Start a Conversation – University Mental Health Day

Would you know what to say to a friend or colleague if you suspected they were struggling with their mental health, and possibly having thoughts about suicide?

Today (Thursday 7th March) is University Mental Health Day, and Loughborough University is using its voice to ‘start a conversation’.

During transitions and periods of emotional distress, such as leaving home for the first time and arriving at university, some students can feel alone, isolated and at times have thoughts about death.

There are many support services available at Loughborough University and sometimes a friend, academic or warden will see signs that a student is having difficulties.

However, there are also things which staff and students can do to make people feel less alone and more confident to share difficult feelings.

This year the University is asking the Loughborough Family to pledge to start a conversation.

Specifically, we are asking you to pledge to:

  • Start a conversation if you feel overburdened or worried
  • Start a conversation with a friend, family member or colleague if you are worried about them
  • Start a conversation and ask for help if you need it
  • Keep an eye out for warning signs in others

The University’s Mental Health Team will be out and about on campus today with plaques featuring each of the messages above.

They are asking students to consider making one of these pledges, and if they feel confident enough, to share photos of themselves with the plaques on social media, using the hashtags #startaconversation and #lborofamily.

Below are some tips of what to do if you are concerned about someone:

  • Things to look out for – whether it is a friend, supervisee or colleague, know the signs to look out for. These include changes in behaviour, a loss of interest in activities or talking about hopelessness or feeling alone.
  • Offer help – There’s no better way to show that you’re a kind, approachable person than to be helpful. If you find yourself in a situation where you can lend a hand, do it. For example: “It looks like you are having a difficult time, do you need any support?”
  • Show empathy – Empathy is the skill of being with someone and showing that you understand their perspective. For example, as an academic you may have experienced the pressure or anxiety linked to research, so by talking to and showing your understanding to a colleague or student it can really help them.
  • Be authentic – Showing that you genuinely care and are worried about an individual’s wellbeing is the first step in an interaction. E.g. “I’ve noticed you’ve not been around a lot lately and I’m worried about you, is there anything I can do to help?”
  • Know where to go next – Having an understanding of both the University and wider community support services that can help students who are experiencing mental ill health or emotional distress is a good place to start.

The University has a Medical Centre on site, Wellbeing Advisers within Academic Schools, a Student Advice and Support Service, alongside Mental Health and Counselling Services.

The Library also has its own range of Mood-Boosting and ‘Books on Prescription’ self-help works among our Leisure Reading collection upstairs on Level 4.

The local community can offer support through the NHS’s Let’s Talk Wellbeing service, as well as Harmless – which supports people bereaved by suicide – and Turning Point, which offers a 24-hour crisis helpline.

The Start a Conversation website also offers advice and resources. Should you require urgent help, visit the Leicestershire NHS webpages for contact details.

Exam Support Resources On Campus

Worrying about your exams? Don’t panic – there are a wide range of resources available on campus to help you through the stresses and strains of the exam period, ranging from a wide variety of study spaces (that’s right, not just us!), IT help and personal and medical advice if things are getting on top of you. Visit the University’s one-stop exam support page here – https://www.lboro.ac.uk/students/exam-support/ – for more info.

Beating Stress the Library Way!

As today is National Stress Awareness Day, it’s a good time to remind you of the many ways the Library can help you to keep calm and carry on.

We offer a useful range of online advice sheets, covering everything from essay writing to revision skills – and stress busting!  We stock also stock an extensive range of self-help reading among the Mood Boosting and Books on Prescription range among our Leisure Reading section up on Level 4. To say nothing of the vast array of the latest fiction, biographies and graphic novels to help take your mind off your textbooks.

And if you’re getting stressed about finding information for your coursework, don’t panic – ask your Academic Librarian! Not only are they specialists in the knowledge areas for your particular Schools, they’re also very friendly and just love being asked questions! They also run, throughout the year, a series of Get the Know How sessions about practically every aspect of academic advice – sort of like our advice sheets, only with a friendly human face 🙂

Outside the Library, the University also provides specialist help with the mental rigours of academic life courtesy of the University Counselling Service, which offers a broad range of services ranging from one-to-one meetings with their experienced staff of fully trained counsellors, to online self-help resources and workshops tackling a variety of issues and topics including homesickness and meditation.

National Stress Awareness Day raises awareness about stress, how to prevent it and how to manage it once it occurs. Further resources on beating stress can be found on their website.

(Sadly Charlie the Cat isn’t available to borrow!)

