Yesterday, during our #inspirationalresearch lecture, students asked how to keep up your #mentalhealth whilst #working from home - so in honour of #WorldMentalHealthDay , here is a thread for you - please add to this with simple and affordable ways, especially if you're a student.

1. If it's available to you, leave the house every day. Throw on some sneakers and an audiobook or a podcast and walk, run, cycle, wheel etc. I have left the house every day since March, a first for me in terms of consistency and it's done wonders for me.

2. Exercise within your physical means. Did you know that Team Addison House of @Kingspsychol did a charity challenge this summer? Check out #AH1000mileschallenge to see what we were up to. Setting goals can be encouraging and exercise promotes health and balance.

3. Work, play, *and* sleep - make a schedule, stick to it, avoid cramming, and prioritise rest. @DrFionaEssig will be running a session on sleep on the 25th November, maybe read 'Why we sleep' by Matthew Walker before then, it really hits home the importance of rest.

4. Embrace your studies but also open your horizons to new things and experiences - a good graduate needs more than knowledge. Volunteer if it's available to you and if not, maybe learn more about diversity. @s_hash93 has something wonderful planned in the coming months (1)

and my dear friend @sfmartin has a great podcast called @TransFuturesPS that is worth a listen for some #diversity education. Recommend me some resources as well please!

5. Do things that make *you* happy. My colleague @dwcounsellor wrote a wonderful blog post on self-soothing that is worth a read - https://danielwinstanley.co.uk/34-easy-self-soothing-ideas - I myself have gone back to knitting and jigsaws lately and it really made an immense difference to my busy brain (1)

Another resource related to this is @BlurtAlerts who write very insightful things about mental health which are worth going through, especially as a #psychology student. They also have some nice things in their shop if you have the means to support them.

6. Our wonderful wellbeing team, @NicolaByrom, @FrancescaCotier, and @OliverRunswick put out weekly messages via KEATS with useful information - make sure to read them.

7. Allow yourself to be frustrated, the situation is frustrating and very few people have this whole thing figured out! Try to give room to those frustrations though, let them out, call a friend or family member to just rant for 10 minutes, and then try to put it to rest again.

8. On the note of calling - if it works for you, schedule regular virtual hangouts with friends and fellow students. Play #codenames, chat, or even work - use #nanowrimo2020 to have weekly assignment writing sessions.

9. This is important - digital burnout is a thing and we're in a marathon, not a sprint. Weekends are more important than ever - try to do all your asynchronous learning Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 and then step away. If you're on the other side of the world (1)

and you're having a one-to-one meeting with someone, let them know that you'd prefer an early morning or late afternoon (for them) meeting, it's OK to try to stick to working/digital boundaries.

10. Be kind to others - leave your neighbour a bar of chocolate in their letterbox or send an academic who's lecture you really enjoyed a thank you email - #randomactsofkindness are not just for the other person, they make you feel good as well.

11. This is kind of a running theme but challenge yourself to something - I'm currently relearning French using @duolingo and it speaks to the competitive side in me which gives me a positive drive.

12. Add to this threat - recommend me some good books and podcasts, let's have a digital hangout session where we each have a cup of tea and talk about things that make us happy . I hope this helps, stay safe, -J