Safe Space created by Vibrant Emotional Health

The Safe Space is home to free resources and tools to provide you with some extra support in an emotionally safe environment. At Vibrant Emotional Health, our goal is to build a society in which wellness can be a reality for everyone. Vibrant’s Safe Space seeks to provide evidence-based self-help tools, education, and resources to people looking for support alongside crisis services such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, as well as people in emotional distress who may not be inclined to use a crisis service. The development of the Safe Space was done in collaboration with the three national advisory committees of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which is funded by SAMHSA and administered by Vibrant. Research has shown that empowering people to choose their own digital supports when they most need them can have a positive impact on mental health and suicide prevention. (Thank you Vibrant Emotional Health)

DISTRACTIONS: This section is filled with simple activities to relax you and take your mind off things. (Thank you Vibrant Emotional Health)

Thisissand - Watch and listen to the sand piling into beautiful layers of sand on the bottom of your screen and get relaxed during the slow and therapeutic process. (Thank you Beige Elephant)

Chrome Music Lab - This experiment is inspired by Wassily Kandinsky, an artist who compared painting to making music. It turns anything you draw – lines, circles, triangles, or scribbles – into sound. (Thank you Chrome Music Lab)

Neonflames - Draw your own nebula right in your browser. Please note: Click and drag your cursor to draw. The colors will appear slowly. (Thank you Jonas Wagner)

Fluid Simulation - Play and experiment with these swirling substances. Gorgeous visuals will take your breath away and help you to relieve stress. (Thank you Pavel Dobryakov)

A Soft Murmur - A Soft Murmur is an online background noise generator designed to help you relax, focus, and tune out unpleasant sounds from your environment. (Thank you to asoftmurmur.com)

Calming Exercises - Calming exercises such as box breathing and guided imagery to help you relax and focus. (Thank you to Vibrant Emotional Health)

COPING TOOLS: This section contains methods to help you deal with stressful situations. Below are a some samplings from the section. Head over to the site for more. (Thank you Vibrant Emotional Health)

Your Life Your Voice - A resource offering information, tips, and tools to help teens deal with all kinds of issues and challenging situations. (Thank you Boys Town)

My Safety Plan - Make a Safety Plan. A safety plan is a prioritized list of coping strategies and sources of support. It can help you to identify what leads to your thoughts of suicide, and how to feel better when you are having these thoughts. As a result, you can help yourself to stay safe. (Thank you Vibrant Emotional Health)

Mental Health America's Self-Help Tools

Taking control of your mental health can be a challenge. MHA's Self-Help Tools can help you to balance your daily routine and learn techniques to handle to bad days. The following is a list of some of the tools you will find on their page. (Thank you MHA)

Stress Test - This is a questionnaire that was developed to determine the degree of stress you are experiencing. (Thank you MHA)

Interactive 'Where To Get Help' Tool - This tool helps guide you to sources for seeking mental health help based on your answers to a short series of questions. (Thank you MHA)

A Letter To Risky Business - This worksheet provides prompts for working through why you take part in risky behaviors, how they are harming your wellbeing, and what you can do take control of these behaviors. (Thank you MHA)

Filling The Void - What makes you turn to risky behaviors? What needs are you trying to fulfill? (Thank you MHA)

Think Ahead - Organizing your thoughts and taking steps to feel better can be tough when you’re weighed down by a mental health disorder. That’s why it’s important to think ahead. At a time when you’re feeling well and able, use this worksheet to prepare or plan ahead. (Thank you MHA)

Stopping Stupid Thoughts - This worksheet lays out a five-step process for challenging cognitive distortions or "stupid thoughts." These inaccurate or exaggerated thoughts can be extreme and frequent, and often damage self-esteem, mood, and relationships with others, contributing to anxiety and depression - which is why it's so important to work through them. (Thank you MHA)

What's Underneath - Taking the time to slow down and identify what we are really experiencing can help us feel better and can improve our relationships with others. This worksheet will help you to build your emotional vocabulary to help you better understand and communicate your feelings. (Thank you MHA)

