{"id":2663,"date":"2020-03-05T09:12:55","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T09:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/host-students.com\/uncategorized\/university-mental-health-day-2020\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T08:20:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T08:20:26","slug":"university-mental-health-day-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/host-students.com\/information\/new-students\/university-mental-health-day-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"5 steps to start your day calmly and with a clear head."},"content":{"rendered":"

At Host we\u2019re passionate about the health and wellbeing of students living with us in our student accommodation. From drop in sessions with our on-site staff where you can chat about anything to regular social events, we create a welcoming home from home. We get that uni life can be full of stress, worry, anxiety, or at times, can just create a feeling of doom and gloom that unfortunately can really affect your mental health. \u00a0So, on University Mental Health Day (Thursday 5th<\/sup>\u00a0March), we say – just take 5 and clear your head.<\/p>\n

In the marketing department we attempt to follow the methods of Dr Rangan Chatterjee, in his book Feel Better in 5<\/a> (We highly recommend the book). Feel Better in 5\u00a0has become our go-to when the office stress levels peak. We just take 5, use one of the mindfulness methods, work it all out, analyse the situation, and work our way through the problem. And you can do the same!<\/p>\n

To help you work through it, we\u2019ve adapted Dr Chatterjee\u2019s\u00a0 5 Step Release method as a way to start your day calmly and with a clear head. Here\u2019s how\u2026<\/p>\n

Grab a piece of paper and write an answer or a few bullet points for each of these steps:<\/p>\n

\"\"Step 1: <\/strong>Something that\u2019s niggling at you or that you\u2019re anxious about today.<\/h4>\n

What\u2019s on your mind? What\u2019s dominating your thoughts? It could be something happening today or later on in the week. Is it an assignment, exam, sports fixture, a date?<\/p>\n

Action: <\/em><\/strong>Whatever is dominating your thought process write it down.<\/p>\n

Step 2: Something that you can do to prepare for or prevent it.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

With the problem identified, ask yourself, what can I do to prepare myself for what\u2019s happening? Or even prevent what\u2019s on your mind from happening. By being proactive in dealing with those issues, it\u2019ll help to calm any anxiety you may have. But its not just that, by doing something practical about it, the action of just doing \u2018something\u2019 will help you feel better about the situation.<\/p>\n

Action:<\/em><\/strong> If you have a presentation coming up for example, prepare for it by focusing on those few key points that you absolutely must get across.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Step 3: A reason why it’s more than likely not going to be as bad as you fear.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Let\u2019s face it we all think it’s going to be worse than it actually is. As Dr Chatterjee says, \u201cour minds naturally try to prepare themselves for the worst-case scenario and we can easily start to believe that things are worse than they actually are\u201d.\u00a0Reality is its almost certain that you\u2019re going to pass that assignment and you\u2019ll smash that presentation, but if you forget or mess up a bit of it, don\u2019t worry about it, no one is going to hold it against you and the chances are they\u2019ll never realise you did make a mistake.<\/p>\n

Action:<\/em><\/strong> Write down a more realistic view of the problem by completely disregarding that worst-case scenario.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Step 4: One reason why you know you can handle the situation. <\/strong><\/h4>\n

This is where positivity comes in to play. Ask yourself is it really that bad? Chances are you\u2019ve been through much worse, we all know how nerve-racking it is waiting for A level results day, or those first few nights away from home in fresher\u2019s week, and look you survived it.<\/p>\n

Action:<\/em><\/strong> Think positive and write down how you know you\u2019ll get through the situation.<\/p>\n

Step 5: Give yourself at least one upside to the situation.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Look for that silver lining, as they say, every cloud has one. What\u2019s the upside to the situation? Could be that assignment was the last one before exams, or that presentation was worth a massive chunk of your module’s final grade.<\/p>\n

Action:<\/em><\/strong> Write down at least one positive that you think will come out of the situation.<\/p>\n

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Inspiration of 5-point plan: Dr Rangan Chatterjee<\/a>, Feel Better in 5. Your Daily Plan to Feel Great for Life.<\/p>\n

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Check out some of our other blogs:<\/p>\n