Steps to Wellbeing
Top tips from the programme:
Boost your Mood
This is an example of some of the strategies discussed in the “Boost your Mood” session from the Steps to Wellbeing Programme. As you can see, these strategies focus solely on what we can do physically to help look after ourselves and boost our mood. In this session we also explore strategies that we can use to help manage our emotions and our thoughts which directly impact our mood.
Foundations of Wellbeing
We explore the Foundations of Wellbeing in a number of the sessions in this programme. The Foundations of Wellbeing looks at four key areas: sleep, rest and relaxation, eating well and keeping active. These are important for our overall health and wellbeing, and it is useful to be aware of and try to implement these in your daily routines.
Sleep
Here is an example of a relaxation video that we go through during our Sleep and Relaxation session (session 4 in the programme). This video takes you through a body scan to help unwind after a long day and relax your body and mind to prepare for a good night’s sleep. Watch here.
Productivity Matrix:
Have a look at this productivity matrix, demonstrated during our Productivity session (session 2 in the programme). Planning how you are going to approach your demands is key to managing your responsibilities. An important part of this planning is prioritising. This matrix gives you an idea on how you might be able to do this. Firstly make a list of all your current demands and then consider how important each task is – How urgent is it? How will it help you? How will it help others? How much effort it will take to complete it? Then plot it on the grid.
Five Senses:
The Five senses is a mindfulness exercise which we demonstrate during our Stress and Anxiety session (session 1 in the programme). The Five Senses exercise is a useful tool to help ground you in the present moment during high levels of anxiety or stress, and can also be helpful in distracting and calming your mind when experiencing anxious or negative thoughts that can be hard to switch off from.
Steps to Wellbeing Programme
Studying at University can be an exciting, engaging, and fun time. It can also feel quite daunting at times and, as with anything in life, there may be challenges that arise. Wellbeing and Student Support recognise this, and therefore want to provide you with the opportunity to develop your own toolkit to help look after your wellbeing and mental health during this time.
Wellbeing and Student Support have developed the Steps to Wellbeing Programme to assist you to focus on your individual wellbeing needs whilst studying at the University of Warwick and beyond.
The aim of this programme is to provide you with the opportunity to reflect on your own wellbeing needs, and to provide a range of different strategies you can adopt and use in your day-to-day life – academically, socially, and personally. This programme focuses on five of the key areas of your wellbeing, which Wellbeing and Student Support recognise are also important to you when considering your wellbeing needs alongside your studies.
These five areas are as follows:
- Managing stress and anxiety
- Productivity and work life balance
- Boosting low mood
- Sleep and relaxation
- Managing uncertainty
Steps to Wellbeing is a five-week rolling programme, with each session leading on from, and linking in with the next. Each of the five areas of wellbeing that are covered are inevitably interlinked and there are strategies and tools that can be beneficial for both. The programme has been developed with this in mind, and the rolling nature of the programme also means you can join at any stage.
Those attending the programme are not expected to share any personal details, but others may, and you are expected to treat the sessions as a confidential space. Each session is designed to be interactive so active participation is encouraged by the wellbeing advisers facilitating the sessions, however it will be for the individuals themselves to decide what details/ information they are comfortable sharing with the group.
You will also be provided with a workbook that can be used alongside your attendance at the sessions. This will be a useful tool to help you to reflect and consider your own individual needs, and to begin developing a toolkit of strategies that is individual to you.
How does the registration process work?
Please complete the registration form for the sessions you would like to attend and on the morning of the session, an email will be sent to you which will confirm how to join the session, either in person or via Microsoft Teams:
In person - you will need to arrive at Wellbeing and Student Support (ground floor of Senate House) no later than 5 minutes prior to the session start time
Online - a link will be sent to enable you to join the session via Microsoft Teams
How to take part
For each session you will be able to register to attend in person or online via Microsoft Teams - there is a limit of 15 face to face places for each session - if these become full, you will be given the option to attend online via teams. For all sessions you will be able to see who else is taking part. You are not expected to share any personal details, but others may, and you are expected to treat the session as a confidential space.
The sessions will not be recorded, and you are not allowed to record them yourself.
Steps to Wellbeing - Registration Form
Please sign in and complete this form to register your place on the programme (please note that this programme is for students only). You can attend one session or all of them - just click yes or no against the session.
This is a group session for all students and therefore your attendance and participation in the session will be known and seen by all those in attendance, not just the facilitator of the session.
Please save the dates in your calendar and we will send you an email on the morning of the skills session with details on how to join, which will be in person or online via teams (this is easy to use and will run via your Warwick Outlook). Specific instructions on how to join the session will be sent to you in the email reminder.
Quotes from the first Steps to Wellbeing session
- 100% said they would recommend it to other students
- So many useful methods about how to reduce anxiety were shared
- Very clear and helpful advice that spanned a range of techniques and situations
Quotes from previous skills sessions:
- Do it. You have nothing to lose but everything to gain
- It was friendly, welcoming and informative, I took away new knowledge to reflect upon
- Workshop was a good length
- Facilitator very open and approachable
- Liked the comfort of it as a whole, the content and the facilitator style.
- The atmosphere was really calm