Stress Relief at the University of Birmingham

In spring 2011, this concept came out of Birmingham University. 

The University of Birmingham Disabled Students’ Officer (DSO) and Disability and Mental Health Students Association (DAMSA) are organising a Mental Health Awareness event for March 23rd and 24th 2011. March 23rd will be an introduction to mental health, where student groups will be running discussion events to help people learn more about what mental health is, before the main event on 24th: ‘How’s your mental health today?’

We hope that by taking this event onto campus as well as the Guild, we can reach every student on campus and promote the idea that everybody, not just those who define as having a mental health problem, has a mental health which needs caring for. This will help students to see the enhancement of mental health as part of a healthy lifestyle, both inside and outside of campus life.

To promote mental health care, we have teamed up with many university and student run support services and activities on campus will include, but not be limited to:

  • Yoga taster session and Thrive (nutrition) workshop by the Munrow Sports Centre
  • Body Image workshop by the Women’s Association 
  • Meditation with the Chaplaincy and Interfaith groups
  • Stress management workshop by University Counselling and Guidance
  • Introduction to Alternative Therapies by Well Naturally
  • Tours of the Winterbourne Botanical Gardens and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts to show students ‘safe’ quiet spaces on campus
  • A Nightline (student volunteer group) listening post
  • Coffee and cakes with DAMSA
  • Screening and discussion of a mental health film produced by the Guild TV society

In addition, the University has a mental health awareness officer who has contacts with Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health trust, and we are hoping that the trust and staff from the new mental health hospital will also come onto campus.

We hope that the benefits of such a day will encourage all students to engage in activities which will improve their mental health, as well as meet people and societies which will offer new friendship groups. We strongly believe that peer support is of utmost importance when it comes to mental health care, and a clear show of support on campus will help students to realise that all people have a mental health to take care of! When students realise that they have both professional and peer support on campus, this will give students more focus on mental wellbeing, making people happier and redirecting those who would otherwise have considered suicide, while those who continue to contemplate suicide will know where they can find support.

Although most of the activities will not require funding as they are student-led, we will not be able to promote this event outside of the Guild and reach the full 28,000 university students without help towards advertising costs. We need to promote this event to students through marketing (posters, banners, flyers, t-shirts and electronic messages and bulletins) on all campuses and halls of residence, to spread a message of mental wellbeing.

Cardiff Mental Wealth ‘Inner Child’ 2011

One of the award-winning ideas from 2011. We’ll post their viral video later !

We at Cardiff Mental Wealth want to provide students with a completely new experience to promote positive mental health. There is a time in all our lives when we are young, free and more often than not without serious emotional worries and the world is a plethora of explorative pleasures. We would like to offer students the opportunity to revisit this period in their lives and, in doing so, remind them of the more light-hearted and simple joys of life.

The event will be themed around the title ‘Get in Touch With Your Inner Child’. The university have this year introduced a health awareness day, of which mental health is a pivotal theme. They are looking for annual initiatives which can be replicated in future years, and are fully supportive of this event as part of that day. The timing of the event is such that many students will be going through the student’s union and will be able to participate in the activities.

We will be looking to bring in face painters, street performers, a bouncy castle, a ball pit and other professional entertainers for the day. We will also be running challenges revolving around Lego and Scalextric, and promoting creative expression through art. The idea is to encourage students to remember this period of developmental freedom and promote a feeling of self expression through nostalgic activities. Many of the activities will incur a cost, and without proper funding we would be far more limited in developing the event, and consequently the positive student impact we would hope to achieve. It would be preferable not to draw funds away from our publicity campaign which we’ve acquired through fundraising activities.

We feel that the activities will offer students a welcome break from the stresses and demands of university life that can manifest themselves as a more serious problem and potentially lead to student suicide in the long-term. The timing of the event will be especially appropriate given that it shortly follows the exam period, which is often a challenging time mentally and emotionally. We shall also be using the opportunity to engage with students about the concept of mental wealth and ways in which students can further understand and improve methods for good mental wellbeing. The event will be run by student volunteers who will be actively engaging with other students to make them aware of the service Mental Wealth provide and that numerous welfare organisations are available to them should they require it.

The event will be rigorously publicised both before and after to maintain continuity of the idea that positive mental wellbeing is achievable and that students should regularly consider ways of maintaining a healthy mental state.

