Bonus: Wellbeing Tools and Tips

Adebusola Adisa of the Student Wellbeing team joins us to share some handy tips to carry forward in the new year.

This episode includes techniques to reduce stress and panic, as well as some great tools to help you manage your wellbeing without the need for any additional materials.

Listen along for a bitesized bonus of bliss, and relax...

Have a look at our Playlist to keep the chill vibes flowing.

Transcript

Milo Osun-Benjamin  00:05

Welcome to Student Life Radio. Thank you for joining us. Wishing you all a happy new year and hoping that it's all started well for you. Today, we've got a bit of a bonus, bite sized episode with Adebusola Adisa. She's going to share a few very valuable tools to help you get on the right foot and for the new year. So without any further ado, I'll let her take over.

Adebusola Adisa  00:33

Good afternoon, good evening, good morning to whenever you are listening to this episode. My name is Adebusola, Adisa. I am an international student mental health practitioner, and I am part of the Student Wellbeing service. The Student Wellbeing service here at the University of East London offer short term mental health support to students who might be experiencing any personal, any emotional or mental health difficulties.

Adebusola Adisa  01:04

 I wanted to share with you all some tools and strategies to support you with maintaining your well being. Aware that many people may experience stress, anxiety and might find that it's becoming quite overwhelming. And Maybe you're looking for tools to help you manage this. We hope with this episode that you'll find some of the tools and strategies helpful and able to implement them as part of your day to day routine and supporting you with your overall mental health.

Adebusola Adisa  01:37

 Please can I encourage you, if you do have any health conditions, that you do consult your GP prior to using any of these strategies. It is important to look after your well being. 

Adebusola Adisa  01:51

So there are many ways for you to be able to look at how you might want to manage stress. One way that can be quite helpful, and is evidence based, is a breathing technique. I am going to talk you through a breathing technique specifically for managing panic. However, it can also help with being able to manage anxiety. I would encourage you to find a quiet space somewhere where you're not going to be disturbed. And to try and practice this with me. 

Adebusola Adisa  02:26

Use step one, only if you are experiencing symptoms of panic.  For mild moderate anxiety, repeat step two only. Two to three cycles bring most panic attacks under control. Try not to count too fast and use a timer or a clock to begin with. 

Adebusola Adisa  02:47

Okay, so we'll start the breathing technique, which looks at placing one hand on your abdomen and the other on your chest. Without taking a deep breath in, hold your breath and count to 10.

Adebusola Adisa  03:09

Then breathe out, and think 'relax' or another calming word. 

Adebusola Adisa  03:16

The second step is to inhale slowly through your nose for three seconds. The hand on your abdomen should rise whilst the hand on your chest should stay relatively still. Then, exhale through your mouth for three seconds. Make a whooshing noise as you breathe out or exhale through your nose. The hand on your abdomen should fall as you exhale and think 'relax' or another calming word as you exhale.

Adebusola Adisa  03:54

 You've just completed one breath. You can repeat step 2 10 times, 10 breaths.

Adebusola Adisa  04:01

 You just completed one cycle of step one and step two.

Adebusola Adisa  04:34

 After a minute of breathing in and out or after 10 breaths, hold your breath again for 10 seconds to be able to enter the second cycle. Keep repeating this process for five minutes, or until you feel calmer. 

Adebusola Adisa  04:52

Remember this technique can be helpful for helping you manage stress and anxiety. Just continue to practice. By practicing this daily, it will feel a bit more natural and a bit more easy to remember the steps. 

Adebusola Adisa  05:11

Thank you for participating in the breathing technique. I'm also going to share with you the five ways of well being.

Adebusola Adisa  05:26

The five ways of well being are evidence based ways that can help your mental health and improve your well being. They can also help you feel a bit more positive and be able to get the most out of life.

Adebusola Adisa  05:41

One of the five ways of well being is to be able to connect. Being able to connect with others can be super powerful. Think about the good times that you have with friends, family, feeling like you have a sense of purpose, a sense of worth, being able to socialize, being able to get emotional support from those that are around you can be really powerful for your mental well being. 

Adebusola Adisa  06:07

When was the last time maybe you sent a text message to a friend or maybe you connected with an online community? Being able to maintain social connections are important for your well being. Today, think about some steps that you might want to take to help foster new relationships, or maybe the relationships that you currently have. Trying to make them more stronger and feeling even more connected. And when we think about connecting, think about trying to switch over your television or maybe play a game with your children, friends or family, having lunch with a colleague, volunteering at your local hospital or community group. There are many things that you can do to explore building connections. And also wanting to encourage you all not to try to rely on online connections only. They can be helpful, but do explore other ways in terms of maintaining close connections. 

Adebusola Adisa  07:11

The second way of well being is being physically active. So being active is not only good for your physical health, but also for your mental health. And being physically active can mean so many things for so many people. It could be dancing, it could be cycling, it could be going to the gym. Please, remember, you don't only have to go to the gym. There are other ways in which you can be physically active, taking a walk through your local park, taking a walk at university, walking along the Docklands, can all be a helpful way of supporting you with your well being. And let's not forget, we also have the SportsDock. So if you are wanting to engage in the gym or any other activities on campus, please, do use the resources that are available. And when it comes to physical activity, try to find activities that you enjoy, physical activities that make you feel good, and that can form part of your day to day routine. 

