COPEScotland recognise that COVID19 has had some impact on all of us. Maybe in different ways, but very few people haven't been affected. It can feel as if our world has been shattered into pieces and nothing seems certain and the worry and uncertainty about what next, can feel overwhelming and we feel exhausted, worn out and yet knowing we need energy for what is still to come.

This wee booklet was put together as a Self-management tool, which you can use yourself, or share with others for mental wellbeing promotion. 

It can also be used in Guided self-help; this is where you work through the booklet with the support of a therapist as part of a mental ill-health intervention.

The booklet does invite you to reflect, and if you are still working through some issues, that reflecting on your own maybe not in your best interests, please, seek support for those issues. The workbook will still be there when you are in a place where you feel safe to use it.

There is a lot to the workbook, please take time to work through it at a pace which feels comfortable to you. If you have never used a workbook before for self-management, here are some tips you may find helpful:

• Do it because it matters to you and you think it will offer some value to your life
• Decide where and when you can have time to work through the materials so you can give it your full attention
• Decide if you need a self-management buddy, you can run ideas by, be a sounding board. This doesn't need to be a therapist unless you are also struggling with wider mental ill-health issues. A trusted and supportive family member, friend or peer can be a buddy.
• If you are doing this as an electronic version, save it so you can record and save your thoughts as you work through the workbook, and edit where you need to
• If you are doing this as a hard copy, think about using a pencil so you can rub out and edit where you need to
• Before you start each session using the workbook, perhaps visit the 3min relaxation video or some other technique which helps bring you into the moment, to give the workbook your attention
• Don't force it. If you find some sections are a struggle, leave it, come back another day
• The workbook itself offers some ideas to consider, some space to reflect, some tips to consider and invitations for you to decide what action you plan to take and when

The sections in the workbook cover the following areas:

• Introduction and examples of changes life can throw at us
• Internal and external changes
• Coping with change
• Reflecting on who sets the goals and decides the journeys in your life
• Self-care and wellbeing maintenance
• What's next having decided to make some changes
• Locus of control
• Confidence and self-esteem
• The Internal Voice
• Positive affirmations
• Relationships
• Enjoyment and achievement, finding balance
• Hobbies and interests
• Making time to be grateful
• Tips on Mindfulness

Our lives are like a complicated Jigsaw puzzle with a myriad of pieces and sometimes the lid of the box is missing so we don't even know what the complete picture is supposed to look like!

This workbook is one of many tools to help explore ways we can bounce back, bring the pieces together we need to get back our 'oomph' The Jigsaw of life isn't static, the pieces change, the landscape changes but we often have more control than we realise. This wee workbook is one way to begin to look at the pieces of our life and bring them together and begin to decide what we want the picture on our Jigsaw lid to look like

Like any complex puzzle, it takes time, even taking 15min a day to complete a section of the workbook and 15min a day to apply some new ideas in practice, over time, could add up to a lot and before you know it, the pieces are beginning to come together and those that may be missing you have some ideas how to find again. 

Remember. You matter people care, I care