Exam stress coping tips

Now that term 2 has started, many of you may be facing exams and assignments. It’s not uncommon to find exams daunting, but here’s a few tips on how to cope with exam stress from Student Minds:

1.  Organisation: Break your revision down into small chunks, and form a plan. Once you've got a plan, you won't have any more dilemmas at the start of the day about what to work on.
2. Schedule in plenty of free time to unwind. If you give yourself plenty of rest you can do the same amount of work in half the time or less.
3. Equally, don't panic if you go slightly off schedule - tomorrow is another day.
4.  Don't set yourself ridiculous goals. Nobody can revise 10 topics in a day! Avoid setting the day up to be a disappointment.
5. Don't cut out all the enjoyment from your life. It's tempting to decide you'll just knuckle down to work and "focus", but this is counterproductive - it's impossible to focus without giving your brain rest by doing other activities.
6. Avoid stimulants. Caffeine, alcohol and drugs impede your energy and concentration in the long term. It'll also make it more difficult to get that much-needed sleep.
7. Don’t compare yourself to others
8. If you can, discuss with your parents what they are expecting you to achieve. Parents with steep or unrealistic expectations will just add unnecessary pressure. It's helpful to let them know what you think you have the capacity to achieve, and to insist that the best way to get there is to have support from your parents, not pressure.
9. If you're feeling really worried or anxious, chat to a good friend, family member, or tutor. It helps to get it out of your system, and they may well be able to help think about practical strategies to deal with exam stress.
10. And lastly, PERSPECTIVE- exam success (or failure) does not define you as a person!

For study tips, here’s an excellent 3-minute video by asapscience on the best study tips according to science: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p60rN9JEapg

Warmly,

Anon

What makes a good listener? #NLBeHeard

Active listening is not only a valuable soft skill that employers look for, it also helps you become better at supporting someone emotionally through times of need. We hear the term bandied about, but what does active listening actually involve?

Below, I’ve included some tips on how we can be better listeners:

Acceptance and Non-Judgement

People come from different backgrounds and have different experiences shaping their views. The fear of judgement can stop people opening up about themselves or their problems. Showing the person you are listening to that you are not judging them can help them feel less afraid to open up. Listen with an open mind and try to recognise how your own background and views may influence your perception of what the other person is saying. Try not to make judgemental comments about what the other person is saying or jump to conclusions. You could actively reassure the person that you are not judging them and you accept them for who they are, if they are opening up about a topic that’s very sensitive in nature or that they are really afraid of talking to anyone about.

Listening

This may sound like an obvious one, but one of the first rules of active listening is actually showing someone that you are listening to them. That involves not going on your phone to scroll through Instagram mid-conversation, making eye-contact with the other person (to the extent that you’re both comfortable with of course), and showing through your facial expressions that you are really registering their message. The use of non-verbals is also a golden strategy, especially if the conversation you are having is over the phone where you cant use visual cues to show that you are listening.

Empathy

Many people get confused about the difference between empathy and sympathy. Imagine that someone is drowning in a pool and needs your help. Sympathy would be feeling sorry for the person, whereas empathy would lead you to actually throw out a rope for them. You can see which of the two is more helpful. Empathy involves actually trying to put yourself in the other person's shoes and see where they are coming from, whilst sympathy involves simply pitying the other person. It’s not always going to be easy to put ourselves in others shoes if they are going through something we have no experience of ourselves or cant really relate to, but we can at least try to better understand their experiences by asking questions. We can use our words to acknowledge their struggles and emotions, and avoid minimising their problems by bringing up a problem of your own that you thought was worse.

Reflection

Reflective listening is a method of communication which involves two key steps: seeking to understand what the other person is saying, then offering the idea back to the speaker (e.g. paraphrasing what the speaker has just said) to show that you have been really listening. It's also important to reflect the language that the other person has been using- this reduces the risk of you appearing to make any assumptions about the other person. You should also reflect tone of voice (this doesn't have to mean matching the tone of voice exactly, it can be closer to neutral). You can imagine that it may not come across well if the person you’re listening to sounds very despondent, and you reply in a very cheerful tone of voice. To illustrate this, I’ve included a link to a video clip of Inside Out (a great movie I’d recommend).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT6FdhKriB8

And lastly, remember to take care of yourself! Supporting others whilst we are emotionally and mentally drained ourselves can be difficult, so it's important to remember to look after yourself. If that means that you aren't able to support someone at the moment, that's okay, your needs come first. If you need to talk to someone, Nightline is here to listen (go onto nightline.org.uk for contact details).

If you’re staying tuned to our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (@LondonNightline), you’ll see our daily listening tips! And if you have any questions about anything mentioned in this blog post, please put them in the comments.

Warmly,

Anon

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

Work-Life Balance

Hello, everyone! This week we've been chatting about work-life balance on our various social media, so here we are on the blog to round the week off.

It is increasingly difficult to find a good work-life balance, especially when you're in uni. There are so many things that need to be done all at once, most especially assignments and studying! This is made doubly stressful due to the fact that we can take our work everywhere with us via our phones and laptops. It is so easy to interrupt self-care time by checking our emails or answering calls.