Adebusola Adisa  08:22

Another way of the five ways of well being is being able to learn new skills. Being able to learn new skills can have a powerful impact on your mental well being. Think about the confidence you might gain from learning something that was quite challenging, being able to achieve a goal, being able to learn new skills can help with not only boosting your self confidence, but also raising your self esteem. There might be something that you've been thinking about doing for some time. We are aware you are at university completing your studies, and we wish you all the best whilst you are completing your studies, we do want to encourage you to explore and maybe look at hobbies that you wanted to learn. 

Adebusola Adisa  09:07

Maybe it could be writing a blog, taking up a new sport, or learning to paint. Maybe there's a skill you've been wanting to learn and you've been putting off that YouTube video that you need to watch. Or maybe it might even be trying to learn something to cook. It could be taking on a new responsibility at work, or being able to mentor. Whatever it is, you being able to learn a new skill can be helpful for your mental well being. You are at university, so do you want to reassure you that there are support staff, and we are here to help you. Of course, we do want to encourage you outside of your academic studies, what else is it that you're wanting to learn? 

Adebusola Adisa  09:53

Another way of the five ways of well being is being able to give to others. Research shows that being able to support another person, being able to give your time or being able to share knowledge can be helpful for your mental well being. You know, think about being able to teach someone on your course a particular aspect that they might be struggling with, or being able to share with them some new knowledge. You know, it can create positive feelings of a sense of reward, a sense of purpose, and being able to help you connect with other people. It could even be just day to day, things like saying thank you, being able to give to others can help you with your mental well being. 

Adebusola Adisa  10:43

And lastly, with regards to the five ways of well being. Paying attention to the present moment, so mindfulness. So thinking right now where you are, where you may be seated, or where you may be standing. Being able to focus on the present moment can not only help you with not worrying about the future or thinking about maybe past regrets or things that have happened in the past, can be helpful for you in this moment. So this includes your thoughts, your feelings, the sensations in your body. And by paying attention to the present, it can not only help you feel more grounded, but can help you engage better with the present moment, but also support your overall well being. It can positively change the way you feel about yourself and life. 

Adebusola Adisa  11:43

Another tool that you might find helpful is from the dialectical behavior therapy. This is called TIPP. TIPP is a strategy from the distress tolerance module, which is about supporting you if you're experiencing distress and you're feeling quite anxious and you're needing support on how to manage it.

Adebusola Adisa  12:06

 The TIPP skill can be quite helpful in that it helps with changing your body chemistry. Each letter stands for a different activity. The T stands for temperature. When you might be experiencing intense emotions or high levels of distress, you may notice your body temperature becoming warmer. You might find that your heart rate starts to increase. T for temperature looks at how we can lower the temperature to help lower the levels of the stress or intense emotions that you are experiencing. If you do have any health conditions that impact on you being able to do this, please do speak with your GP prior to engaging within this. With the T, you may find it helpful to splash your face with cold water or take a cold shower. And as you are splashing your face with cold water, you can find that you can actually hold your breath for a few seconds, so maybe five to 10 seconds. And then coming out of the water and finding that your heart rate has decreased and also your body temperature, and you may find this helpful. 

Adebusola Adisa  13:32

The I stands for intense exercise. Intense exercise can be helpful again, in terms of supporting you with managing intense emotions. So it doesn't mean going to the gym, although you could. It could mean pacing up and down your stairs, or it could mean doing star jumps, or it could be doing any sort of intense activity there and there in the moment to support you with being able to manage stress. And the P is for PACE breathing. So this could mean engaging in any breathing exercise, including the one we just went through to support yourself in terms of managing stress. 

Adebusola Adisa  14:14

And then we also have the last P, which is the progressive muscle relaxation. This focuses on tensing muscles of your body one at a time to help reduce the level of stress. So you could start with a closed clenched fist, holding that for 10 seconds and then being able to release it. And then being able to curl your toes, curling them really tight for 10 seconds, and then being able to release it so it's being able to progressively tense each muscle of your body at a time to help you with managing stress and intense emotions. Please know the tip skill is encouraged for you to use often so that it does feel a bit more natural.

Adebusola Adisa  15:10

And the last tool that I wanted to share with you all was the Student Assistance Program. Here at the University of East London, we have a student well being program for you all that you can register with using your student email account. The Student Assistance Program is a 24/7 online platform that you can access at any time. The Student Assistance Program gives you support with being able to manage anxiety, support around low mood, support around stress. You have access to a 24/7 train counselor that you can speak to at any time. And if you download the application, you're able to access well being resources.

Adebusola Adisa  15:57

 So do remember there are tools and strategies to help support you with your mental well being. These are just a few that you might want to use or implement into your day to day. And do remember the student well being service are here to offer support, and if you would like to get into contact with us, simply email us at wellbeing@uel.ac.uk Thank You.