Welcome!

First of all, welcome back to the blog! If you are new to this page, Nightline is a free, anonymous, and confidential listening and information service for students, run by trained student volunteers. Our volunteers listen to whatever is on a student’s mind, providing a space to explore their feelings free of judgement at a pace that works for them. Our lines are open again from 6pm-8am during term-time. For details on how to contact us, please see the bottom of the blog.

If you’re a fresher’s student, starting university can be quite a minefield to navigate. When asked how they were feeling during fresher’s week, students’ responses ranged from ‘excited’ and to ‘overwhelmed’, ‘confused’, and ‘need coffee’. With so much going on during freshers, this was not unsurprising!

If you are feeling overwhelmed during freshers, it can be important to remember to take a step back. You don’t have to say yes to absolutely everything- it’s okay to take an evening out for yourself to catch up on some reading or binge-watch a Netflix show. Some may also find meditation exercises a helpful pause to the day- apps such as Headspace provide a few free sessions of mindfulness exercises. Studies have shown that mindfulness can reduce levels of stress, anxiety, and negative affect.

Here is a list of other self-care tips posted a while back on our Instagram page:

• Get plenty of sleep
• Cook
• Write or draw (e.g. journaling)
• Talk to myself
• Cuddle cats (check out London's cat cafes if you like feline friends!)
• Walk or bike (e.g. in a park- enjoy nature and sunlight)
• Tidy
• Read

And of course, if you would like to talk to someone, Nightline is here to listen. Here are our contact details:

Phone: (+44) 207 631 0101

Text: (+44) 7717 989 900

Instant messaging: nightline.org.uk

Email: listening@nightline.org.uk

If you are not able to reach us, please call the Samaritans on 116 123.


Warmly,

Anon