Sample Letter For Starting A Conversation About Mental Health Struggles - Originally designed for MHA's 2016 Back to School Toolkit, this fill-in-the-blanks style letter is good for people of all ages who want to start a conversation about struggles with their mental health, but aren't sure how to get started. (Thank you MHA)

Mental Health America's DIY Tools

Find apps, worksheets, and other tools to improve your mental health on your own. You can filter the list by condition, tool type, and more. Here, and in Apps section below, are a sampling of the many tools that you will find on their page. (Thank you MHA)

Gratitude Card - Expressing your gratitude can make you feel better and improve the mood and validate the person you are thanking. Studies have found that expressing gratitude towards a person or a situation has mental and physical health benefits for you and can strengthen social bonds. However getting started can feel daunting. Take your time and really think about what has stuck with you over the past week, month, or year. Try filling out this note to thank yourself for doing the dishes that piled up, your friend for listening to you vent about a recent problem, the universe for giving you an opportunity, or a family member for helping to shape you. Big and small acts can both be extremely impactful and worthy of thanks. (Thank you MHA)

Think Ahead: Mental Health Crisis Plan - Organizing your thoughts and taking steps to feel better can be tough when you’re weighed down by mental illness. That’s why it’s important to think ahead. At a time when you’re feeling well and able, think through your mental health crisis plan. And write it down! You can use this worksheet as a guide. (Thank you MHA)

Psychiatric Advance Directives: Taking Charge of Your Care - An advance directive is a written document that expresses your wishes in advance about what types of treatments, services and other assistance you want during a personal mental health crisis. A directive provides a clear statement of your medical treatment preferences and other wishes or instructions. You can also use it to grant legal decision-making authority to another person to be your advocate and agent until the crisis is over. This page has further instructions on Creating a Psychiatric Advance Directive. (Thank you MHA)

Where to Get Help - When you’ve decided to seek help, knowing what resources are available and where to start can be tricky. Where to Get Help is an interactive questionnaire from Mental Health America to help you figure out your options. (Thank you MHA)

Your Life Your Voice

Your Life Your Voice is provided by Boys Town. Boys Town, a national nonprofit, offers many resources for parents, families and children in times of need. Below are a few of the many topics to choose from. (Thank you Boys Town)

My Life My Voice - How are you feeling? This mood journal offers a simple solution for tracking your thoughts, feelings and moods in this interactive tool you can keep right on your phone! (Thank you Boys Town)

Journaling Tips and Tools - Journals are like a power tools for your life. They help you cut through your emotions so you can make good decisions and reach your goals. (Thank you Boys Town)

Tips and Tools for When You're Overwhelmed - There are times when your emotions become so intense you don't know what to do or where to turn. (Thank you Boys Town)

Coping Skills, Tips, and Tools - See how coping skills can help you work through your stress. (Thank you Boys Town)

More Self-Help Tools

Veterans Self-Check Quiz - The Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline have joined with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to create the Veterans Self-Check Quiz. This is a safe, easy way to learn whether stress and depression might be affecting you. Using this service is completely voluntary and confidential. You must be at least 18 years old to complete the Self-Check Quiz. (Thank you to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)

Psychology Today Self Tests - Are you outgoing or introverted? Do you have a high traditional IQ or emotional IQ? Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Find the answers to these questions and more with Psychology Today. (Thank you Psychology Today)

Bring Change to Mind's Talk Tool - This tool is meant to show the many ways you can talk about mental health with people in your life. But, everyone's experience is different. So, if you think, "wait, that's not how I feel," you're probably not alone. Use these words as inspiration, but also feel free to find your own. (Thank you Bring Change to Mind)

Calm - This meditation app is most definitely worth using. It can be personalized in so many ways, backgrounds, voices, volumes and more. It's more than just simple meditation. It has music, stories, daily messages, and more. From the minute you open the app, everything is designed in a thoughtful way to make you feel, well…calm. According to Mental Health America - this is the best app for your overall mental health. And I agree - I've been using it myself for years. (Thank you Calm)

