Board Games

It can sometimes feel overwhelming or intense to spend extended periods of time with friends or family when talking is the main activity. Suggesting a boardgame can be a good plan when you’d like a shared activity to focus on, which relieves some of the pressure to make conversation, and also gives you new things to laugh and talk about. It can also stimulate the parts of your brain responsible for problem-solving, strategising and making logical decisions, which could put you in a good mindset to tackle other things that are going on. Ultimately, the purpose of playing boardgames is to relax and have fun, so find one that you enjoy.

There are sometimes board game groups available to join, where you can play with other interested people and learn new games without having to buy the whole set. It would also be worth asking at school, university or at your local library about what’s on offer.

What young people have told us:

'Playing board games with my family really helped when I was struggling through lockdown. It gave me a break from computer especially with school work and was nice to share it with my family.'

What young people have told us:

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 email us at comms.requests@annafreud.org and let us know if it helped you..