We’re here for you during this difficult year. On this page, we’ve collected useful guides, links, events and activities to help support good mental health.
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week. We’re here for you throughout the year, but this is a good time for us to be thinking about how we can help ourselves mentally and physically.
The theme for Mental Health Awareness Week this year is nature. There is a clear link between spending time in nature and positive wellbeing, as you may have discovered over the course of the last year!
Spending time with nature, either in the great outdoors or by caring for your plants or animals, can be a huge mood booster – it can help reduce stress, enable you to feel relaxed, improve your physical health, help you be more active, support your self-esteem, and more!
In collaboration with the Sustainable UCL team, we’ve brought together some tips on how to enhance your wellbeing from nature – even when you’re in the depths of revision or essay writing:
Take breaks with nature
Term 3 can mean we spend a lot of time indoors revising. Make sure you take screen breaks in nature. You can do this by having lunch in a park, meeting up with friends outdoors, or by going for a short trip around the block on wheels or on foot. Just walking along a quiet road with trees instead of a busy road can help reduce stress.
Green your space
Watching a plant (or five) grow can be hugely rewarding, and seeing leaves unfurl over a few days is pretty special. If you’re lucky enough to have some outdoor space, or even if you only have space indoors, why not try your hand at planting! Swap seeds with friends to save money, take cuttings to provide plants for your roommates, or grow some vegetables to save money on veg. Caring for something else may help you care for yourself too.
Mark out time to do something in nature
If you’re in London, there are some amazing natural spaces, so why not explore? Near campus, we’re lucky to have Regent’s Park, a good spot to enjoy some lunch whilst watching the giraffes at London Zoo. We’ve also got Primrose Hill, Hampstead Heath and countless parks scattered across London, with canal paths and walkways interlinking them.
UCL research shows that bringing nature into urban environments can improve wellbeing, increase climate-resilience, and improve air quality. Sustainable UCL’s Wild Bloomsbury project is doing just that. They aim to add 10,000m2 of extra biodiverse space by 2024 to create a healthy and liveable Bloomsbury for everyone. For more tips and to find out about their work, visit UCL’s Wild Bloomsbury webpage.
There is no better way to give your mind a little breather and your soul some rest than to take some time out for yourself or move your body.
There are plenty of events happening for you to get involved with. We’ve got activities from Students’ Union UCL and Student Support and Wellbeing staff, to help you to look after your body and mind.
Student Support and Wellbeing are running sessions to help you manage anxiety, think about productivity and focus on your mindset, and there are also Project Active sessions, where you can get involved in exercise and sports, no matter whether you’re a beginner or expert.
All classes are free, open to all, and suitable for any level of experience or fitness.
Life is anything but normal at the moment and it’s a strange and difficult time for everyone.
With all the information out there, it’s difficult to know where to start so we’ve done the research for you and have found some great websites, apps and tips on how to keep your mind and body healthy.
For a start, UCL Student Support and Wellbeing comprises a range of services and resources for students at all levels. They’ve got same-day appointments with advisers, counselling, and a huge collection of resources for mental health and wellbeing in general, as well as support for specific concerns including depression and anxiety.
Look through the website to find out how you can be supported and how to get in touch. Members of UCL staff can get support from Workplace Health.
Use the guides below to find useful websites, apps and support services.
Whatever happens, we’re here to support you.
Student Support and Wellbeing Students’ Union UCL Advice Service