Total Brain - Total Brain is a mental health and fitness platform. Founded on the notion that our mental health can be measured, improved and managed like our physical health, Total Brain measures the 12 brain capacities that define mental health, screens for the risk of common mental health conditions, creates self-awareness and accountability, and engages individuals in mental fitness programs that maximize their mental health. With just 15 minutes of mental fitness training a day, individuals can improve their self-awareness and brain performance both in and out of work. (Thank you Total Brain)

eM Life - eM Life offers practical, relatable programs with new mindfulness topics and skills every day, all which can be applied to everyday life and chronic conditions such as anxiety, depression, weight management and more. Each session is led by an expert mindfulness teacher and is interactive in a virtual meeting setting. (Thank you eMindful)

Cope Notes - Cope Notes uses daily text messages to train the brain to think healthier thoughts. Combining peer support, digital journaling, and positive psychology, each text interrupts negative thought patterns with an exercise, a psychology fact, or another catalyst for positive growth. (Thank you Cope Notes)

Toucan - Toucan is on a mission to give everybody somebody to talk to! Toucan is a peer support platform for iPhones that fills the gap in existing support options by pairing people, 1-on-1 and anonymously, for conversations called Huddles centered around a shared topic. At Toucan we are harnessing peer support to give people an affordable and accessible way to speak and listen to others who are going through something similar. Whether it is becoming a new parent, career stressors, or a global pandemic, life throws a lot at us; with Toucan we can support each other and not have to go it alone. (Thank you Toucan App)

Ten Percent Happier - Do what it actually takes to be happier. Learn to meditate from the world's best teachers with video courses & library of 500+ meditations. Build your meditation habit during live challenges with thousands of other meditators. Fall — and stay — asleep with relaxing Sleep sessions. Listen ad-free to the Ten Percent Happier & More Than A Feeling podcasts. (Thank you Change Collective)

eQuoo: the Emotional Fitness Game - From psychologists and the makers of over 50 mobile games comes a game that teaches you psychological skills in a fun and captivating way – skills you need to deal with emotional and mental stressors in a healthy and productive fashion. Play your way towards mental resilience as you learn about cognitive processes in a safe and stimulating environment. Once a skill is learned, the game unlocks an interactive story where you need to use those skills to level up in the game. But the best part is that they are then readily available for real life situations, too! Boosting your mental wellbeing doesn’t have to be “work”! (Thank you PsycApps Ltd)

Lyf App: You’re Not Alone - Lyf is a social media app where users share highly personal aspects of themselves without the fear of judgment. Lyf users receive support during some of their most grueling, challenging, confronting, or even “embarrassing” stages of their lives from other people who have no preconceptions about their fellow Lyfers. Lyfers have the opportunity to connect with and chat to others on the same life paths or journeys; whether it’s a struggle or celebration, in Lyf, you aren’t alone. (Thank you Lyf App Pty Ltd)

Happify - Happify’s science-based activities and games can help reduce stress, overcome negative thoughts, and build greater resilience by providing effective tools and programs to improve emotional well-being. Our techniques are developed by leading scientists and experts who've been studying evidence-based interventions in the fields of positive psychology, mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy for decades. (Thank you Twill)

Twill Care - Twill Care (formerly Kopa) is a free app that supports five communities—Multiple Sclerosis, Psoriasis, Pregnancy, Well-Being, and Women & Midlife. Each community is unique, but all feature the same level of support, guidance, and connection that make it easier for you to take charge of your health and wellness—based on your needs. (Thank you Twill)

Yoga For Teens - This practice is designed for teens but beneficial for all ages. Light a fire in your core! Wake up third chakra energy for confidence, strengthen the back for a healthy spine! Practice self love and taking care of yourself! It gets easier with practice. Recognize the beauty within. (Thank you Yoga With Adriene)

Silk - Draw beautiful flowing art with Silk. With Silk's award-winning magic brush, anyone can be an artist. Relax, express yourself, and create mandalas and wallpapers. With the swish of a finger, Silk strands mingle and fuse, weaving together into wonderful works of art. (Thank you Yuri Vishnevsky)

Mandala Maker - welcome to our free online mandala maker. Easily create mandalas, spirals, snowflakes, and coloring pages. No prior knowledge needed. Just pick your color and start to draw inside the circle and make your own beautiful mandala. (Thank you Hangman Games Online)