Many organisations kindly offered their products and services for free to help people during Covid19 lockdown. The pricing may have resumed to normal pricing. Please contact the organisation directly for more information on this.
It’s so important we mind our mental health at this time. Throughout the global pandemic, A Lust for Life is working to ensure we help as many people as possible with resources to help with self-care and wellness. We’ve put together a list of free services and offerings that will help you navigate this journey in the best way possible. We are all in this together. We will keep updating this resource list as we go. Feel free to email your recommendations to info@alustforlife.com.
A Lust for Life
The A Lust for Life website is full of articles on minding your mental health around this time. We are running nightly live video sessions on social media from mental health experts on how to mind your mind. These run Monday – Thursday at 9pm with Dr Eddie Murphy, Niall Breslin and Dr Malie Coyne.
A Lust for Life is launching A Psychological First aid service for those in need of crisis care. This will be delivered through therapyhub.ie. This was set up in response to Covid19 and will be launched to the public shortly. More details on this as soon as it is launched.
Niall Breslin – Bressie
Bressie is offering free guided meditation sessions to help bring calm into this uncertainty.
Free nightly meditation at 9pm on Instagram
Free meditation for children at 5pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday
There is also the Where is my Mind podcast which is a six week course in mindfulness with an accompanying mediation each week.
Helpful information
HSE General Mental Health Advice
HSE Answers for People using Mental Health services
Online Mental Health Services
Samaritans are available 24/7 for free support by phone or email. Tel: 116 123 or email: jo@samaritans.ie
Aware are operating their Freephone support line, email support and online Life Skills programme. Tel: 1800 804 848 (7 days a week from 10 AM – 10 PM) or email: supportmail@aware.ie
Shine are offering remote support to people who use their services including online and over-the-phone support and an outreach service. Email: phil@shine.ie
Helplink are providing online counselling and therapy. Email: helpinksupport@helplink.ie
Smartphone Apps
Mobile apps to support your mental health
These mobile apps can help you manage anxiety. They have been reviewed and approved for listing here, by a group in the HSE (Mental Health Apps Review Sub Group). The app developers are solely responsible for their app’s advertisement, compliance and fitness for purpose. Unless stated otherwise, apps are not supplied by the HSE, and the HSE is not liable for their use.
Mindshift (by Anxiety Canada)
A user-friendly self-help tool based on proven scientific strategies, MindShift CBT teaches about anxiety, helping users to engage in healthy thinking and to take action. Users check in each day to track their anxiety and work with tools in the app.
Clear Fear is an app developed for teenage mental health charity Stem4 which uses the evidence- based treatment CBT to focus on learning to reduce the physical responses to threat by learning to breathe, relax and be mindful as well as changing thoughts and behaviours and releasing emotions. You can personalise the app if you so wish and you will be able to track your progress and notice change.
Free courses
Sounder to Self Sessions
Claire from brí wellbeing (Instagram) is offering “Sounder to Self Sessions” a free 4 week course in June with the option to donate to A Lust for Life.
The “Sounder to Self Sessions” have been designed combining coaching and meditation techniques. June’s Sessions will focus on supporting your mental health, exploring a different topic each week and building on techniques, so that you can incorporate them as part of “YOUR” mental health support toolkit. Brí wellbeing is a space for me to support your wellbeing and the Sounder to Self Sessions are a platform for you to support yourself! DM or email: briwellbeing@gmail.com to sign up.
Yale: The Science of Well-Being
In this course you will engage in a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits. As preparation for these tasks, Professor Laurie Santos reveals misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and the research that can help us change. You will ultimately be prepared to successfully incorporate a specific wellness activity into your life. Enrol for free here.
The Actualise Academy is offering two courses for free for any member of the public. They have made the “Anxiety In Children: Why It Occurs And How To Deal With It” and “Minding Your Own Mental Health” courses, delivered through Actualise Academy, free online for anyone to use.
All you have to do is register on the site and click the “community access” option to get it for free. These are only two of ten courses available for free through the academy (the rest are paid), but they are courses really relevant and helpful for people right now.
The Positive Habit Hypnotherapy Programme has helped people all over the world to feel calm. To help everyone ride the Coronavirus storm, they are now offering it for FREE* with the option to donate. The price is usually €149.95.
The Programme is designed to help you develop unshakeable strength in both the good and the hard times. Learn to create a quiet mind that allows deep peaceful sleep at night and emotional resilience during the day.
*Access to the programme will ONLY remain free for the duration of the current public health crisis.
D4 clinic is an award-winning hypnotherapy clinic. They are offering a free guided anxiety session on their website here. They have other paid services.
The Mindfulness Center are delivering twice daily free mindfulness practice which you can sign up for here. These are at 12noon and 8pm. As well as the MTAI (Mindfulness Teacher’s Association of Ireland) twice daily free live sessions at 9 am and 9 pm (between up to 40 per session) mtai.ie. There are also some structured paid programmes delivered over a number of weeks which are available on their website.
Anam Cara is providing online support to bereaved parents. You can view their 8 week free online videos on YouTube. This can also be accessed on their website anamcara.ie
Michelle from Anchor Therapy is offering free Trauma sensitive yoga sessions online for frontline workers. Check out Michelle’s YouTube channel here for more Trauma Sensitive Yoga videos along with other useful videos relating to anxiety management, routine and Occupational Therapy. Michelle is also offering free Occupational Therapy support sessions for Leaving Cert students who may be struggling with pressure, anxiety, study skills and routines.
Mindhacks.ie is a hub to showcase a variety of organisations work and to provide evidenced based information (video/podcast based only) and education (webinars/training) around mental health and emotional wellbeing for the general public. This is free to access.
Money & Mental Health – Practical Financial Skills to Manage Money
The guide from finty.com offers lots of helpful information such as:
- How financial debt and money worries impact people’s mental health: did you know that 9.5 million adults in the UK suffer from mental health issues as a result of financial anxiety?
- The importance of practical financial skills and how it helps with mental health, including expert advice on combating debt, knowing why people overspend, and how to manage the effects of money pressures.
- Practical, useful tips and advice such as how to budget, analyzing spending habits, where to save on household expenses, how to deal with debt, and how to make money management a habit.
- Other useful information and links to external resources to help develop practical financial skills and healthy habits around money.
MABS – Money advice and budgeting service has a Covid19 live feed page on updates to the current situation, how to manage money and how to get financial advice. MABS also wrote an article for A Lust for Life on money management during Covid19.
Activities to feel comforted at home
Stay home, take care has activities, recommendations, and ideas to help you stay in and take care of yourself and others. Updated daily.
Support Our Campaign
We rely on the generosity of the public to fund our work and so far together we have achieved great things! Please do continue to support us so we can provide future generations in Ireland with the resources to recognise and talk about their emotions, and equip them to navigate the ever-changing world around them as they grow
