A healthy mind - Wellbeing Week 2015

Wellbeing. It sounds like an HR buzzword doesn’t it?

Actually, no – when you really try to understand it, the word is so much more than unsubstantiated jargon. The definition of wellbeing is essentially a healthy state of mind and physical form. With all the talk about stress management with work piling up, I decided to write about what the University of Southampton itself is actively doing to promote happiness amongst its students and staff.

From the 12th until the 26th of November is the University’s Wellbeing Event for 2015. This fortnight-long event offers workshops, performances and talks for all staff and students for free.

The University is known for its state-of-the-art facilities for ground-breaking research. I went to find out about a project scientists here have been working on…

Have you had a busy day? Your smartphone can help!

One of the talks introduced us to something Southampton health experts have been working on: an app called “HealthyMind.” It is a FREE android app that has been designed using cognitive behaviour therapy techniques and mindfulness theory.

You can get it from the Healthy Mind website or buy it from the android app store.

But don’t I spend too much time on my phone already?

Actually, the app has been designed to integrate to a hectic lifestyle. I do find that I often deal with stress by not even acknowledging that I feel that way. Instead of talking about it to friends or family, I ignore the issue and vent my frustrations in unhealthy forms. This can be through over-eating, drinking, or even losing sleep by staying up till 4 in the morning trawling through social media.

The screenshots below show how the app helps with these problems by encouraging calmness and lifting your mood. It promotes being mindful of your mental state and being able to talk about it as opposed to masking it.

Screenshots of the app. It’s okay to take a moment to take in what’s going on. 

The student lifestyle is fast paced, chasing deadline after deadline. If, like myself, you find yourself easily overwhelmed – as if no matter what task you accomplish for the day it still is never enough – having an app like HealthyMind is your buddy.

Using modern technology to beat the pressures of modern life 

A few years ago, the norm was to give ourselves an hour or so on the computer every day. Today we are connected to mobile internet 24/7. Instead of allocating non-disrupted time surfing the web, we now use it regularly in incredibly short bursts. The app has been designed to work with this cultural change. In fact, instead of making your hectic lifestyle worse, it takes you away from it.

However, one challenge the University’s experts have tried to overcome is preventing its users from finding the app obsolete and deleting it after a few days. Apps are often free nowadays and are thus incredibly disposable. So, the clever developers at Southampton and the US have been working closely with focus groups to make sure the service keeps itself non-intrusive. Instead of sending countless annoying notifications, the app senses when it’s the most appropriate time for you to use its service. This app is just an example of one of the cutting edge researches being conducted by experts here.

What else is going on?

Don’t forget that there are more wellbeing events coming up in the next few days. There’s the theatre performance of ‘Groomed’ which is a contemporary drama that explores the ever pertinent issue of sexual experiences. It is written and performed by Patrick Sandford who was Artistic Director of the Nuffield Theatre on Highfield Campus for 24 years. There will also be a ‘Letting Go of Stress’ course at Southampton General Hospital.

Happy stress-busting!

Rylyn

Recharging your mental batteries

As Emma pointed out in her last post, we’re now roughly at the half-way point of the semester, or perhaps just past it. Half way between the excitement of Freshers’ Week and the joy of Christmas, and it’s usually at this stage in the term where things start to lag a little bit mentally.

It’s perfectly natural to start to feel a little tired by this point; in fact, it’s highly likely that you will be, I know I am.

This doesn’t mean you’re bored, or you’re fed up; it just means that you’ve had a lot of fun, you’ve worked really hard, and now you’re more than welcome to take a few days or so to recharge that mental battery.

This won’t be true of everyone, obviously: we’re all different; beautiful and unique snowflakes as a strange, fictional philosopher once said. So if you’re not feeling the urge to slow down just yet, that’s perfectly fine too. The important thing though is that if you do find yourself losing the capacity to work or if you start to feel jaded at all with anything in any way, do allow yourself some time off. We’re all human, after all.

I say this now because just this past week, I took some time off myself to refresh and re-energise, re-evaluate my working mindset, and you know what? I’ve never felt better.

Part of this came from the fact that I happened to be graced with a reading week (basically, a week without lectures), and so, with so much extra time suddenly to myself I figured I would do something I’d never really done very much whilst here at the University: visit home.

