Build your MH 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.
Our support wheel will help you to identify what support you need.
NHS Self Help Guides
If you are looking for more information around mental health difficulties and how to support yourself we would recommend reviewing the NHS Self-Help Guides, on a range of topics that can be a very useful starting point in understanding the diffiuclties you may be experiencing. They offer guidance on addressing common mental health problems from stress, shyness, anxiety andd depression to anger, alcohol dependence, domestic violence and eating disorders. Each guide has an introductory video and is available to download as a leaflet or audio file.
See here:19 brief information leaflets
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.
Qwell provides free, safe and anonymous online mental health support whenever you need it.
Living Life to the Full offers free courses tackling low mood, stress and resiliency.
Students Against Depression offers comprehensive information on depression, resources to tackle it and the opportunity to discuss it with other UK students.
NHS Inform 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.
Now or Never is an interactive online resource for tackling procrastination.
Mindfulness
The Mental Health Foundation is a source of information about mindfulness. There are podcasts on mindfulness and a few mindfulness audio downloads.
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.
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.
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 our University Library.
View the reading list
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