Speak Out OCTOBER 2021 DIGITAL EDITION

FEATURE

Student success during lockdown Continuous and prolonged lockdowns suck, and being stuck at home has taken its toll on everyone. For students, finding motivation, focus and passion, is more difficult than ever. The Association’s communications and marketing intern, and third year Monash University marketing and media student, Kate Woolley has put together six steps for students to help navigate these challenging times.

A national survey from Headspace found that 51% of young people felt their mental health had worsened during COVID lockdowns. Ensuring that students maintain positive mental, physical and emotional wellbeing is critical to success. These steps can help you to feel more positive during lockdown and beyond! Stay active Exercise not only improves your physical health, but also your mental health and mood. In fact, research shows that regular exercise can be just as effective as anti-depressants in treating mild-moderate depression and anxiety! Being active increases both serotonin and endorphins, which in turn improve energy levels, sleeping cycles and self-esteem. As you meet goals and overcome challenges, feelings of confidence, control and accomplishment are also boosted. With all these benefits, why wouldn't you want to be more active? Not an active person or don’t know where to start? Start small; go for short walks or use the many free YouTube videos and apps to find the exercise, skill-level and time- duration that best suits you! Stay social Did you know that the positive relationship between social-ties and psychological wellbeing has been researched since the mid-1800s? Spending quality time with your loved ones (whether that be family, friends or even a pet!) produces oxytocin, which stimulates feelings of purpose, belonging and self-worth while reducing stress and depressive symptoms. Although staying social has been one of the most difficult challenges during lockdown, we should all strive to stay connected with our friends and family, and reduce social isolation. As restriction ease, catch up with friends for a picnic or

a “walk-n-talk”, or when online, use video face-to-face apps like Zoom, Skype or Facetime. I’ve really enjoyed having games nights with my friends, playing things like Skribbl.io, Codenames and Spyfall! Stay Zen If it wasn’t already obvious, practicing mindfulness directly improves wellbeing due to the many resulting, empirically supported benefits. Studies show that mindfulness benefits three psychological dimensions: Affective: improves mood, emotion regulation, self- observation and attention/memory/focus and reduces rumination, anxiety and depression. Interpersonal: improves satisfaction, constructive- stress-responses, and ability to identify and communicate emotions and express oneself. Intrapersonal: improves self-awareness, intuition,

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October 2021 | Speak Out