Mental Health Week

Editor’s Note: I somehow managed to miss this in my email, so I’ve managed to post it after the event. Nonetheless, mental health is an important issue and one that we can all benefit from discussing year-round, not just for one week, so I’ve gone ahead and posted it anyway (although some of the events may unfortunately no longer apply).

Nearly half of all adults will, at some stage throughout their lives, be affected by mental illness. That’s a heck of a lot of people. And yet discussion around mental health can still be surprisingly taboo. That’s one of the reasons Mental Health Awareness Week was introduced in 1990, to educate people and increase awareness of mental illness.

Mental Health Awareness Week is held annually, and is the first full week in October. This year it’s the 5th – 11th of October. That’s right, it’s right now! As part of this week, FedUni is holding various activities across campuses on Wednesday 8th October (that’s tomorrow!) to engage students and get us thinking about mental health.

Mt Helen: Live acoustic music outside the hub from 11.30 – 2.00, and free blue slushies are going to be handed out by the Fed Uni Gaming Society (FUG). The blue slushies are part of the promotion for the ‘Blue Tie Ball’ (http://federation.edu.au/staff/business-and-communication/public-relations/blue-tie-ball) being held on campus on Saturday 18th October, and to raise awareness for the Beyond Blue Foundation (http://www.beyondblue.org.au/).

Gippsland: Creative mind Pop up Art from 10.30 – 2.00, help create a mural in the Knuckle. At 12.30 join with others for a walk around the campus, starting from the Knuckle and going until around 1.00. Between 5.10 and 6.10 head to the Hexagon for a free Zumba session And if you have any free time, check out the mini art exhibition (displayed in the Knuckle) from artists in the community experiencing mental health issues.

SMB: Mental Health Week lunch at Fed College

Horsham Campus: Mental Health Week lunch in the cafeteria

World Mental Health Week also encompasses World Mental Health Day (WMHD) on the 10th October. WMHD this year has three objectives:

1. Encourage help seeking behaviour
2. Reduce the stigma associated with mental illness
3. Foster connectivity throughout communities

People are being encouraged to take personal ownership of their own mental health and wellbeing, hence the slogan of the campaign ‘Mental Health begins with me’. Check out the website (https://1010.org.au/) and make a mental health promise to yourself – it’s about taking the time to look after yourself.

Exercise, study and apps

BecDo you ever stop and ask yourself, ‘am I exercising enough?’ or ‘am I eating the right foods?’ You probably have. Probably with extreme guilt. But I’m here to tell you that there’s an easy way to start responding to those questions while studying.

University is jam-packed with what seems like a never-ending amount of essays to write, exams to study for and tutorials to attend, and sometimes it can feel as though, before you know it, you’ve been consumed by university life and have forgotten about the importance of maintaining a healthy balance. Exercise can not only make you feel good by releasing endorphins, but it can also help improve concentration levels, which can be great for study . By exercising for only 30 minutes a day you can reduce your risk of many potential health problems.

In our world full of technology and smartphones, what better way to include both study and exercise? If you have a smartphone, there are a variety of apps that can help with your studies that are course specific. They usually have practice exam questions plus loads of other cool study stuff. For the exercise component there are a wide range of fitness apps to get your heart rate up, increase your endurance and all over physical activity. I have taken the initiative and done some app browsing and testing to find an app that seems very promising!

C25KIt’s called couch to five km (c25k) and is available on iOS and Android. This app only takes half an hour of your day and can turn you from being a ‘couch potato’ to a marathon runner! Well, maybe not a marathon runner, but I’m pretty sure there’ll be an app for that too. Anyway, this app slowly takes you through, step by step, week by week, the stages of being able to run a continuous 5 km. It takes 8 weeks to complete and, like I said before, only takes up half an hour of your day! That’s like 2% of your day (Okay, it’s 2.08%, but I rounded down).

I understand that not everyone will be able to do this activity whilst others may find it completely boring, pointless or have absolutely no interest in being able to run 5km. It is important to find an activity to do that you find enjoyable. You might want to join a local yoga class to ease your mind while exercising at the same time. Or maybe join a boxing class to get your frustrations out in a controlled and fun way. Perhaps you’re more into exercising alone, so taking a brisk walk or light jog can be a great way to start including exercise into your daily regime.

