1. Connect:

Good relationships are important for your mental wellbeing

2. Be Active:

Being active is not only great for your physical health and fitness

3. Take Notice:

Some people call this awareness "mindfulness". Mindfulness can help you enjoy life more and understand yourself better. It can positively change the way you feel about life and how you approach challenges.

4. Keep Learning:

Even if you feel like you do not have enough time, or you may not need to learn new things, there are lots of different ways to bring learning into your life.

5. Give:

It could be small acts of kindness towards other people, or larger ones like volunteering in your local community.

Find out more

What are 5 things you can see?

Look around you and notice 5 things you hadn’t noticed before. Maybe a pattern on a wall, light reflecting from a surface, or a knick-knack in the corner of a room.

What are 4 things you can feel?

Maybe you can feel the pressure of your feet on the floor, your shirt resting on your shoulders, or the temperature on your skin. Pick up an object and notice its texture.

What are 3 things you can hear?

Notice all the background sounds you had been filtering out, such as an air-conditioning, birds chirping, or cars on a distant street.

What are 2 things you can smell?

Maybe you can smell flowers, coffee, or freshly cut grass. It doesn’t have to be a nice smell either: maybe there’s an overflowing trash can or sewer.

What is 1 thing you can taste?

Pop a piece of gum in your mouth, sip a drink, eat a snack if you have one, or simply notice how your mouth tastes. “Taste” the air to see how it feels on your tongue.

1. Write a list of whatever’s on your mind.

Try not to filter yourself or second-guess whether you should add something to the list or not. The goal is to clear out the nooks and crannies of your brain.

2. Dig deeper

To make sure you’re not forgetting anything, here are some things to think about: What’s due in the next week or month? What appointments are upcoming or need to be made? What home tasks do you want or need to do? If anything, new has come to mind, add it to your brain dump list.

3. Eliminate, delegate and postpone

At this point, your list might be incredibly long. To avoid getting overwhelmed, review your list and see if anything can be eliminated, delegated, or postponed

4. Create categories

Next to each item on your list, write down the category it belongs to. These categories are totally up to you depending on your lifestyle

Focus on the colours and the sensation of your pencil against the paper, rather than trying to draw something in particular. You could use a mindfulness colouring book or download mindfulness colouring images

There are colouring books and pens/pencils available in the UUSU spaces on each campus

This involves sitting quietly and focusing on your breathing, your thoughts, sensations in your body and the things you can hear around you. Try to bring you focus back to the present if your mind starts to wander. Many people also find that yoga helps them to concentrate on their breathing and focus on the present moment.

Save prompts in a notebook or on your phone to answer and reflect on your own growth. A few include –

• What good thing happened today?
• If it was a bad day, how can I improve tomorrow?
• What is the best compliment you received?
• What are you looking forward to today/tomorrow/this week?
• 10 interesting facts about yourself
• Write a letter to your younger/future self
• Make a list of people who believe in you no matter what
• What emotions did you feel today and when?
• Look for shadow work prompts on pinterest

Create a plan to support your mental health and cover four areas –

• 1. Signs of burnout
• 2. Ways to help myself
• 3. People I can rely on
• 4. Good reminders

• Recognize what is going on

Recognise the feeling you are experiencing. Name it if you can

• Allow the experience to be there, just as it is

Allow the feeling just to be there. It will pass, just like rain

• Investigate with interest and care

Investigate the feeling with kindness. How does it feel in your body? Where do you feel it most? Can you feel your feet touching the ground?

• Nurture with self-compassion

This emotion is not who you are. The feeling will go away, you don't have to hang onto it