{"id":1304,"date":"2023-04-06T09:07:03","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T08:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/international-programmes\/?p=1304"},"modified":"2024-10-29T10:26:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T10:26:00","slug":"stress-awareness-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/global-learning\/2023\/04\/06\/stress-awareness-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Stress Awareness Month"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>According to the charity <a href=\"https:\/\/mhukcdn.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/25094043\/1-1.png\">Mental Health UK<\/a>, stress can affect any person at any stage of life and can occur due to a range of different factors.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mhukcdn.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/25094057\/3-1.png\">Signs of stress<\/a> can include muscle aches and tension, chest pain, nausea and stomach aches, headaches, irritability, overwhelm, lack of confidence, restlessness, changes in habits, racing thoughts, trouble sleeping and memory problems, among other symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>To help beat stress, we all need to work towards a more balanced working and studying life. One step towards this might be to prioritize what is most important, giving ourselves permission to let go of things that matter less to us.<\/p>\n<p>Taking time out to pause, reflect, breathe, and take a break can also help us to introduce some calm into our routine.<\/p>\n<p>The mental health charity MIND recommends \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kcmind.org.uk\/news\/introduce-the-5-ways-to-wellbeing-into-your-life\/\">5 Ways to Wellbeing<\/a>\u2019 to help reduce stress. This involves:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Connecting with friends and family<\/li>\n<li>Being active through exercise<\/li>\n<li>Learning new skills<\/li>\n<li>Giving through small acts of kindness or volunteering<\/li>\n<li>Taking notice of what\u2019s around you by being mindful<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Similarly, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.betterhelp.com\/advice\/current-events\/observing-stress-awareness-month-2022-what-should-you-know-about-stress\/\">Better Help Therapy Platform<\/a> recommends the following research-backed stress relief solutions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Spending time with others<\/li>\n<li>Using breathing exercises and meditation<\/li>\n<li>Trying progressive muscle relaxation and other grounding techniques<\/li>\n<li>Taking part in physical activity, such as yoga or walking<\/li>\n<li>Addressing any root causes through lifestyle shifts<\/li>\n<li>Taking up art and other hobbies<\/li>\n<li>Spending time outdoors in nature<\/li>\n<li>Venting your feelings through journalling<\/li>\n<li>Reframing your negative thoughts<\/li>\n<li>Undertaking therapy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you\u2019re feeling stressed about upcoming exams, University of Kent\u2019s Student Support and Wellbeing Team are on hand to provide <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/student\/wellbeing\">wellbeing and stress management advice during exam season<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1306\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/global-learning\/files\/2023\/04\/pexels-pixabay-261909.jpg\" alt=\"A person sitting behind a pile of books\" width=\"500\" height=\"357\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Are you looking for ways to relieve stress? Here&#8217;s a list of resources available and designed to help with managing stress, especially during this time of the year.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/student-services\/kent-voices#exam-calm\">Keeping #ExamCalm Podcast<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Gain insight into revision tips and information about support services available to you during the exam period.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Get out into nature with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/sustainability\/kentcog\">Kent Community Oasis Garden<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Join other students, staff and community members at this sustainability hub centred around growing food. Open sessions are on Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am until 2pm.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Get active with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/sports\">Kent Sport<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>At Kent Sport, there\u2019s something for everyone with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/sports\/all-active\">ALL ACTIVE<\/a> programme. No commitment is required \u2013 you simply turn up and take part in fun, relaxed, non-competitive sporting activities. Check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/whats-on\/event\/57968\/couch-to-5k-13\">Couch to 5K<\/a> programme, designed to get you comfortably running each week in relaxed and sociable sessions, every Thursday from 12-1pm.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Join the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/events\/event\/60323\/international-wellbeing-group-online-21\">International Wellbeing Group<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>International students have a dedicated weekly peer support group which meets virtually every week for games, chats and support. Open to international students at Kent at any stage of study.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Practice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/events\/event\/60312\/in-person-mindfulness-session-22\">Mindfulness<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Come along to free, drop-in mindfulness meditation sessions for all University of Kent students, every Wednesday at 1pm. Sessions are one hour long and involve an introduction to a weekly theme followed by a guided meditation, then opportunities for discussion.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Get Sociable and Connect<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Looking for the chance to meet someone new? Join <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/events\/event\/58864\/just-coffee-get-matched-with-another-student\">Just Coffee<\/a>, an initiative for all Kent students that will match you with someone new who\u2019s looking for a coffee break.<\/p>\n<p>Or sign up for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/events\/event\/58865\/walking-buddy-get-matched-with-another-student\">Walking Buddy Scheme<\/a>, which will match you with another student interested in exploring the outdoors.<\/p>\n<p>University of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/student-support\">Kent Student Support and Wellbeing<\/a> also offer emergency support for mental health, counselling to help you rebalance and reframe your thoughts; disability, long term health conditions and neurodivergence support; and wellbeing support for international students, among other things.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re feeling stressed, don\u2019t suffer in silence. You\u2019re not alone. Reach out, speak up and seek support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to the charity Mental Health UK, stress can affect any person at any stage of life and can occur due to a range of &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/global-learning\/2023\/04\/06\/stress-awareness-month\/\">Read&nbsp;more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79191,"featured_media":1305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[202858],"tags":[215964,142628,127013],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1304"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1754,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304\/revisions\/1754"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/global-learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}