Life On Hold? Let's Talk About Mental Health

The world has frozen in time. Everything we would normally do in our usual day-to-day lives has been put on hold. It's quite amazing to think that we’re spending more time with each other, not due to our choice but because of a global lockdown. Nonetheless, we must use this opportunity to become closer to our neighbors. We should do everything we can to better understand what makes us human, what things we can do to make ourselves live better lives. The first step is to start talking about mental health. This subject gets swept under the rug all the time but now, we have the time and the space to reflect on ourselves. Let’s use this time wisely!

How are you feeling?

We’re asking this question more than ever before. How are you feeling? The lockdown is not just a physical trapping but a mental battle as well. We are now understanding how important it is to go outside. We value fresh air more. We value human contact and interaction. If you’d like to be asked more, how you are feeling, it's about time you started asking others first. Call up your friends and family, speak with them about their feelings, and what is making them sad or frustrated. The mere act of someone caring enough to ask can do wonders for oneself. 

Express yourself and share

Social media has become the main way we speak with each other. We can share videos, pictures, photographs, and selfies of ourselves. But, have you ever shared a drawing you made? Have you shared a poem you wrote? How about a painting? These things might seem trivial but they have been ways for expressing our deepest and darkest thoughts in ways perhaps your words cannot. Sit down with your family and have a drawing session. Draw or paint the images that exist in your mind. Talk about why you see these characters, shapes, colors, and scenes. You can even hold live streams with your friends and family, asking them to do the same. Share your pieces online and allow the world to see and hopefully, follow your example.

Retain your understanding

Most people struggle to understand why they have certain mental health conditions. Unless you’re a professional in psychology or work in mental health therapy, you’re only going to get so far. If you regularly saw a mental health expert or perhaps have been dying to speak with someone of this nature, LifeStance Telehealth is an online service you can use to do so. They have experts that will perform video calls with you. You can see each other which although isn’t comparable to being in front of someone face-to-face, this is an excellent option in the current situation. It's also great for people who don’t have time to meet mental health experts in-person during normal daily life.

Let’s use the opportunity lockdown has given us, to talk more about our mental health. Speak honestly with your friends and family about the things that make you anxious or confused. Draw and paint, and share it with the world!

Make Homeschooling A Little Easier For Yourself

Homeschooling is a wonderful way to ensure that your kids are ready for life. If you have been homeschooling for a while, then you will know that there is a lot involved in it which you might not have expected. Of course, a lot of people are turning to homeschooling now that they are in lockdown, and it looks as though it might become very important this year to be able to do it well and know what you are doing. Whether you are new to homeschooling or not, you will always be keen to make it as easy on yourself as possible, and there are many ways in which you can be sure to do that. In this article, we will take a look at some of the ways you can make homeschooling that much easier for yourself, and more effective for the kids.

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Make A Plan

You will quickly learn the value of planning when it comes to homeschooling your children. There are many things that you need to plan, and you will want to start on these as soon as possible in order to feel that you are ready for what lies ahead. You will need to plan what you are going to teach and in what order, for a start. That might follow a national guideline or syllabus, or you might want to think of one yourself. Either way, make sure it covers all the necessary ground. It’s vital in ensuring that your children actually get the education they need.

You also need to make sure that you plan out individual days, as well as what the week is going to look like. Be sure to include everything you need, including lots of breaks for both of you. The more that you plan, the more ready you are going to feel, and you will find that you are much less likely to simply get stressed out by it all.

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Supplement Your Gaps In Knowledge

Just because you are homeschooling your kids doesn’t mean that you are expected to know everything about everything. That’s just not possible, and you are always going to find that there are the occasional gaps in your knowledge. All you need to do is have a contingency plan for when those things come up. You can spend some time beforehand learning the information yourself, for example, and then teaching it to your kids. Or for those really tricky topics and subjects you could think about calling in some outside help, whether in the form of an online math tutor or a physics teacher, or whatever the subject might be. There are always ways to supplement your own gaps in knowledge, and you should make sure that you are always doing so if you want the education to be as full as possible.

Find A Teaching Style

Everyone who tries to teach soon finds that they have their own teaching style, and you should make a point of trying to find yours as soon as possible if you want to make the homeschooling process considerably easier on yourself. It helps you to settle into a groove which feels natural for you, so that is something that you are going to want to consider. As long as you can do that, you will find that your teaching is much more natural and easygoing, and that your children are going to respect that a lot more than you trying to copy someone else’s teaching style instead. The style can be strict or easygoing or whatever in between, so long as it is effective and it is one which seems to work for you well, and for your child well.

