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Five fun activities for the holidays

Are you at school or university? Have you already finished for the summer?

Endless opportunities can await you when you have all this time off before term starts again in September.

We know some people use school or university as a distraction to help them deal with their mental health struggles, so having all this free time can be hard.

We’ve come up with a list of five fun activities that might be able to help get you through the summer period.

1. Have a picnic

With it being summer, the weather is mostly likely going to be fabulous! Why not take this opportunity to gather some friends and go down to your local park for a picnic? The UK is full of beautiful parks with wonderful scenery, so go out and appreciate them! Find your nearest park which has a green flag.

2. Spend a day by the beach

It isn’t really a summer holiday if you’re not at the beach! Take some time to spend a day by the sea. The fresh air will do wonders and, if you’re feeling really daring, you can even take a dip! Find your nearest beach with a blue flag status.

3. Have a games day

We do need to acknowledge that this is Britain, and the weather can be temperamental. If you have a day where it’s raining, you can always invite your friends around to play boardgames. According to a recent poll, the UK’s favourite board game is Monopoly followed by Trivial Pursuit. What’s yours?

4. Have a movie day

For any hay fever-sufferers out there, being outside might not be wise. If this is the case, you can host a movie day with your friends. Crack open the popcorn and get Netflix on. Films hitting the big screen this summer include The Lion King, Toy Story 4, Yesterday and Spiderman. If you’re one for a box-set, the latest series of Stranger Things has just landed on Netflix, or, you can’t beat a bit of Killing Eve.

5. Take time to just ‘be’

You should also take this time to just ‘be’ and focus on yourself. There will be days when you won’t want to see anybody – and that’s perfectly fine. Take some time to do something you want to do, no matter what it is, and enjoy it.

It’s not shameful to be worried about having free time and we understand that sometimes it can be overwhelming not having a distraction.

If you’re at the University of Essex, you can still log in to Chat with Charlie every evening from 6pm to talk to a trained professional.

You can also call the Samaritans on 116 123 if you need further advice.

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