by Bill Sheate
What are your dreams and expectation of university?
As the 2024-25 academic year begins you may be embarking on your dream course, or maybe you have all sorts of expectations of what university life will be like. Give yourself time to settle in, make friends, socialise - your social network (and by that I mean in-real-life friends and colleagues!) will provide you with the base from which to celebrate the good stuff and cope with the problems in life.
Here are a few of the common issues many students find can end up occupying their time more than they would want ........ [Read more]
by Bill Sheate
The ‘stickiness’ of labels…..
When we’re looking at anxiety or low mood, low self-worth or depression there is a wide range of so-called ‘disorders’ that can be found when searching the internet to try to self-diagnose, as many people will do. DSM 5 - the American Psychological Association (APA) diagnostic reference manual - lists a very long list of disorders and this list has grown with each update to the DSM over the decades, as more issues become classified or re-classified.
For some, getting a diagnosis of a specific disorder is key for opening up treatment and resolution, for example it may confirm something they have long wondered about. But for others, labelling something as a disorder can be a barrier to resolution……… [Read more]
by Bill Sheate
Why do we seek the unattainable?
The search for perfection can be found throughout everyday life: the desire to be a perfect student, parent, child, lover, athlete, cook; to have the perfect life, body, relationship, and so on. Advertisers use perfection to sell cosmetics, fashion, body image, affecting women's and men's sense of self-worth as they compare themselves to unattainable perfection. 'Comparisonitis' invariably co-exists with perfectionism as the perfectionist constantly compares themselves to others who seem to have it all………
by Bill Sheate
Building good mental health while doing a PhD
Studying for a PhD can be demanding, challenging, sometimes exhilarating and sometimes deeply stressful. Starting out on a PhD is like no other academic study you will have done before. On the one hand you seem to have a long time ahead of you to get things done, and on the other milestones, deadlines and sometimes competing demands create pressures that you never faced as an undergraduate, on a Masters programme or even in an outside working environment……..
by Bill Sheate
Practical Mindfulness for Everyday Living workshop now booking for 15 October 2018 6.00-8.30pm
An evening (2.5 hours) practical workshop that introduces you to simple mindfulness techniques and practices that you can integrate into daily living, and that doesn't require you to meditate every day! The workshop complements the self-hypnosis half-day workshop that was run earlier in September, but is also standalone……..
by Bill Sheate
Seeking help for anxiety early can make all the difference to your life at University - don’t leave it to get worse
As students begin a new life at University over the coming weeks (September/October 2018), or return to continue their courses of study, many will already have previous experience of mental health issues while some may develop them at University, often in response to the stresses and strains that come with university life (work, relationships, being away from family, finances etc). Typical problems include: ……..
by Bill Sheate
Universities UK publish Minding Our Future report on student mental health
Universities UK - the umbrella group for universities - have just published (11 May 2018) a new report Minding Our Future: starting a conversation about the support of student mental health which sets out proposals for creating 'place-based' local partnerships among universities, local authorities, local NHS providers. and third sector services. This is a worthy ambition to create more joined-up mental health services for students at university and to try to prevent people slipping through the net………….