As long as you’re doing something, your mind and body will thank you 🙂

– Bec

Study and the Outdoors

Emma Foster - ASK Blog PicI dislike sports. All the running and the catching and the coordination that they require has meant that I’m dramatically lacking the skill set required to be good (or even mediocre) at them. But I really like outside. I don’t even mind doing stuff outside. As long as it’s not sport.

Now that the weather’s started getting better (two days in a row totally counts, right?), I’m being reminded of all the things I enjoy doing outside of the four walls of my little house (and trust me, it can take a lot to get me out of the house. Although, not quite as much as it takes to get our dear editor to leave his abode)

Editor’s note: Hey!

 

Walking

I don’t at all mind going for a little stroll in the sunshine. Whether it be a 6km jaunt around the lake with my mother or my puppy, or wandering across a couple of paddocks out the back of my place, it’s always nice to get out, stretch your legs, and forgot about your stressors for a while.

Plus, walking also helps you to avoid heart disease, type two diabetes, osteoporosis AND some cancers! A government website told me so. And if the government said it, it must be true. Right?

Gardening

I did dis
I did dis

Yeah, I’m 22 going on 50, but I’m okay with that. There’s something deeply satisfying about watching something you’ve planted with your own bare (or gloved) hands grow into something marvellously green and living. Of course, there’s also something incredibly frustrating about seeing something you planted strewn across your living room floor because your dog thought it looked like a really awesome chew toy, but you’ve got to take it all as it comes. Just yesterday I planted a dozen broad beans, and the dog hasn’t destroyed them yet! Small victories people, small victories.

Trust me, it was traumatic
Trust me, it was traumatic

Gardening is good for the environment too, and sometimes you can even eat what you grow (if you can get to it before dogs or chickens do, that is)!

Studying

I am an awful studier. It’s just not something that’s ever come naturally to me, and I tend to find there are a thousand things just waiting to distract me as soon as I crack open a text book. However, there’s something about a lovely patch of sunlight that suddenly means I’m able to read at least half a chapter before the next distraction comes along. My favourite patch to study in at home is right in the middle of the doorway to our deck, and I like to drag a comfortable arm chair over to curl up in. Of course, being Ballarat, sometimes by the time I’ve set up my little study spot, the sun has disappeared (along with any inclination of mine to learn anything).

This is a picture of outside. It doesn’t look too scary, does it?
This is a picture of outside. It doesn’t look too scary, does it?

Generally just being outside, enjoying the weather and the fresh air

I also don’t have to be doing anything at all to enjoy outside. Radical though this concept may be to some, it’s nice to just sit outside and enjoy. Watch the clouds go by, chickens scratching the ground or alpacas doing whatever it is alpacas do. Just chill; maybe with a cool drink (my choice-of-the-moment is breakfast juice. Yum), or a novel in tow. Sometimes it’s nice to just be outside breathing in the fresh air, or admiring the view. It’s always worth taking a step back to just enjoy.

I even wrote this blog post outside! The majority of it on my phone. Have you ever written a 600 word text message? I don’t recommend it. Even if it is done outside.

Stress Management

UntitledUni is stressful — assignments to juggle, classes to get to, campuses to get lost in (hopefully this one only applies to the first few weeks), lecturers that talk too fast… the list goes on. Which is why it’s so important to learn to manage your stress (yes, another thing to add to your to-do list).

Stress1Take breaks while studying! Even though sometimes it seems like a good idea to just hammer away at a problem until it gives in, taking a break means you return to your work with more focus, and you’re more likely to remember the information as well (that’s always useful!). Worrying at a problem for too long can just make it more frustrating, and seem impossible.

Break a task down into smaller, easier to manage pieces. It can be scary to consider writing a massive essay or revising a whole semester for an exam, but revising two lectures or writing a general outline isn’t so daunting.

Exercise. It’s always a good idea; get fit, release endorphins (meaning happier, meaning less stressed!), and increase the blood flow to your brain (meaning it works better! Who doesn’t love a working brain!?). If you feel like you don’t have time to exercise then incorporate it with study breaks. Take a few minutes to do some push-ups and then get back to your study!

