Everybody knows what it is like to feel stressed. Stress can be a useful drive that can help us to be more productive and feel more energised*, however chronic stress that becomes overwhelming over time can, not only, make existing mental health problems worse, but contribute to the development of mental health problems too.* If you’re feeling like you’re struggling to cope with your stress, consider the following…

1. Take control

Confronting the source of the problem is empowering. Passive thinking like “I can’t do anything” will only make your stress worse. The first step to feeling better is to identify the cause of your stress and then think about how to find a solution.

2. Be active

Two hours of moderate-intense aerobic activity per week (such as fast walking or cycling) will improve your self-esteem and wellbeing.

3. Connect

Reach out to people around you—family, friends and  colleagues. This allows us to share feelings and support others. The more you give, the happier you will feel. Even the smallest act can count, like a smile or a “thank you;” or larger ones such as volunteering in the local community. Doing something kind stimulates the reward area of the brain, creating positive feelings.

4. Keep learning

Gaining new skills by setting targets and hitting them can inspire a sense of achievement and confidence. Challenge yourself, whether at work or in your personal life.

5. Be Mindful

Be aware of your thoughts and feelings, and when your thoughts take over the present moment. Remember these are simply thoughts that do not need to control us. Be aware, even as you about your daily routine, by appreciating the journey to work or taking a lunch time walk.

6. Work smarter

Rather than working harder, prioritise your activities and leave the least important task for last. You may need to accept that your inbox will never read “zero” at the end of the day.

Further information on how you can manage stress can be found here. 

If you feel like you have a problem that can’t be solved, you don’t need to suffer in silence. The College of Animal Welfare offers free counselling services to their students on an on-going basis as needed. Appointments are available face-to-face as well as by video conference, FaceTime or similar. For more information on how to book an appointment please visit our website.

Self-esteem refers to the beliefs that we have about ourselves.

This includes the opinions we have about our personalities, character traits, behaviours, abilities, strengths and weaknesses.

People with healthy self-esteems will generally have a positive opinion of themselves. As such, although these people will experience tough times, they will be able to cope better than someone with low self-esteem. People with low self-esteem are more vulnerable to developing mental health problems, because they tend to focus on their weakness and find it harder to pinpoint good things about themselves.  As a result they blame themselves when bad things happen and find it harder to cope with failure.

Having a healthy self-esteem is important, because how we view ourselves has a huge influence on our mental wellbeing. Low self-esteem is not recognised as a mental health problem in itself; however it tends to feed into common mental health problems such as anxiety or depression.

Low self-esteem makes it harder to push yourself to try new things and take on challenges; this can stop you from making the progress in life that you want to, and eventually pave the way to depression overtime. Mental health problems then knock your self-esteem levels further, and so a seemingly never-ending cycle of negativity continues and becomes harder to overcome.

Everybody’s self-esteem could do with a boost occasionally, however if you feel your self-esteem is hindering your ability to live a fulfilling life; there are ways you can help to boost your opinion of yourself. The key to solving issues surrounding self-esteem is challenging negative beliefs. You could do this by pursing hobbies that build confidence (choosing a hobby you feel you have a natural ability in will help!), and doing things that can bring you happiness and give you a sense of achievement, for example doing paid work, voluntary work or caring for somebody else.

Low self-esteem is sometimes encouraged by the people around you. Are you surrounded by groups that encourage negativity and critical thinking? If so, you should seriously think about how you can reduce the influence these individuals have over your decision making and thought processes. This might be as simple as telling them how their behaviour impacts your opinion of yourself in a negative way. Alternatively, sometimes the better option is to distance yourself from toxic people and put more time and energy into those who support and care for you.

Further information on how you can improve your self-esteem can be found here.

If you feel like you have a problem that can’t be solved, you don’t need to suffer in silence. The College of Animal Welfare offers free counselling services to their students on an on-going basis as needed. Appointments are available face-to-face as well as by video conference, FaceTime or similar. For more information on how to book an appointment please visit our website.

