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 kind to your body!
Looking after your body is so important for your wellbeing, and you might not even realise how much you are missing out on, or adapting to at the moment!
A trip to the corner shop, heading out to meet a mate, walking to the bus stop or walking through the campus to get to class... These are all little contributors to keeping ourselves healthy and active through the day. Changes to this routine can impact us physically, as well as mentally.
Be kind to your body - allow it to keep moving, helping blood flow, circulation and keeping the production of hormones flowing through exercise and a good diet. Exercise can offer a huge mood boost, be sure to add it into your routine to help you feel good during challenging times.
Our friends at UoB's excellent Sports department have created this great Bootcamp session. We all know how important it is for our physical and mental health to keep fit and active, even more so during lockdown. So why not give it a go! You can do it inside, outside, on your own or with your family. If you are lucky your pets will join in too. Go on, be kind to yourself, give it a go.
With all the changes and uncertainties you have been facing recently, we know you deserve to give yourself a break. Being kind to yourself is so important as it allows you to clear your mind of stress and build up energy for new challenges.
Our friends at Bolton College Beauty Department have shared their favourite ways to be kind to themselves, using holistic therapies and massage.
See their presentation below with video linked demonstrations on performing:
Massage can be very relaxing and grounding, helping to remove physical tension and leaving you feeling refreshed.
Give it a go yourself, or why not try teach it to someone in your household?
Maybe you could video-call a friend and share an online spa night together?
What we put into our bodies can massively impact how we are feeling, and because the outcome isn't always instant, we don't always notice the impact it is having on how we feel.
Maintaining a healthy diet gives us energy, and can reduce feelings of anxiety, sluggishness and low mood, which changes how we approach our entire day.
If you're looking to improve your diet, we think its really important to not make changes too radically. It can be harder to make big changes and we could end up feeling like we have failed when things don't go to plan.
Our Mental Health Advisor Antonia Dewsbury suggested making small swaps that are achievable. Over time, these will help contribute to a healthy lifestyle, without feeling overwhelming.
Read Toni's guidance on Food and Mood below:
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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