Although I am planning for my mental health animations to be aimed at primary school aged children, the University of Lincoln’s student wellbeing centre has a lot of helpful resources with information that is beneficial to my research. On the wellbeing site there is a section for self-help guides that provide information on managing stress, eating well, relaxation and mindfulness etc.
Managing stress
What causes stress?
Stress is a perfectly natural felling to experience and can be caused by many different things. As a student, some of the most common causes of stress include:
- Deadlines
- Exam preparation
- Academic pressure
- Expectations of yourself
- The need to impress others
- Busy schedule
- Poor sleep
- Poor eating habits
Ways to manage stress
Open up
Talking to someone can help to rationalise issues. Friends, family, teachers, whoever your are most comfortable with, opening up and talking can really help to eleviate some of the stress felt.
Manage your time
Using diaries or planners can help you to organise your time and make sure that your are using your time efficiently so you feel less stressed about the work you need to get done. Writing every day list that also include normal day to day activities can also help to make sure you are making the most of each day and hopefully reduce the stress felt towards deadlines and academic pressure.
Take breaks
Making sure to take regular breaks throughout the day will help to keep your mind active and healthy. Staring at a screen for long hours each day without taking a break can be very bad for your mental health and cause you to lose motivation in working. Regular breaks helps to give the mind some time to rest a rejuvenate so you are able to work at 100% performance on work.
Get some fresh air
Going out for a walk can help reduce feelings of stress. Getting away from where you normally do work and getting some fresh air can help to reduce the stress and replenish feelings of calmness.
Look after yourself
When feeling stressed, we are often guilty of not looking after ourselves. Making sure you get enough sleep, eating properly and regularly, exercising, spending time with others are just some of the fundamentals of looking after oneself.
Bibliography
https://cpb-eu-w2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/dist/4/8317/files/2019/07/Stress-2.pdf