Build your mental health expertise
We are getting better at taking care of our physical fitness. The university’s promotion of student and staff wellbeing aims to encourage a similar emphasis on mental fitness. Below are resources that you can tap into to keep yourself healthier and happier.
Interactive online courses
These courses draw on cognitive-behavioural therapy and compassion-focused models to help you tackle stress, anxiety and depression resulting from a range of scenarios from shyness to relationship breakdown.
Togetherall (formerly Big White Wall) offering free mental health support.
Living Life to the Full offers free courses tackling low mood, stress and resiliency.
Moodgym is like an interactive self-help book which helps you to learn and practise skills that can help to prevent and manage symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Students Against Depression offers comprehensive information on depression, resources to tackle it and the opportunity to discuss it with other UK students.
Moodjuice is designed to help you think about emotional problems and work towards solving them. Please note: This website is developed by Choose Life Falkirk and the Adult Clinical Psychology Service, NHS Forth Valley, and so some contact numbers and details may be specific to Scotland.
E-couch is a self-help interactive program with modules for depression, generalised anxiety and worry, social anxiety, relationship breakdown, and loss and grief.
Now or Never is an interactive online resource for tackling procrastination.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness for students provides information and guidance on starting your mindfulness practice. Mindfulness can help you to feel calmer, attain greater focus and improve your concentration.
The Mental Health Foundation is a source of information about mindfulness. There are podcasts on mindfulness and a few mindfulness audio downloads.
Headspace offers a free 10-day beginner’s pack to get you started in mindfulness.
Smiling Mind offers a free course on mindfulness.
Below you will find some guided meditations on awareness of the breath, the 3-minute breathing space and the Body Scan.
Biofeedback
MUSE headbands can make mindfulness practice easier. They give real-time feedback on your mental activity while you meditate. Find out about our drop-in sessions.
Relaxation
Learn how to relax effectively. Find out more about our weekly drop-in relaxation sessions from the Workshops page.
Books and guides
The Centre for Clinical Interventions is a source of free courses on a range of mental health issues from tackling shyness and building self-esteem to conquering perfectionism and procrastination. You can download the free workbooks from the site.
The BluePages provide information on depression and how to overcome it.
Students Against Depression is designed by students as a resource for people struggling with low mood and suicidal thinking.
The BBC mental health pages often carry interesting articles and approaches to beating low mood.
We can recommend the following list of books on tackling mental health problems. They are available from the University Library.
NHS Self Help Guides
- These 19 brief information leaflets offer guidance on addressing common mental health problems from stress, shyness, anxiety and depression to anger, alcohol dependence, domestic violence and eating disorders. Each guide comes with an introductory video and is available for download as leaflet or audio file.
Relaxation audio downloads
The following downloads are in mp3 format and will require software such as Windows Media Player or iTunes to work. An on-campus or broadband connection is recommended as the files are quite large, and may take a few minutes to download.
Download our free podcasts to help you relax and feel better, for the best results, choose a comfortable setting where you can be still and undisturbed. Do not listen to them whilst driving or operating machinery.
Relaxation:
- Easy breathing relaxation
Learn to relax by becoming aware of your breath. Duration 03:20 - Relax at your desk
A quick way of releasing the tension that builds when you sit in front of a computer. Duration 02:24 - Reduce your stress and tension
Learn how to switch on the relaxation response with this short, guided meditation. Duration 07:27 - Progressive muscular relaxation
Learn how to relax. Some people find this a good preparation for sleep. Duration 06:03 - Prepare for sleep Prepare for restful sleep by letting go of the tension in your body. Duration 07:06
- Visualisation 1: Create a calm space This guided visualisation helps you to enter a state of deep relaxation. You can use this whenever you want to.
practise feeling more relaxed in your body and in your mind. Duration 06:15 - Visualisation 2: Guided imaginary journey Follow your guide to a place of deep relaxation Duration 06:46
- Guided relaxation Release your tension in this guided tour through the muscle groups of your body. Duration 06:55
Mindfulness techniques:
- Mindfulness practice 1:Introduction to the body scan
What the body scan is, why it’s helpful and how to do it. Duration 03:51 - Mindfulness practice 2: The guided body scan
Instructions for practising deep physical and mental relaxation and awareness. Duration 24:24 - Mindfulness practice 3: Sitting meditation
A guided instruction in mindfulness for beginners. If you are already using mindfulness, you may find this a useful refresher and aid to developing your practice. Duration 11:46
- Mindfulness practice 4: The three-minute breathing space
Learn how to become aware of your body so that you are not just ‘in your head’. Duration 04.52
Stress, anxiety and panic:
- What is a panic attack? Duration 05:57
- How can I stop a panic attack? Duration 11:08
- Manage exam stress Learn how to transform panicky thoughts into more creative tension. Duration 07:36