Today's quote of the day (Explained)

Well, looks like summer is starting to come to an end... I know that it was a random thing to say, but I felt like saying it anyway!

Moving on, I hope everyone is good & has been keeping productive, whatever that may well be. In my case, I've just been knee deep in work at Challengers Play scheme, as well providing myself with more better work opportunities for myself in the near future. (Something I might mention on here IF I get the job) 

As the above title states, this QOTD shall be dedicated to my current busy lifestyle.

Why does this chosen QOTD speak out to me? Well, this is due to the fact that my mental health always seems to be at its best when I am out & about doing stuff. This would also include my busy life, as I'm pretty much outdoors almost everyday doing something. Most of which are for essential reasons, such as work.

That being said, this would define my high level of physical health, because I like to get out everyday & do stuff. By doing so, helps me to distract myself from boredom. Or to be more specific on that, prevent myself from unnecessary worrying about things that don't need worrying about.

To conclude my explanation, my recommendation for anyone struggling to keep physically & mentally motivated would be to get out everyday & do something. Even if it's only for a walk round your local area, it's still better than doing absolutely noth8ng at all! Plus, this was something I've learnt myself when I did the Samaritans 310,000 steps challenge.

WHY AM I SO INATTENTIVE?!

If you have been reading through, or still have been reading through my blog posts, you may have seen that I have been slacking on getting them finished on the same date I have started them. This is due to the fact that I now have so many things going on in my life now that simply takes away my free time to be blogging on here. 

As much as I do genuinely enjoy being busy, I also find it annoying that I am becoming too busy to be active on here doing what I love doing. Hence, I rarely have any time to be looking into what is happening in the world of psychology. Hence, my reason('s) for feeling so inattentive lately.

If I was to be honest with myself at this point, it would be that I have been feeling drained when I try to type on here. To add onto that statement, I feel like I have to put pressure on myself just to keep myself active on here, let alone come up with another post to publish.

It's not that I do not enjoy blogging anymore, or that I do not have a passion for psychology anymore, (because I still do) it's that I am now in the process of providing better future opportunities for myself. This had meant I want to put my focus onto doing that, rather than worry about trying to keep active on here all of the time.

So if you see that I am hardly active on here at the moment, or slacking to get anything published by taking as long as 5 days, you'll now know why. 

The best way to understand people's behaviour

This is a post which will be relating to my job as a disability play/youth worker. Not only that, but I will also be dishing out tips & advice for the best way to get to understand children & young people with complex needs.

What does a play/youth worker do?

A play/youth worker is a member of staff who works on play or youth scheme, (or in my case, Disability Challengers) and basically gets to work with children & young people while they get to have fun playing on scheme.

However, a playworker doesn't just play with children & young people, a play/youth worker also has an important job to ensure everyone is safe while playing on scheme. This is essentially called safeguarding.

Going into safeguarding, I, as a play/youth worker, must keep my vigilance at all times when it comes to children & young people's behaviours. This is because behaviour can either be represented verbally or physically, which could eventually become a risk to everyone on scheme, as well as themselves. If a behaviour really was to escalate into the too dangerous category, then a play/youth worker will have no choice but to perform a safety intervention. (SI) This is where a play/youth worker (who MUST be trained in SI to do this) physically removes a child or young person off from another person if they are physically hurting them.

All in all though, a play/youth worker ensures any child or young person has the best day on scheme regardless.

What is the best way to understand children & young people with complex needs?

We always do a briefing 15mins prior to the children or young people coming onto scheme. This helps us to get to know the children or young people who will be coming in for the day, as we get to read through their information sheet. Or as we call them, CIS's.

I'll use the example if I was to going get put with a 1:1 child or young person for the morning & another for the afternoon. I usually let that 1:1 child or young person do what they want to do, so it helps me to understand what they like to do best on scheme. I also pay close attention to how they communicate, whether they use a device, body language, noises or just verbally talking. No 2 people I work/interact 1:1 with are the same. 