Our relationship with food can be complicated, and often changes depending on our mood in the current moment. For this reason it might be difficult to recognise when an occasional food problem, such as comfort eating or undereating in times of stress, has escalated into an eating disorder. An eating disorder is an eating problem that is persisting over a long period of time and having a worrying impact on your mental and physical wellbeing. The symptoms for the most common kinds of eating disorders can be found below:

Bulimia Nervosa

• Eating tons of food in one go, and then getting rid of the food you’ve eaten by making yourself sick or using laxatives
• Starving yourself in-between binges
• Exercising excessively to try and make up for binge eating

Anorexia

• Reducing food take dramatically, or refusing to eat at all
• Counting calories obsessively
• Hiding food, or throwing it away
• Using drugs that speed up digestion
• Making yourself sick using laxatives
• Wearing clothing in order to cover up weight loss and keep warm

Binge eating disorder

• Pick at food, or eat large amounts at once
• Eating large amounts of food without thinking
• Eat until you feel uncomfortable or sick
• Comfort eating in times of stress or unhappiness

Eating disorders are usually about more than just food alone. Eating disorders are often a damaging way of dealing with deeper issues, such as difficult events in your life or painful feelings that you’re struggling to cope with. The symptoms associated with eating disorders, such as obsessively or secretly hiding food, can give sufferers a sense of control that they don’t have in other areas of their life. Eating disorders such as anorexia are often assumed to be primarily influenced by a culture of slimming and dieting; however behind the surface it is often connected to other problems that aren’t being dealt with, such low self-esteem, negative self-image and feelings of intense distress and unhappiness.

There can be whole range of other root causes that could be behind an eating disorder, such as family issues or difficult childhood experiences, the impact of existing mental health problems, or social and cultural pressure. Whilst anyone can experience an eating disorder, those with particular personality traits, such as a tendency towards unreasonable self-criticism or a lack of confidence in self-expression, may be more vulnerable.

If you recognise any of these symptoms in yourself, or are worried about somebody else, it is vital you do everything you can to seek help for yourself or other people. You can do this by pursuing direct help in the form of counselling. Self-help methods include taking practical every day steps to try and curb unhealthy routines. For example by buying smaller amounts of food when overeating, or making sure you’re around other people after eating to prevent purging.

Changes in unhealthy routines, traits and behaviours can take time. Self-help therefore also involves learning how to be kinder to yourself and understand that setbacks in recovery, if they arise, are just that: setbacks. They are not the be all and end all.

For further information on eating disorders, and details about where to seek help, can be found here.

If you feel like you have a problem that can’t be solved, you don’t need to suffer in silence. The College of Animal Welfare offers free counselling services to their students on an on-going basis as needed. Appointments are available face-to-face as well as by video conference, FaceTime or similar. For more information on how to book an appointment please visit our website.

Anxiety is used to describe feelings of unease, worry and fear.

This includes physical sensations we might experience when we are struggling with anxiety. It’s normal to feel tense and fearful at the prospect of big event or decision you’re facing, especially if it is going to have a big influence on your future; for example sitting an exam, attending an interview, starting a new job, having a baby or deciding to get married. Anxiety is part of our normal biological reaction to feeling threatened.

Anxiety becomes a problem when the symptoms intensify and last for a long period of time. For example, you might find that you are worrying about normal everyday activities that you would usually cope with well. You might find yourself avoiding simple tasks out of fear and worry, and retreating in to yourself/cutting off your support networks. You could be having unrealistic worries about scenarios that will never occur, or worrying about worrying (and worrying about worrying about worrying!) Along with this you might experience regular panic attacks.

If you find that anxiety is hindering your ability to live day-to-day, it is important to look for ways to help yourself. Primarily this would involve seeking a diagnosis, as depending on the nature of your anxiety you could be diagnosed with a specific type of disorder, such as obsessive compulsive disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder. Treatment options include talking therapies, which can help you understand the source of your anxiety and evaluate/change your thought patterns in order to cope better when you find yourself in situations that trigger anxiety. Certain types of medication are also available where needed.

