by Bill Sheate
……While all around you are not!
I’m reluctant to suggest this might be my last Coronavirus blog on the subject – it is likely to be for 2020 at least! I never anticipated a series when I posted the first one back in March this year [1]. But Covid-19 continues to dominate the headlines – with the recent end of a second lockdown, new tiered levels of restrictions, the start of the first vaccinations, Christmas holidays and maybe a third lockdown after that (seems quite likely!)? How are you supposed to navigate the deluge of information, different restrictions and competing claims? How is this continuing to impact on your own mental health and well-being - as a student or as a member of staff? …..[Read more]
by Bill Sheate
Learning to live with Covid-19, mindfully….
As Universities re-open for the new academic year this autumn students and staff are facing a whole new world, a very different experience to one we may be used to or have come to expect.
Big lectures with hundreds of students are no more.
Online video recorded lecture material and online live meetings are the new order of the day.
And maybe some small group teaching or lab working, where possible, in 'bubbles' of various sizes.
But social events on campus are hugely curtailed.
Covid-19 has created it's own existential anxieties for many while for some the risks seem overblown. But as I've discussed in my previous Coronavirus blogs (1-4), this spectrum of perception is normal, depending on your own personal circumstances……. [Read more]
by Bill Sheate
Getting back to just 'being' in person. . .
Meeting people face to face and not just through a screen can be quite rejuvenating. Why is that?
Screen time of whatever sort requires quite a different type of concentration, something many of us will have discovered during Covid-19 lock down. It's what we call ‘focused attention’ rather than ‘broad attention’. Focused attention is what we do when we do tasks . But focused attention is also what happens with anxiety, and also often involves tension in the body, as you focus on the screen, or the people in the videos, trying to read signals and body language in two dimensions. It can feel tiring and draining of energy, because it is…….. [Read more]
by Bill Sheate
A new paper published….
Thiermann, U.B. and Sheate, W.R. (2020), The Way Forward in Mindfulness and Sustainability: a Critical Review and Research Agenda, Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, available online 2 July 2020
Following on from my last blog on this issue “Is there a link between mindfulness and sustainability” (22 April 2020), Ute Thiermann and I have published a further paper on this subject that reviews six leading theoretical links between mindfulness and sustainability that are backed by empirical evidence…… [Read more]
by Bill Sheate
The new normal for universities?
As countries slowly begin to emerge from lock-down, universities have been busy trying to work out what the new landscape will look like come the Autumn of 2020 and the new academic year. In this third post of what has now become a series, I’m looking ahead to anticipate what teaching and learning at universities might look like this next year and how that could impact on students’ and staff mental health and well-being……..[Read more]
by Bill Sheate
Back in the clinic from 12 June 2020
I’m delighted to be able to say that I will be getting back to offering face-to-face therapy physically in my clinic from Friday 12 June 2020. While remote therapy via Zoom has worked very well for many people, it is not appropriate for everyone or all occasions. People may not have sufficient privacy to be able to be themselves when at home, or to say what they want without fear of being overheard……[Read more]
by Bill Sheate
….. and the timeliness of Mental Health Awareness Week (18-24 May 2020)
During this last week (which has been Mental Health Awareness Week) the theme, aptly, has been ‘Kindness’; the kindness experienced by many people over recent weeks – the kindness offered by others and to others - but also the need to be kind to ourselves. Self-compassion. It’s OK to feel sad, anxious or angry – these are normal human emotions, especially during times of crisis or difficulty. We can’t always be at the ‘top of our game’. Sometimes you need to give yourself the compassion you might normally reserve for others. To be kind to yourself; to give yourself a metaphorical (or even actual) hug! That can seem difficult, feeling perhaps as if we don’t deserve it. But how helpful is it to beat ourselves up for not coping; for not being ‘perfect’? (Tip: there is no such thing as ‘perfect’).
And now, as we begin to emerge from Covid-19 lock-down we may be discovering a whole new suite of emotions…….[Read more]
by Bill Sheate
A new paper explores this…….
Thiermann U, Sheate W (2020), Motivating individuals for social transition: The 2-pathway model and experiential strategies for pro-environmental behaviour and well-being Ecological Economics (2020)
Is there a link between mindfulness and sustainability? Well, there is certainly an ever-growing literature in this field trying to explore it.
Ute Thiermann (a PhD student of mine at Imperial College London) is exploring this and we have just published her theoretical framework for understanding what might be the complex web of relationships between mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviour…….[Read more]
by Bill Sheate
The only thing that’s certain is uncertainty…..
The current Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has all the characteristics needed for generating high levels of concern and worry among the public and creating even more stress among those who already suffer from anxiety:
Uncertainty about what might happen
How might we be affected?
How severe might the impact be?
Concern about friends/love ones
Anxiety about the short- and medium-term future (e.g. if supposed to be taking exams, doing assignments, research, career, loss of work/income, paying bills, buying food)
All of these are key aspects of the coronavirus situation that cause us to ‘worry’……..[Read more]
by Bill Sheate
Who am I?
For many at university it's a first real opportunity to explore your own sense of self or identity - who you are as an individual. And away from assumptions and expectations of you by longtime friends and family, or even of yourself in that previous context.
So what is important to you? What are your personal values, approach to work/life balance, hopes and dreams, sexuality; what motivates you - what are you passionate about?……[Read more]
by Bill Sheate
‘Mindful learning’ – transforming life-long learning
I have recently written a blog post for the UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy on the importance of a mindful learning approach to higher education, rather than a fixation on outcomes.
Mindful learning is a major focus for me in the resilience skills training I deliver to undergraduates and postgraduates (taught and research). Here is a short extract from that post, which you can read in full here:-
Pefectionism - the real challenge
“Exam performance and school league tables. They seem to be the key driver now for our primary and secondary education system – the need to deliver results. Unfortunately, this ill-prepares young people for a future of good mental health and well-being, let alone for university or life-long learning. Students effectively become ‘performers’ for the benefit of the school, often at the expense of their own personal mental health.
At university, students perpetuate a learning style ‘perfected’ at school for GCSEs and A Levels, cramming knowledge with the sole objective of excelling at exams. Which of course many do, very well (often at great cost to their own self-worth). But ………. ” [read more]
by Bill Sheate
Today - Thursday 10 October 2019 - is World Mental Health Day.
Periodically, I post on my blog short articles on key aspects of stress and anxiety, and mental health and well-being, especially related to higher education. Below are just a few of the resources on this blog - clustered in one place so they’re easier to find - that you might find helpful:……..[Read more]
by Bill Sheate
Eco-anxiety workshop now booking……
Do you have a feeling of hopelessness about the world’s willingness and ability to tackle climate change and biodiversity extinction? Do you feel helpless yourself in your own actions? Do you fear for future generations? Is this anxiety or sadness affecting other aspects of your life, your motivation to do things, to interact with friends and family?
Then you may well be suffering from eco-anxiety - a fear that something bad is going to happen, not just to you, but to the world and that you (and the world) won’t be able to cope. Or, more succinctly, a ‘chronic fear of environmental doom’.
This interactive workshop provides an opportunity ……[Read more]