If I was to bullet point some handy tips for you all when it comes to working with children or young people with complex needs at a place like Disability Challengers, they'll be things like:

• Always communicate to non-verbals using sign language, as they would benefit from this more
• Ensure you read through their CIS's thoroughly, so you know how to handle them on scheme
• Never show your impatience with trying to get your 1:1 to do something, like going to the toilet, as A) It will make yourself look unprofessional, and B) It may traumatize them
• Never punish a child or young person if they did something wrong on scheme, like hitting someone, as it is not our protocol to give them punishments
• Always listen to what any child or young person comes up & says to you on scheme, as they feel like they can open up to you about anything on their mind
• If you get asked to hang around with the non-1:1's on scheme, do try to interact with them all, because some of them may feel lonely without staff interaction
• In relations to hanging out with the non-1:1's on scheme, try to get them all playing together

I think that's pretty much everything covered for this long post now. 

Anyway, I hope my personal insight to what I do at work, as well as my tips has provided sine useful insight for anyone wishing to work as a play/youth worker one day.

If anyone has made it all the way down to this point, I just like to thank you for taking the time to read all of the way through, and I shall hopefully be back very soon with another post!

*I began this post on the 12/8/23, but didn't get round to finishing it until the 18/8/23*

Why de-cluttering your room can lead to increased brain power

Evening all, hope you've all had a good & productive week! I certainly have, as I've been working at youthscheme from Monday - Thursday.

Moving swiftly on, as the above title states, I know it's somewhat random, but it's the only article on PsychologyToday I could find that was interesting enough to talk about. Well, I for 1, think this article is interesting, because it tells you the different state of minds of living in a cluttered environment & a de-cluttered environment.

Key takeaways: Let's say if you was to live in a household, where there was constant clutter surrounding you, and if you wanted to focus on doing 1 thing, like looking for something, your mind will end up feeling scatty, as you won't be able to find what you are looking for due to the ridiculous amount of clutter that interferes with your focus. This is because living in a cluttered environment has a tendency to make you into an unorganised person, as it will get your mind into the habit of being generally unorganised.

But if you was to live in a household, where everything was neatly organised, (like my bedroom for instance) you wouldn't have any trouble with looking for something, as your mind will be able to recall where that something is everytime. This is what makes you an organised person, as you get your mind into the habit of everything being structured.

Moreover from the 2nd paragraph, being in an organised environment by constantly de-cluttering, helps to increase brain power. Why? Because de-cluttering helps you to focus on any task you need to prioritise. This is something that I benefit from when I constantly keep my bedroom de-cluttered. For the record, I HATE LIVING IN CLUTTERED CONDITIONS!

Think I've covered everything now, so here's the source link, for those interested to read more on how I got my information: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/social-instincts/202308/why-decluttering-your-room-can-lead-to-increased-brain-power%3famp

*I began this post on the 6/8/23, but didn't get to finish it until the 9/8/23*

Today's quote of the day (Explained)

Wow... What a busy & hectic July that has been! I say that, as I've never had do so many things in just 1 month & 31 days. I suppose most of which had involved work related stuff + a bit of gettaway time in between. Makes me wonder if August will be the same outcome... (We shall see)

Going back on topic, where the picture below, displays my chosen QOTD for this post. 

As well as getting over my chaotic July, I have also this chosen quote to represent how I'm going to look ahead into the next 4 months of 2023.

Back to the QOTD meaning, why shouldn't you look back? Well, the past is in the past, and it shouldn't be revisited. That being said, it's something that cannot be changed, regardless of how you feel about it. All you can do is just look right into what lies ahead for you in the future, as it can motivate you through each day until whatever exciting will eventually happen.

Although to be honest, I could use this quote everyday, but I thought I would only use it for a specific time like this, where I have been through so much throughout this year, and I know I will be going through so much more as time goes on!