Although a natural response to anxiety is avoiding what triggers fear, facing up to what makes you anxious can be a helpful first step in breaking the cycle of insecurity. Day-to-day it is important to make sure you’re helping yourself cope as much as possible. For example by talking to people you trust about what you’re going through, joining a support network, getting regular exercise or trying breathing and mental exercise that can help you shift your point of view and focus on the current moment.

If you feel anxiety is becoming an issue for you, there is also the option to self-refer to counselling. You could do this by seeing if self-referral NHS services are available in your area by looking at the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme website. Further information on anxiety, and details about where to seek help, can be found here.

If you feel like you have a problem that can’t be solved, you don’t need to suffer in silence. The College of Animal Welfare offers free counselling services to their students on an on-going basis as needed. Appointments are available face-to-face as well as by video conference, FaceTime or similar. For more information on how to book an appointment please visit our website.

Depression is an incredibly common mental health problem, affecting around 1 in 10 people at some point during their lifetime.*

Depression goes much further than simply feeling fed up now and again. Everyone experiences periods of unhappiness occasionally, however often low mood will improve after a short period of time. Depression is characterised when feelings of sadness and hopelessness become persistent, and continue for weeks, months or even years.

It is important to seek help and advice if you feel you might be experiencing depression. The illness affects people in different ways depending on how severe it is. The most common symptoms include prolonged feelings of stress, unhappiness or anxiety, feeling tired constantly, losing interest in activities you used to enjoy, feeling tearful, losing appetite or sex drive, and experiencing various aches and pains.

The good news is that, with the right help and support, many people living with depression can make a full recovery. You might benefit from talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy if you are experiencing mild-moderate depression. Antidepressants can also be prescribed where necessary. Lifestyle changes such as doing more exercise, cutting down alcohol intake or eating more healthily can help people suffering with depression to cope better on a day-to-day basis.

For further information on depression, and details about where to seek help, can be found at www.mind.org.uk

If you feel like you have a problem that can’t be solved, you don’t need to suffer in silence. The College of Animal Welfare offers free counselling services to their students on an on-going basis as needed. Appointments are available face-to-face as well as by video conference, FaceTime or similar. For more information on how to book an appointment please visit our website.

This month’s prize competition topic is Mental Health Awareness Week – enter and be in with a chance to win a £20 amazon voucher!

Mental Health Awareness Week will take place from 8-14 May 2017. This year’s theme is ‘Surviving or Thriving?’ which aims to look at mental health from a new angle. Rather than ask why so many people are living with mental health problems, the theme seeks to uncover why too few of us are thriving with good mental health. This includes exploring the difference between surviving or thriving, why some communities are under strain and what government can to do support them, and what steps we can take to look after our mental health and build resilience to cope with the demands of life.

In order to be in with a chance of winning a £20 amazon voucher, you simply need to submit an effort you have made to engage with and/or raise awareness of the topic Mental Health Awareness Week to marketing@caw.ac.uk by Thursday 25 May 2017.

What you choose to submit is open to your interpretation. This means you can enter anything you feel is relevant. This could be anything from artwork and videos, to personal stories, blogs, fundraising efforts or poems.

If you’re struggling to think of ideas, you could send us…

• Personal stories – Just as people are not defined by their physical injuries and disabilities, mental illness is not a character flaw and is not a sign of personal weakness. Sharing a personal story is a great way to open up an honest discussion and break down stigma.
• News reports – Mental health problems are incredibly common. It is estimated that 1 in 6 people in the past week have experienced a common mental health problem. You could research what is being done in your area to prioritise mental health and report back.
• Blogs – Blogging is one of the most accessible ways to share your ideas with others. There are endless possibilities when it comes to what you can write about. This could include how we can better manage our mental health, how we can support people we know when they’re struggling, or how we can improve mental wellbeing in the workplace!

These are just a few ideas. Remember – we will consider whatever you choose to submit, provided it fits the theme!

Good luck!

This competition is open to all students, staff and clinical coaches working with The College of Animal Welfare. Entries should be sent to marketing@caw.ac.uk, or handed in to College, by Thursday 25 May 2017.