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This page offers a variety of resources for self-care and wellbeing that you can access any time, including habits and skills that you can learn in order to improve general wellbeing and address some of the particular challenges you may be facing. Some have been created in-House, while others are from mental health charities or the University wellbeing team.  

How do I look after my wellbeing?

Developing a toolkit for managing our own wellbeing is an important part of our ongoing growth. This page provides some resources to support this journey; there are habits and skills that we can learn to improve our general wellbeing and address some of the challenges we may be facing. If you find that using these resources brings up questions or concerns and you'd like to speak with someone about your wellbeing, please do contact the Health and Wellbeing Team. 

The Five Ways To Wellbeing

The Five Ways to Wellbeing is based on substantial research, identifying five areas in which we can take steps ourselves to positively impact our wellbeing.  You can read more about each of the areas on the NHS website.  

a graphic representation of the five ways to wellbeing

Acknowledge and respond to your feelings

Whether we are feeling a lot of complex things, or we're feeling numb or 'flat' we may need to do a self check of what's going on, so we can respond in the most helpful way and start to feel better.  This feelings self-check tool may help as a first step, and this handout provides some practical actions you can try for each of these difficult feelings - we are all different so we each need to learn what works best for us. If you find something particularly helpful, make a note of it. 

University Wellbeing Service

Mindfulness

Many people find mindfuless practices helpful in managing stress and anxiety, and increasing general feelings of positive wellbeing. The University runs a lunchtime meditation drop in session Monday-Thursday between1.15pm -1.30pm during term time which staff are invited to attend. Further information can be found here.  You may also like to try this 'Bodyscan' three minute audio meditation.

Exercise

Even gentle exercise can help enormously with our overall wellbeing - and sitting still for long periods staring at a screen can cause problems with our joints and eyesight, as well as having a negative impact on our mental health. The resources below may help you find a way of getting your body moving that works for you.

  • Be gentle with yourself – if you haven’t exercised in a while and are thinking of starting something new, be gentle at first, and make sure to warm up and warm down thoroughly to avoid injuring yourself, and perhaps try something low impact to begin with. 
  • YOGA with Adriene free online videos
  • NHS fitness studio - instructor-led aerobics, strength and resistance, pilates and yoga
  • The University Sport Service will also be updating their resources regularly
  • BBC Sport also provides a catalogue of resources to support everyday exercising at home, without equipment.
  • The Couch to 5k programme is a popular way to start exercising for the first time and to make good use of our permitted daily exercise. 

Get outside

The working day can feel quite busy and it can be really beneficial to take a break and build in some time outside each day. You might like to try some of these ways of making a walk more interesting:

  • Download one of these apps to your phone, and use it to help you identify local plants and wildlife.
  • Take some pictures on your phone - get creative using different camera angles, and even reflections in puddles to see your local area in a new way
  • Walk with a friend. 
  • If you find it motivating to set yourself a target, you can use a pedmoter or sports watch to count your steps or your distance, or a running app to track your route - some people have even managed to make their walks or runs wheel-shaped! 

If you can't get out for a real walk...

Sleep

Poor sleep can make us irritable, and more prone to forgetfulness and problems concentrating, which in turn can make us feel more anxious and less at ease with ourselves. Getting enough sleep can help boost our general wellbeing.

  • Stay off the screen – looking at a screen in the couple of hours before we go to sleep can make it harder to drift off
  • Check the temperature – most people struggle to sleep if they are too hot or too cold. Having the room slightly colder than you think, but using a hot water bottle to warm the bed itself may help.
  • Avoid caffeine and alcohol – we know that caffeine is a stimulant, but alcohol can also reduce the quality of your sleep.
  • Develop a routine to calm your thoughts – this might include meditation, mindfulness or breathing exercise (such as these), reading something light or listening to part of an audiobook.
  • Peace and quiet – if you are bothered by noise, you may find it helpful to wear earplugs while you sleep, and even consider using white noise to help mask unexpected sounds.