WALi Wellness Videos

My A to Z of Self-Care Strategies

Self care is so important because it gives your body and mind time to rest, reset and rejuvenate! As much as we can get swept up in the pressures of being an adult, it’s important to take time out to look after yourself. Even more important is knowing what self care strategies work for YOU. For that reason, I took a few minutes out of my day to think of as many self care strategies I could think of that I responded to well personally.

Take some time out of your day to have a think about your own self care strategies; and even better, use some of them today.

On that note, it’s good to know that students of Griffith University have available to them a wide range of support services. More information is available via our bio or https://www.griffith.edu.au/student-mental-…/wellness-centre

Music sourced from Jewelbeat

Avoiding Burnout

We experience burnout when we start to lose meaning and motivation for the the work we do coupled with feelings of mental, emotional and physical exhaustion ?. It usually is caused by a long period of stress. As students this might feel like a loss of motivation to study, a drop in concentration and decreased satisfaction in our studies ⬇️.

Most people experience burnout at certain points in their lives, but some of the below tips can help avoid burnout:

1) Finding your why ✅: This means finding what motivates you intrinsically. Lower levels of academic burnout are associated with those who have stronger intrinsic motivation. One way to build this up is to identify how elements of your studies are contributing to yoru post university vision.

2) Learn how to say “no” ✅: This tip is about being able to identify when to stop taking on more work. Many people have a tendancy to associate saying yes with talent and enthusiasm but when not well considered, can actually compromise your own health. Setting boundaries is so important.

3) Work a little everyday ✅: A little time managment goes a long way in reducing the stress of big workloads we often experience at univeristy. Try chunking your work into smaller more long term efforts. Try a few hundred words a day instead of a few thousand a day or two before it’s due!

This a good time to remember that Griffith students have access to a wide variety of services that can also assist in navigating challenging times?. These services and more information can be accessed via https://www.griffith.edu.au/student-mental-…/wellness-centre

Social Media and Mental Health

We are all spending more and more time on social media nowadays considering limitations on going out?. That makes this a good time to a take a moment to consider how we use our social media and how we can navigate it in a healthier way ?. Excessive and uncontrolled use of social media has been linked to depression, anxiety and isolation making this a really important topic. With that said, when managed well, social media has the capacity to be an excellent and very powerful tool ✅?

It might be time to take action if:
– You are spending more time on social media than with people in real life
– You feel yourself constantly comparing yourself and your life to that of others online
– Experiencing cyber bullying
– Struggling to manage social media seeing it take away from work/uni time
– Engaging in risky behaviour for likes

Some steps you can take:
✅ Set a social media curfew (I.e no social media after 8pm)
✅ Disable social media notifications
✅ Try removing social media apps from your phone
✅ Take a longer term social media break
✅ Speak to trusted person about how you are feeling
✅ Speak to a professional

Remember, Griffith students have access to a wide variety of services which you can find more about via the Griffith Online Health and Wellness Centre: https://www.griffith.edu.au/student-mental-…/wellness-centre

R U OK Day - 10th September

This video aims to get us thinking about RUOK Day which is on the 10th of September this year.

The main aim of RUOK Day sits around emphasising the importance of checking in with people around us, particularly when signs exist that might point to a person doing it tough.

In this video, the key takeaways sit around knowing what signs to look for when deciding to have an RUOK conversation ✅ as well as how to navigate these often tricky conversations ✅.

For more information on RUOK Day and to access the amazing resources discussed in the video visit https://www.ruok.org.au/

Expressing our emotions

This week I really hoped to provide a platform for us all to reflect on how we go about sharing and expressing our emotions. The focus of this video also sits around the power of acknowledging negative experiences and emotions.

It is significant to reflect on reasons behind our own choices surrounding expressing our emotions and considering how this may be impacting our own mental health.

This topic is a very common one, yet one that is so tricky to figure out because there is no one right way.

This a good time to remember that Griffith students have access to a wide variety of services that can also assist in navigating challenging times. These services and more information can be accessed via https://www.griffith.edu.au/student-mental-…/wellness-centre

Speaking with Confidence

Speaking with confidence is such a lifelong skill that will be vital both at University but also throughout our careers and in our personal lives. Often, the biggest barrier to speaking with confidence comes from anxiety and a lack of self belief.

This video walks through 3 key strategies for developing our mental health to allow a more positive experience when speaking in front of others. These include:

✅ Being receptive to our thoughts
✅ Using our imagination to our advantage
✅ Developing strategies that help address physical responses

Public speaking and speaking with confidence are no easy skills but like everything, with practice and purposeful focus on addressing key hindrances, growth is imminent!

On that note, it’s good to know that students of Griffith University have available to them a wide range of support services. More information is available via https://www.griffith.edu.au/student-mental-…/wellness-centre

Managing Perfectionism

Doing our best in all that we do is a great quality that we should all aim for. ✅ Trying to be perfect, or trying to perform at your absolute best all the time however is impractical and can really act to undermine your mental health. Perfectionism is founded on an excessive fear of making mistakes and the concern that making mistakes might make you less successful, likeable or even less worthy.

Sometimes, individuals who struggle with perfectionism might have the following beliefs:
?? I must get things right the first time
??Making mistakes brings nothing good
??Trying some new that I am not good at is pointless
??I don’t celebrate my successes because I feel like I can always do better

This video aims to give a few tips to help manage perfectionism.

It is good to know, Griffith students are also able to access a range of support services all available through the following link: https://www.griffith.edu.au/student-mental-…/wellness-centre

Mini-tour of the Griffith Online Health and Wellness Centre

This online website is an amazing source of health information as well as a great way to navigate to support services around and beyond the university. Through this website, you can access support ranging from mental health to financial assistance plus much much more. Through accessing this website, I found out about service and initiatives around the university that I had no idea were there!

If you haven’t yet checked out Griffith Online Health and Wellness Centre, I highly recommend you do!

The website to acces this is: Online Health & Wellness Centre

App Preview - Stoic Mental Health Tracker

This week I wanted to share with you all a quick insight into a mental health tracking app I have recently been experimenting with. This app is called Stoic.

Why use a mental health tracking app?
Mental health tracking apps can help provide a more user freindly way of practicing mindfulness. This app specifically also offers prompts and templates that can help make journaling and mental health breaks a lot easier to navigate. Mental health tracking apps can also foster positive habits around mindfulness. This app allows users to better understand what factors influence their mood.

Ultimately, I found this app to be a great addition to my busy life as a full time student. Mindfulness is very individual in nature, so finding a method and medium that works best for you is so important!