Deadlines are once again upon us here in Falmouth and if you’re anything like me that fact comes with a healthy serving of stress. The student run initiative Creative Minds: Study Net recognised this and teamed up with Mind, one of the countries leading mental health charities, to give a talk on the ways in which we can avoid pulling our hair out in this challenging season.
Jo Boulton, a Project Coordinator for Carrick branch of Mind, was there to speak on her tips for managing stress. She said: “First of all I think its accepting that stress is quite normal, you don’t have to medicalise it, it doesn’t mean you’re ill, it’s just a normal reaction to being under pressure and I think it helps to look at things including lifestyle, diet, exercise and those sorts of things. Making sure that you’re looking at breaking things down, managing timetables, getting help and support from the university. Also taking regular breaks and time out.”
The talk took place in Falmouth’s own FullBloom tea room and centred around the idea of finding creative spaces for work, in order to help with the stresses of studying.
I spoke with Ryan Falshaw, one of the events organisers, on why he chose to partner with Mind. He said: “There was a good mix of their views and ours, which give out the message that we have about creating the right mental space in your head to be able to study well and take the stresses in life and make them work for you.” Adding: “We are looking to work on the benefits of good working environments on mental health and keeping a positive attitude.”
Beyond stress that affects most of us on a day to day basis, studies show one in four people in the UK will experience some form of mental health issue. These can include depression and anxiety. Issues such as these have the potential to negatively affect work during times of high stress. Jo Boulton outlined some of her suggested resource for those struggling in the video below.