Meditate (or nap in the sun, whichever takes your fancy). Also, remember to sleep! Sleep deprivation is not good for you!

Plan ahead. The importance of planning cannot be stressed enough! If you know what’s coming then all those assignments can’t sneak up on you (trust me, they do – it’s like playing ‘what’s the time, Mr Wolf’; turn your back for a minute and they run amok).

If it all gets too much, talk to someone. Talk to a friend, talk to a cat, talk with one of the awesome counselors on campus.

Just remember that it is important to take time to relax. Or your head will explode. I’ve totally seen it happen.

Stress2– Rainbow

App Review: Zombies, Run!

unnamedThe mayday goes out and I hear the helicopter go into a tailspin. We’ve been hit, and god knows by what. The sounds of a crash engulf me, and for a moment I’m left with little more than a ringing in my ears. There’s no word from the pilot. They’re all dead. I’m the only survivor. My radio crackles to life. A man identifies himself as Sam. He can see my position from his tower in the town of Abel. If I can reach them, I’ll be safe. His voice is cut off by his own gasp. There’s a mob of shadows moving on my position. Zombies. They heard the crash. He screams at me to run, and I don’t waste a second.

This is Zombies, Run!, a running app designed around making fitness fun. Before I go on, let me say that I’m not a runner. At all. The thought of exercise makes me so depressed that I end up curled on the couch with a block of chocolate. But this app made me want to try it. And boy was it worth it.

Each time you go on a run, you select a ‘mission’. Each mission serves as a chapter in a longer story, while having some particular task for that run. The plot is well-developed and entertaining, and the developers proudly state that they have over 100 missions. Simply select the mission you’re up to, the songs you want, and head off.

At heart, Zombies, Run! is an interval trainer. You receive snippets of story, with your own music woven throughout. Every five minutes or so, you’ll be told that a mob of zombies is closing on you, and you’ll have to increase your speed for one minute to escape them. Beware: these chases are brutal. I expected that, if I was doing a light jog, I may have to briskly jog. Nope. Not even. These are zombies, for christ sake, and you have to run!

The advantage of this, though, is that it caters for all fitness levels. If you’re not confident in your ability you can walk during the story portions and only jog during the chases. If you find that too easy, maybe increase your pace.

Now if a detailed story and being chased by zombies isn’t enough to get you out there, this app offers even more. On each run you’ll collect items. When you finish the run, you can then use these items to develop the township of Abel, with a full town map. It’s a strategic town management game with resources reliant on your runs.

There are a bunch more features, including a detailed online component, but if I listed every feature this app had you’d be reading an essay, and it’s way too early in the semester for essays. Whether you want to get running but need extra motivation or you’re a regular runner looking for some extra entertainment, this app will do it. I’d recommend this to just about anyone. Really, the fact that it got me out there — and more than once — should be testament to just how engaging this is.

You can purchase Zombies, Run! for iOS on the App Store for $4.49, for Android on Google Play for $4.49 or for Windows Phone for $10.00

 

Ryan

Keeping Fit at Uni

 

Steph_2

Uni life equals lectures, tutes, assignments, tests, exams, partying (generally with copious amounts of alcohol), sleeping and eating. This is all great! It really is! However, the large levels of inactivity with the junk we students eat because it’s cheap and easy, mixed with the high calorie alcohol that slows fat burning, is a recipe for disaster.

We always say I’ll go to the gym or I’ll go for a run and we never do because there is so much more to do in our days (generally sleeping or eating). However, exercise has been linked to increased brain activity (ie. you will be smarter), better health (you won’t really get hangovers) and better mood (you won’t be half as crabby due to endorphins).

I personally prefer to engage in crossfit sessions where there is some cardio and some resistance training so it’s not as daunting. Just remember, when you feel like you can’t do anymore and you want to give up, do one extra. It all helps! You will never regret doing a workout, but you will regret not doing a workout or not doing your best. It’s only like 20 or 30 minutes out of your life, which you would probably have spent procrastinating anyway.

I have put up four 30 day challenges for you to attempt. You don’t even need a gym or really any equipment for this. You could do it in your house, driveway or maybe the uni oval or a park. So get your gear on and get moving!

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