Top Tips for Mental Health Awareness
At Home Learning started at St Peters this week and, whilst everyone is at home studying and learning online, we decided it’s time for a reminder to take the time to maintain good mental health. Sitting in front of a computer or laptop screen all day can be draining both physically and mentally. How we deal with stresses or anxieties, when at home instead of in the classroom, can change. That which would usually be eased with the help of surrounding classmates and teachers can turn into bigger issues—being socially distanced can take away some of the normal face to face support our students receive.
We believe that it’s very important to stay mentally and physically healthy. Recently, we checked in with St Peters Old Scholar, Hannah Wheeler (2019), to see how she was coping with her first year of University and online learning due to COVID-19. Hannah was in good spirits despite a minor adjustment from face-to-face to online learning. When quizzed on her secret to success, she told us it had to do with reading books.
“It’s an obvious one,” she said, “but I try to limit screen time and read books instead.”
For more tips on how to maintain good mental health during COVID-19, read on below.
1. Get Regular Exercise
Doing regular exercise can give you a brain-break whilst getting some much-needed time away from the computer. Trying to fit in 30 minutes of exercise a day may be difficult for some, but it is a good way to sustain good mental health as well as keeping physically healthy during isolation.
2. Organise Your Time
Making sure you manage your time effectively and map out when assessment is due is a great way of managing learning stresses. It’s also a good way of staying on top of upcoming assessment. Doing this will help you feel more on top of your online learning workload.
3. Take A Break
Find time to enjoy old or new hobbies that interest you. This could be reading a book, having some screen-free time, video calling friends or doing something creative. Taking some time away from study and giving yourself a break will help you relax.
4. Reach Out and Get Help
Reaching out to teachers, fellow classmates, friends and or family is important. You will feel more on top of things and less alone when you talk to someone who can help explain things further. Even just talking with someone about things that are happening outside of study can also help bring some normalcy back into daily routines.
Additional Support Services
It’s important to remember that there’s always someone available to help if you need it. Additional support services can be found below:
- ReachOut.com – resource for students and parents about a range of mental health topics
- Kids Help Line (online and phone: 1800 55 1800) – free 24/hr counselling
- Headspace (online and phone) – 9:00am–1:00am free counselling
- LifeLine (online and phone: 13 11 14) – free 24/hr crisis support
As always, our teachers and staff are available to help you if and when you need it. Our COVID-19 Firefly health information for parents and carers will also be kept up to date at this time.