Mental Wealth Wednesday!

A planned event from St Andrews in 2011. Maybe they will tell us how it went?

We are organising a day of events to promote wellbeing and mental health in St. Andrews. Mental Wealth Wednesday will take place on Wednesday 23rd February 2011. This will promote individual awareness of mental wealth and challenge stigma and silence surrounding mental health, in order to assert the support, caring and understanding that define our community. We aim to transform St. Andrews into a place where people can talk openly and comfortably to each other about their mental health, knowing that they will be treated fairly and considerately.

This project is conceived and led by students, including support volunteers and members of the Student Representative Council. We are working closely with staff from Student Services and sabbatical officers, and collaborating with student societies, the Athletic Union, local businesses and schools. The events aim to educate people about mental health and mental illness, and to encourage a healthy lifestyle to increase wellbeing. They include:

  • Laughter therapy workshop
  • Special Breakfasts in halls of residence
  • Film showings, provided by the Mental Health Foundation
  • Mental health awareness workshops, including suicide prevention, from Breathing Space
  • Chill out evening in a local cafe – including music, comedy and poetry
  • Events at our Sports Centre, promoting the importance of exercise for wellbeing.
  • Mindfulness Workshop
  • Community Art Competition with the backing of a local artist.

We have been working to identify where funds are most required. Whilst we are applying for limited funding from our Student Representative Council, this will not be enough to realise the potential of Mental Wealth Wednesday. It is essential that we publicise our events and our message widely and effectively for this project to be a success. If given a Papyrus award, we would spend these funds on publicity. Our innovative publicity campaign will:

  • Attract people to our events
  • Challenge and change attitudes and
  • Promote the concept of Mental Wealth
  • Be designed by the group, at no cost
  • Feature an extensive poster campaign throughout University buildings and the town
  • Involve a give-away of pots of blowing bubbles, with information on them about our events and mental health more widely. Reflecting one of our key taglines: ‘Bursting the bubble of stigma and silence’.
  • Create material (designs, banners, posters and more) that will outlast the campaign and be reused for future Mental Wealth events, to help ensure the sustainability of the campaign.

Mental Wealth Wednesday will be a popular and innovative event, instrumental in promoting wellbeing in our community. It will create a conversation around mental health, and pave the way for future events and campaigns in St. Andrews. The quality and scale of our publicity will create a strong image and encourage high attendance at all events. It is through this that we are confident that we can change attitudes towards wellbeing; reduce the chance of students developing mental health difficulties; improve the experience of those who already suffer difficulties and so really change the lives of students at St. Andrews.

Keep Calm And Love Life

KEEP CALM AND LOVE LIFE

A campaign concept from Cardiff University Mental Wealth Group


In the UK around 2,000 young people under the age of 35 take their own lives each year.

Some of them are students.

 

And suicide doesn’t just affect the individual involved; instead it leaves behind a trail of bewildered and devastated friends and family.

SO WHAT CAN BE DONE?

We cannot stop suicide from occurring; it has always been part of our society. But there is sufficient evidence prevention and intervention can go a long way in helping somebody STOP from making the decision to take that final irreversible step.

STIGMA: Students with experience of suicidal thoughts at Cardiff University have indicated that there was sufficient shame and anxiety in discussing their suicidal intentions with others due to fear of being dismissed as overly-dramatic or being forced into situations where they were constantly under surveillance. This relates to discussions with both friends and mental health professionals.

THERE IS A NEED TO TACKLE THESE ISSUES ACROSS UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES IN A STUDENT-FRIENDLY WAY.

Project proposal: KEEP CALM AND LOVE LIFE.

AIMS: 1)To initiate self-worth and higher levels of self-esteem we want to ask students to think of the reasons why they are alive and what benefits they bring to this world that nobody else can.

HOW WE ARE GOING TO DO THIS:

1)     Ask students to answer the simple question ‘why did you get out of bed this morning?’ Was it to see your friends, go to your lectures, go on a night out etc? Ask students to record these on camera, place these on our website, facebook twitter etc.

2)     Ask students to write these and place on boards around the SU.

3)     Do the same thing for the question ‘what do you do for others that is unique?’ ie are you good at making people laugh and smile etc, again camera, fb. Twitter.

See the Powerpoint Presentation for more! http://www.slideshare.net/mentalwealthuk/keep-calm