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Make It Fun

The more that you are able to make the learning fun for your children, the easier it is going to be for you. Making it fun is actually easier to do than you might think, and it is mostly just about ensuring that you find a way to capture their focus and intrigue day by day. Because they are your own kids, you probably know how to do this better than anyone else, so that is something that you are going to want to think about. If you can make it fun, you will find that you are going to have more fun yourself, and all of you will be glad to be doing it. That is the kind of situation you are probably looking for here.

7 Tips to Win at Online Slots

Are you a sucker for slots? With luck rarely making an appearance on your team, knowledge is power when it comes to successful online slot gaming at top10slotgames.com. Through following these 7 top tips you will be able to maximize your chances of winning and claim that star slot player title that you’ve been dreaming of.

1.      Slot Selection

Choose your online slot carefully. No two slot machines are the same, possessing different themes, features and soundtracks, their Return to Player (RTP) rates also vary. The higher the sites RTP rate, the more money they will pay back to you. Bare this in mind before choosing your online slots and pick sites with the highest RTP to maximize your pay-out!

2.      Free Games

A winner’s mindset is important but don’t be overconfident if you’ve never played before. This free form of fun is an excellent way to get to know the game, its hidden habits and practice your performance.

3.      Check the Pay Table

Prepare and peek at the pay tables before parting with your money. Informing you of wild symbols and scatters, their worth and which are the most profitable, it’d be silly to enter the world of online slots without this knowledge. Remember, variations in pay tables can make a substantial difference to your balance and boost your bankroll!

4.      Beneficial Budgeting

Before beginning set your budget AND stick to it! Decide on the maximum amount you are comfortable spending and once you reach that sum stop playing. Never bet money that you can’t afford to lose.

5.      Aim for Smaller Jackpots

Yes, everyone wants to win big, but those wins are generally hard to come by with the competition being fierce. Why not up your chances and aim for smaller jackpots that pay out more frequently? Would maximising your chances of bagging bucks really be so bad?

6.      Bonus Offers

Take advantage of bonus offers to maximize your money. Such deals may appear randomly, as part of special promotions, as incentives for new players or as a thank you to loyal, long term slot lovers. Redeeming such promotions enable you to play and win cash prizes without having to credit your account with your own money, so you won’t want to miss out! Remember to stay up to date with online slot offers sent to you via text and email as these tend to be generous.

7.      Should I Stay or Should I go?

If history seems to be repeating itself and like your past relationship, your relationship with your chosen online slot has turned sour, you find yourself giving more than you’re getting back, or perhaps you’re just on a losing streak and haven’t seen any wins in a while, then it may be wise to move on. Keep an open mind, with countless online slots there’s no harm in trying your luck elsewhere. Remember, there’s plenty more reels to spin.

Daydreaming Of A Holiday? Secure Your Home First!

As the summer months draw ever-nearer, you’re probably daydreaming about your holiday already. You can just imagine the hot sun beating off your face, your skin glowing with a fresh tan and the fresh taste of a cocktail by the pool. But wait, don’t get too far ahead of yourself. Holidays can be ruined even after they have finished. Coming home to a ransacked house is the stuff of nightmares. You can only rely on your neighbors to do so much. Protecting your home is something that requires a lot of thought and effort that is pinpointed instead of spread around.

Update your locks

Do you trust your locks? Just like any other industry, the home protection industry is always evolving. Designs that have stood the test of time are still being improved to stay one step ahead of burglars. You should update your 3 level lock to a 5 level lock using locksmith Toronto if you haven’t already. A 3 lever lock is more secure and offers more strength against techniques that push the locking block into the door frame. However, this strength usually comes at a price. It's better to also have a metal frame for the lock to reside in as it's own strength can be used to push through the wood. 

The Emotional Stages Of Engagement And How To Deal With Them

Getting engaged is something that you hope only comes around once in your life. So, ideally, you want it to go well. In years to come, you would like to be able to look back with fond memories of this exciting time in your life. 

Engagement, though, is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. It’s not just a singular experience. It buffets and batters you. One minute, you’re riding high, the next, you’re at your wit’s end. 

In this post, we’re going to take a look at the emotional stages of engagement and how to deal with them. Many of these feelings are inevitable. They almost certainly will happen. How you manage them, therefore, is critical to a successful engagement.