Having a good work-life balance is extremely important, as it can really have an affect on your mental wellbeing. If you're feeling fatigued, irritable or emotional, these can all be signs that your work-life balance isn't what it needs to be.

How can you get a good work-life balance? We've got a couple of tips for you:

- Set up a schedule. Make sure to take a couple of hours every evening just for your mental wellbeing. Don't let yourself check emails or work-related texts.

- Within this schedule, prioritise what needs to be done. That way, at the end of the day, you will have accomplished the most important tasks, letting you rest easy that night.

- Don't let yourself pull all-nighters! Getting that assignment started just a little bit sooner and doing a little bit every day will let you enjoy your nights leading up to the deadline.

- Do a variety of things that you enjoy - have fun and be social with friends whilst still allowing lots of me time.

We know it is difficult to get a good work-life balance, especially whilst you're at university. That's one of the reasons why Nightline is here to help.

As ever,

-Wendy

In Conversation with Jonny Benjamin

Good morning everyone! This is our final day of Nightline Awareness Week, and can I say, what an amazing week it has been. Particularly last night, when we were in conversation with mental health campaigners Jonny Benjamin and Neil Laybourn.

The event was an amazing night full of laughter and not a few tears. Jonny and Neil told their story - of how Neil stopped Jonny from killing himself by simply going up to him and beginning to chat, and how, 6 years later, Jonny reached out to social media to try and find this man once again. They mentioned that it was two simple things that stopped Jonny: Neil saying that there was nothing to be embarrassed about, and that he thought Jonny would be alright. It is an incredible story, and one that I think resonated with a lot of people in the audience.

There were also an amazing number of questions from the audience, including questions about how Nightline can ensure the mental wellbeing of their volunteers, and what we can do to help the people around us every day. Jonny and Neil chatted a lot about mental health education in schools, and how powerful self care tools such as mindfulness can be. They also emphasised the need for spaces for men, as suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 today.

If you're interested in learning more about Jonny and Neil's story, you can check out their documentary The Stranger on the Bridge. I'm definitely going to be watching it to learn more about their mental health campaigning, and their personal journeys.

This week we've really focused on the amazing things that self care can do - now it is up to you to ensure you're taking care of yourself to the best of your abilities, whether that be having a cheeky catnap of an afternoon, or re-connecting with an old friend.

As ever yours,

-Wendy

How Can Self Care Be Part of Student Life?

Hello once again!

It's sometimes difficult to make self care a habit, particularly whilst studying at college or university. However, here at Nightline we've asked students what they do to make self care a part of student life. Here's what they had to say about what to do if they've had a bad day:

"Talk it through with my friends and then give myself time out, have a nice bath with a bath bomb and sit in bed watching some youtube/"trashy" tv."

"Give myself some time to think it over, but then make myself a nice dinner, read a book and do some meditation!"

"I'd cook myself something really nice, and then lounge about watching movies."

These are all wonderful suggestions, and ones that can definitely fit into the busy schedule of a university student. Other students have suggested going to the gym, taking some time for meditation, or simply surrounding yourself with friends who support you no matter what. 

Remember, Nightline is here for you, every night of term. 

Yours,

-Wendy 

Self Care Isn't Selfish

Hello everyone! Today we are continuing the 2017 Nightline Awareness Week by talking more about self care.

We are constantly surrounded by other people - friends, family, classmates, and so many others. In this sort of environment it is very easy to forget about yourself and that sometimes putting yourself first is in fact what you need, both physically and mentally. Sometimes, even when you want to practice self care and put yourself first, you are encouraged not to, but rather to keep on going, without taking important breaks.

Don't let anyone - including yourself! - make you feel guilty about taking time for self care. Taking time to look after yourself isn't a selfish thing to do. Rather, it is an extremely important part of your mental health. Studies have shown that people who take breaks are more likely to be productive and creative. So by taking care of yourself, you'll become a better student, colleague, or friend!

We asked our volunteers what they thought about self care, and one volunteer answered:

“I think for me it’s a really helpful way of legitimising the things we do which are not necessarily very productive, but keep us well – like acknowledging that reading a book not on your reading list, or having a lie-in, or going to the pub with your friends doesn’t make you lazy or indulgent, it’s actually part of taking responsibility for your mental health, and trusting yourself to know what’s best for you.”

What ways do you put you and your health first? Let us know!

Yours,

-Wendy

Self Care with Mental Illness

Hello everyone! Welcome to the second day of Nightline Awareness Week, and our next post about the importance of self care.

Taking care of yourself when mentally ill can sometimes be a challenge. It is easy to want to stay in bed all day and not look after yourself properly. However, taking a few moments for yourself every single day can do wonders for your healthiness and happiness. I try to do one nice thing for myself every day - especially when I'm feeling low.

Here are some of my suggestions for self care:

- Take a walk through green spaces like parks

- Send a message to a friend you haven't talked to in a long time

- Take a long, luxurious bath or shower

- Do something creative, like journalling or colouring

We asked our volunteers for some suggestions for self care, and here's what they came up with:

- Comfort food

- Getting enough sleep

- Staying hydrated

- Meditation

- Going for a run

- Watching a film

- Listening to music

Could you see yourself taking on some of these self care tips? Let us know!

Yours,

-Wendy