Don’t Panic! Extra Exam Support on Campus

It’s that time of the year again! But don’t panic – there are a wide range of resources available on campus to help you through the stresses and strains of the exam period, ranging from a wide variety of study spaces (that’s right, not just us!), IT help and personal and medical advice if things are getting on top of you. Visit the University’s one-stop exam support page here – http://www.lboro.ac.uk/internal/news/2018/january/exam-support.html – for more info.

Don’t Panic! Exam Support on Campus

The Library may seem like hub of all exam activity on campus, but there are a variety of other study facilities and support hubs student can fall back on during the exam period. To that effect, the University have created a simple one-stop shop web site detailing all the study support and learning facilities available right now on campus, ranging from study spaces and computer labs to personal support should things start to get on top of you.

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/students/exam-support/

University Mental Health & Wellbeing Day

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On Wednesday 9th March Loughborough’s Student Union will bring you the annual University Mental Health and Wellbeing Day. From 11am to 4pm there will be a flurry of activities, interactive stalls and experiences for everyone to enjoy and participate in. Head down to the Piazza and Room One this Wednesday between 11am and 4pm to pick up your free ‘Heads Together’ goodie bag and support mental health.

The theme of the day Heads Together strives to promote a unified approach in all of our attitudes towards mental health. The free flowing atmosphere and flexible agenda of the day should enable people to make the most of the day.

In attendance will be representatives from local support services such as the Charnwood Mental Health Network, the Mental Health Association Heads Up as well as the Disability Support Network and other various University Support Teams.

Events throughout the day include a Mindfulness Tipi in Room One, Recovery Tree, Art Therapy Corner, live acoustic performances, spoken word, Nightline Chat and Chill to promote their new instant messaging service as well as a Self Help Selfie station, so go down and take a self help selfie and see your selfie be collage on the Self Help Selfie collage.

We’ll be running a Library stall down at the Union too, between 11am-3pm, extolling the virtues of our mood-boosting and leisure reading ranges and asking you to ‘leave a leaf’ on our very own library tree by telling us what your favourite book is.

You can also follow the National Mental Health and Wellbeing Day on Twitter with #HeadsTogether

Further Support During the Exam Period

banner-lboroThe University have compiled a helpful web page detailing all the resources available to students during the January exam period, covering the availability of study spaces and computer labs across campus (no, the Library isn’t the only place to study!) along with details and links to the many and various other means of academic and personal support you can receive from the University at this busy and stressful time.

Be sure to bookmark it for further reference – it’s available here:

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/students/exam-support/

Mental Health Awareness Week at the LSU

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The Student Union is participating in a local initiative to raise awareness of mental health this week – particularly relevant at this busy time of year for students!

The Charnwood Mental Health network, which is made up of organisations from across Charnwood, is supporting the campaign to encourage people to take time out of their daily routines to relax and help improve their wellbeing. The activities will take place from Monday, May 11th to Friday, May 15th. The full timetable of events is displayed above. Activities will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Don’t forget that the Library has a wide variety of different resources to help you cope with the stresses and strains of academic life, including an extensive range of self-help reading among our Mood Boosting and Books on Prescription range on the shelves of our Leisure Reading section up on Level 4.

For more information on Mental Health Awareness Week visit http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/

Depression Awareness Week

ImageGenAs this week is Depression Awareness Week, and with the start of term and the exam season looming, we thought it was a good time to remind you of some of the ways we can help you through this potentially fraught time of the year.

We’ve prepared a range of useful study modules on Learn under the banner of Learning Central Online, ten units on a variety of topics which will help take the stress out of your work by enabling you to further enhance your information literacy and study skills and hopefully your degree classification. The skills you learn here can be used both in your studies and when you go out to work. We also offer a handy Stress help sheet, with helpful tips on how to minimise stress, which is free to download, and we stock an extensive range of self-help reading among the Mood Boosting and Books on Prescription range among our Leisure Reading section up on Level 4.

And if you’re getting stressed about finding information for your coursework, don’t panic – ask your Academic Librarian! Not only are they specialists in the knowledge areas for your particular Schools, they’re also very friendly and just love being asked questions!

The University also provides specialist help with the mental rigours of academic life courtesy of the University Counselling Service, which offers a broad range of services ranging from one-to-one meetings with their experienced staff of fully trained counsellors, to online self-help resources and workshops tackling a variety of issues and topics including homesickness and meditation.

Depression Awareness Week is organised annually by the charity Depression Alliance, who have a wide range of helpful advice on their website here.