Spikey's Deck of Remedies is one of the results of the Erasmus + project in the field of youth called Spikey's Clinic for Professional Dreamers. The project was designed in spring 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when the topic of mental health and work-related stress became more relevant than ever.

Back then, many of us youth workers felt chronically tired, emotionally drained and with lots of worries on our minds. A big portion of this stress came from work – supporting youngsters in handling the pandemic, trying to implement activities when there were continuous lockdowns, and being worried about ensuring the financial sustainability of our organisations when the funding was scarce.

While everyone talked about staying strong through tough times and preached about resilience, we had a sudden realisation, our big aha moment: We'd spent so much time and energy supporting others during the pandemic that we neglected our own well-being and forgot to take care of ourselves. This realisation hit us like a ton of bricks, and we knew we had to team up and help each other do something about it.

This is how Spikey’s Clinic for Professional Dreamers came to life and its founders were us – professional dreamers from five organisations active in the fields of youth work and community development: Subjekt d.o.o. (Croatia, lead partner), Cooperativa Sociale Immaginaria A R.L. Onlus (Italy), Fundacja Edukacyjna Nausika (Poland), Larpifiers AMKE (Greece), and Nansen Dijalog Centar (Croatia).

In addition to this card deck, we developed a detailed methodology based on the best practices from the partner organisations in well-being, peer coaching and stress management. Moreover, we conducted 25 interviews with youth workers, in which they shared their firsthand experiences dealing with workplace stress and adopting nurturing practices. You can find these resources by browsing through the website www.spikeysclinic.eu.

Finally, along our journey of discovering strategies to address work-related stress and nurture well-being in youth work, our team experienced many transformative moments. These included the tragic loss of one of the project's founders and the joyful birth of five babies who grew alongside the project.

We dedicate this project to them – to Valerij Jurešić who poured his heart into Spikey’s creation, and to the new lives that emerged alongside its growth. May their stories continue to inspire us to persist in the face of challenges and serve as a gentle reminder to prioritise the nurturing of well-being.

Spikey's Deck of Remedies is a set of 42 cards that offers practical assistance to youth workers and organisations in dealing with work-related stress. Each card in the deck is matched with a self-care activity, making it simple to put into action.

Our main aim was to create easy-to-use and transferable tools for nurturing well-being and the prevention of burnout for youth workers. We envisioned these tools as remedies that could support both experienced and new youth workers, empowering them to handle everyday stress at work more efficiently.

We believe that these 42 Remedies can offer a fresh perspective on the importance of play and the need to unwind and enjoy oneself, novel ways to approach existing problems, out-of-the-box thinking and creativity. Most importantly, they can help youth workers enhance their empathy and communication skills, enabling them to better recognise and express their needs in the workplace.

Each of the 42 cards represents a self-care tool or remedy designed to assist you during moments of stress.

When you click on a card, you will find instructions on how to practice these self-care tools. You will notice that each card is an activity that has its name and described aim. The duration indicates the approximate time required for completion, while categories offer guidance for enhancing specific aspects of self-care. These categories include: Mindfulness, Relaxation, Self-Care, Personal Growth, Creativity, Embodiment, and Fun. Remedies are graded on a scale from 1 to 5, with level 1 denoting the simplest activities and level 5 indicating those that may demand more time and effort.

There are several ways how you can use this deck.

You can look at the illustrations on the cards and select the one that attracted you the most. Each card has a short description that appears when you flip it and that can give you an idea of what to expect.

If you would prefer to do a certain type of activity, for example, you are in the mood to do something creative, you can search by category. By selecting Creativity, the website will offer you only cards that are in this category.

Alternatively, the most playful option is Shuffle when the website chooses a random card for you. Click on it, read the description, and do the practice. If you are not in the mood to do the suggested, you can shuffle the cards and try again.

We also invite you to be creative and discover your own methods for using the cards. For example, if you find yourself feeling stuck or facing a dilemma, you can select a card and engage in its corresponding practice to gain fresh insights. Additionally, you can use them in a similar way like metaphorical cards to encourage conversation about different topics.

Spikey's Deck of Remedies provides something for everyone to explore and try in their journey toward self-care. Whether it is finding time to relax, move your body, or simply have fun, we hope these remedies offer a valuable resource for supporting your well-being.