World Mental Health Day

October 10th each year marks World Mental Health Day.  At the Medway Campus this provides us with an opportunity to speak with students (and staff) about taking care of their own mental wellbeing.

In line with that, the last week has been filled with a variety of events for me.

On Tuesday, Oct 8th, I partnered with my colleague, Kim Diaper, from the University of Kent. We spent two hours in the Oasis Lounge engaging in conversation, providing information, and giving out lollies and bookmarks.  However, the star of the show was most definitely Tommy, the PAT (Pets as Therapy) dog, who thoroughly enjoyed all the attention.

Wednesday, Oct 9th saw me with the University of Greenwich Wellbeing Team running a cafe drop-in for three hours.  We offered colouring, inspirational bookmarks, wellbeing advice and freebies; plus all the usually cafe essentials, such as tea, coffee, hot chocolate and snacks.  In the region of 60 students visited us.

It's always good to partner with our well-being teams 😀😀

Although they don't happen so often, I always thoroughly enjoy doing a Chaplaincy Pop-Up for CCCU, in the Rowan Williams building.  This is where you would have found me yesterday (October 15th).

Thought for the week ...

TABLEtalk: Culture Shock!

We had a great mix of students and alumni at TABLEtalk last night, for our discussion on Culture Shock.  That mix included participants from India, Nigeria, China, Peru, Iran, Lithuania, Egypt, Jordan.  We spent quite a long time talking about the culture curve, with some open and honest comments about the nice stuff and the challenging / stressful stuff!

Click on the image for a full-screen view

Thought for the week ...

Chaplaincy Chill 'n' Chat

Today was my first Chill 'n' Chat session of this new academic year.  It's always good to be present in the Drill Hall Library; letting students know who I am and why Chaplaincy exists.  Offering lollies and inspirational bookmarks, and providing some therapeutic colouring.

Today, I took along a jigsaw puzzle which several people helped with  ...  sadly it was missing one piece, BUT we had fun all the same.

TABLEtalk - Survive or Thrive

This week we were a little fewer in numbers, as some weren't feeling well and The Famous Five are on holiday!

We began our evening with a NASA survival exercise and I have to say this group did the very best of any group of students so far ...  well done!

Then our two groups of new students worked on brainstorming what they need in place, to not just survive this time but to THRIVE, both academically, and holistically as a person.

Here's a list of some of the things they came up with:

❤  Socialise  ❤  Manage your money and your time well  ❤  Find some good traditional food  ❤  Take care of your physical health, get good sleep & rest, and stay warm  ❤  Be adaptable  ❤  Work on your skills acquisition  ❤  Be active, play sports  ❤  Work on your resilience  ❤  Be flexible  ❤  Seek out academic support 

Whilst our returning students and alumni, were given the questions (a) what worked well for you, when you first arrived, and (b) if you could go back in time, what might you have done differently?

Part A  ❤  Network well, build a good friendship base  ❤  Try new things  ❤  Step out of your comfort zone  ❤  Use all the Library resources

Part B  ❤  Don't overthink things  ❤  Accept things as they are  ❤  Embrace what you have  ❤  Plan, plan, plan  ❤  Be wise about your relationships

Several phrases jumped out for me ...

Don't over think:  I have met many a student who has worked their way into a downhill spiral by overthinking and catastrophising certain situations.

Remember your WHY:  Remember why you chose this path and all that you have achieved to get to this place.  Standing firm in your 'why' will help you the weather the storms.

Don't give up:  Well, that is what it is  ...  persevere, keep going

MacMillan Coffee Morning

A VERY BIG THANKYOU to my colleague, Lynne, from the University of Kent who organised yesterday's lovely fundraising coffee morning, in aid of the excellent work carried out by MacMillan Cancer Care (something I have been on the receiving end of).

Thank you to all those who helped provide scrumptious cakes.  To my dear friend, Pauline, my very favourite washer-upper 😀  Most especially, THANK YOU, to all who came along, not just to eat but to donate.  

A total of £257 was raised 😀😀😀