The Spark Blog
Category: mental health
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Shielding Children from Struggles Harms Their Resilience
When humans become parents they develop many natural instincts. One of which is shielding children from struggles. In the earliest weeks and months of life, it is a purely physical function to protect from hunger, a lack of companionship and the cold. As the child grows this instinct to protect evolves. Over time it comes…
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![How to Detox the Negative Body Image Triggers in Your Life]()
How to Detox the Negative Body Image Triggers in Your Life
Negative body image triggers are seemingly inescapable. Beautiful bodies that are sculpted to perfection invade our smartphones, TV screens, magazines and more every hour of every day. This can leave many of us feeling oversized, inadequate and unhappy in our own skin. There are, however, some simple changes we can make to fight back and…
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![Body image and social media: a toxic mix?]()
Body image and social media: a toxic mix?
Imagine for a moment a smartphone app. The capabilities of this app are astonishing. After using it for a few weeks it has the power to give you body image issues. Would you download it? Probably not. What if I told you this app is so effective that it can convince you that you are…
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![Starting secondary school – tips for young people]()
Starting secondary school – tips for young people
Starting secondary school is a big step for young people. The transition from primary school to high school can be a breeze for some, a challenge for others and somewhere in between for most pre-teens. As thoughts turn to Primary 7’s beginning the move to high school we asked our team of children and young…
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![Spotting the signs of emotional distress in children]()
Spotting the signs of emotional distress in children
Spotting the signs of emotional distress in children and young people is not always an easy task. For parents and carers, finding out how our kids are coping with the challenges of life can be as difficult as prizing them away from their smartphones. In this short resource from The Spark – Scotland’s largest provider…
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![Precious scars and the Japanese art of Kintsugi]()
Precious scars and the Japanese art of Kintsugi
This will probably be a familiar refrain to many of you: ‘Everything will be okay as long as I smile, think positively and forgive people who have done me wrong.’ Life can be very unfair and, when it is, suggestions to simply walk ‘on the sunny side of the street’ seem impossible and, dare we…
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![Music and mental ill-health: how influential is a song?]()
Music and mental ill-health: how influential is a song?
We are what we eat. That is the simple truth that has launched a thousand cookbooks. Eat unhealthily, expect to be unhealthy. Slowly we are starting to realise that the same applies to our minds and mental ill-health. We are what we consume and what we consume nowadays is social media, films, streamed boxsets, the…
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![An attitude of gratitude at Thanksgiving]()
An attitude of gratitude at Thanksgiving
Cultivating an ‘attitude of gratitude’ in the era of Brexit and austerity might seem near impossible. How do we say thank you or count our blessings when the world around us seems completely chaotic? In many respects, you would be right about the challenge of being thankful. However, many authoritative and intelligent voices are saying…
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![How to Be Happy – part 4]()
How to Be Happy – part 4
Why does being happy – at times – feel like such hard work? Instead of an easy path to a relaxed and consistent glow of contentment, it often feels like pushing a boulder up a hill; a brief moment of satisfaction at the peak before it rolls back down the other side and we start…
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