the cinema distracts me from my worries.'
'It relaxes me and is a great distraction from worrying.'
'Pick a movie you would like to see then go to your local cinema to see it. You can bring friends, family with you or just treat yourself.'
There isn’t much academic research in the area of self-care for young people who are living with mental health issues. We are trying to find out more about what works for different people so we can better advise other young people what to try.
If you’ve tried this activity when you were struggling in relation to your mental health, please let us know if it helped you and how by clicking on the ‘Did this activity help you’ button.