My reasons for not doing so more often are pretty varied; from the fact that it’s quite a slog on the trains, and that I usually find myself too busy to make the trip, but this semester all the pieces just seemed to fall into place and so, I found myself Essex-bound for the first time in nearly two months.

I never thought I would miss this empty little train station back home 

Aside from the trip being a pleasant change of scenery, it also really helped me to kick into play what I just talked about: recharging those mental batteries. Again, it differs from person to person, but for me, home is very much one of the only places I can properly switch off my brain and just enjoy doing nothing of importance, so it was insanely lovely to spend a weekend doing so. With my deadlines pretty much out of the way for the time being, and a decent-sized gap before the next set, it was the perfect occasion to relax and regather some enthusiasm.

It’s safe to say that it definitely worked. After even just a few days in the comfort of home, away from producing radio shows and editing articles, I felt very much on top of things again; 100% ready to conquer whatever work awaited me back in Southampton. Even the journey back was more painless than ever as that good old positive mindset took over. There is really no match for being well-rested.

Catching the fireworks in my local park at home was a perfect way to end a relaxing few days away

So, the moral of today’s post is simply this: allow yourself the time to rest and recharge. Whether it’s a weekend away, an afternoon with Netflix or an hour spent power-napping, take care of yourself and all the wonders and challenges of university life seem to take significantly less effort to master.

Even if you can’t manage a trip home, there are plenty of ways to keep yourself smiling.

Ben

Let's talk about mental health

This is something that I’ve wanted to write about since I started writing for Life at Southampton, but I have always managed to think of something else to write about…perhaps to avoid talking about mental health.

At the end of second year I suffered a series of panic attacks and was subsequently diagnosed with anxiety and depression. I hadn’t wanted to admit that I was struggling; even day-to-day tasks were becoming difficult and even just talking to people or leaving the house to go anywhere other than the library was becoming impossible. I convinced myself that I was just focusing on work, I was just busy and under a lot of pressure – that how I was feeling was normal. It wasn’t until I hit a crisis point that I went to the GP and admitted something was wrong. Since then things have gotten better, and I wish I had spoken to someone sooner, before I let it get as far as it did – but it’s still hard to talk about.

My experience, it turns out, is similar to the experiences of so many students, not just at Southampton but all over the UK. The transition to University is one of the most dramatic transitions that young people today face. Countless studies have shown that the prevalence of mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders are significantly higher amongst student populations – yet somehow, unbelievably, mental health isn’t something that’s commonly discussed before you move to University. For some reason, we still have this concept of mental health disorders as something you can ‘just get over’.

So, the first message that I want to get across is: if you notice that you aren’t coping well, that your habits have changed, you’re becoming withdrawn, or eating differently – talk to someone.

 The first point of contact could be a friend, your GP (the GPs at the University Health Service were extremely knowledgeable and helpful), or Enabling Services within the University (who run drop in sessions from 1pm to 3pm Monday to Friday during term time).

Also Masters students, PhD’s and Postdoc’s, listen up! Those studying a PhD are the most at risk of developing a mental health disorder, so all of this applies to you as well.

If you speak to your GP, they might recommend that you seek out some form of counselling, either through Enabling Services (which is free) or through NHS Steps2Wellbeing (also free), which offers counselling and treatments such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for various illnesses.

Something that has frustrated me immensely is the cliché that an eating disorder is only anorexia or bulimia, and that it only affects women. This is not true! Men and women are equally at risk of developing an eating disorder, which can manifest in any number of different ways. What’s important is that you recognise that you know you best. If you notice that your eating habits have changed, or that you feel differently about food, that’s when you need to talk to someone. Eating disorders are best cured right at the start, before they have time to take hold and do irreparable damage.

The key thing to know is that you are so not alone, and that in Southampton there is so much help available.

For instance, the University has launched a new counselling service where students have been trained to act as ‘buddies’ for people who are finding it hard to adjust. They are trained in confidential listening techniques and have loads of advice for students who don’t know what to do next.

Charities such as 'Student Minds - Southampton' offer support groups, events and training, and runs campaigns aimed at raising awareness. Visit their Facebook page for more information.

The University offers a number of specialised treatments and outreach services so that there is ALWAYS someone for you to talk to, at any time, in Southampton.

Emma