We hope you enjoy joining us in this way and we hope you find our Mental Health Awareness Week activities useful and informative. As always, we're keen to hear your feedback to inform future events - drop us an email at lifelounge@bolton.ac.uk to let us know what you think!
Be Inspired!
A simple act of kindness can change someone's whole perspective!
Kindness inspires us every single day to help create a better world, and when times are difficult, kindness is more important than ever. So many of you are reaching out to others, helping out and brightening the day of loved ones.
But as well as focusing on being kind to others, how are you being kind to yourself?
We know that being kind to yourself is critical to having the energy and strength to be there for others. We want you to feel inspired today to make sure you are tapping into kindness in all the right ways. View our carefully chosen resources to help you consider how you can take steps towards being kind today!
Why not start by reading the Mental Health Foundation's Kindness Matters Guide?
Read Suba's story - How kindness is impacting the lives of NHS workers.
If you want to read more on the evidence on the benefits of kindness, click here!
Alex Staniforth – the Adversity Adventurer
Alex Staniforth is a record-breaking adventurer, endurance athlete, inspirational keynote speaker, author and
mental health activist. It is fair to say that Alex has packed in an awful lot in his life.
Originally from Chester he is now based near the Lake District giving him easy access to the great outdoors.
Alex knows a thing or two about overcoming adversity, having experienced the two biggest consecutive disasters in Mount Everest history, including the 2015 Nepal earthquake which trapped him on the mountain for two days. In July 2017 he became the fastest person ever to climb all 100 UK county tops to raise awareness of depression and eating disorders, and winning the Pride of Britain Granada Reports Fundraiser of the Year 2017.
Alex is passionate about mental health and the positive impact of getting outdoors, leading him to start a charity called Mind Over Mountains. A great service where life-changing outdoor experiences can restore mental health and generate resilience to stay mentally well. You can find out more about his work by following the link below.
You can read Alex's book 'Another Peak, Everest is not the only summit' now. The book explores his own experiences of depression, anxiety and having an eating disorder, and how he used adventuring and the great outdoors as part of his recovery. It is a truly inspiring read and can be accessed through the University library.
Alex is many things, he is honest and kind in equal measure, and he is looking forward to visiting the University in the future. Alex is happy to be contacted through his social media or webpage, follow the below link for more.
Read more about Alex's inspiring story here.
Alex got some of his adventurer colleagues together to ask them about how they developed resilience and how they got through challenging times, something we can all relate to at the moment.
There are some incredible people sharing their views.
Jan MacFarlane M.A., Bsc (Hons), PGDE, FHEA, RMN, SRN , is a Lecturer in School of Health and Human Sciences here at UoB. Jan has very kindly created this video exploring positive psychology and the benefits of kindness on our wellbeing and that of others. Jan is passionate about the topic and gives you a whistle stop tour of the science behind it, and small ways you can carry out acts of kindness for yourself that will have a big impact. If Jan has left you wanting to know more why not email her or read Jan’s papers which you can find below this video
On Monday 18th May at 10.59am, Radio Stations across the country paused to listen to the message below from the Heads Together campaign, to start off Mental Health Awareness Week 2020.
It emphasises the importance of reaching out to someone, to check in and ask how they are.
Take a look, take part, reach out. You are not alone.
RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS GENERATOR
So you want to do something kind but you are stuck for ideas?
Share your pictures of your acts of kindness!
Use #UoBKindness and share your pictures with us and you could win Amazon eVouchers.
The top prize is £50!
The competition closes at 11.59 on Friday 22nd May 2020
Winners will be chosen at random!
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