Mental health and self-help support

It is really important that if you are struggling with your  Mental or Physical health you reach out if you are struggling. While there are many ways you can try to help yourself e.g. through a good diet, enough sleep and exercise, there are often times when you can no longer help yourself and you need to seek help elsewhere. 

Make sure you take a moment to stop and reflect on how you are feeling. If you are feeling low, isolated, stressed or just want someone to chat to these are all valuable reasons to ask for help, so make sure you reach out.

You may think that you can handle whatever is thrown at you and that you don’t need to seek advice, but we are all human and we all struggle at times. If you are struggling to speak to family and friends, they will understand and staying connected is really important. There are also lots of online mental health and self-help resources for you to access at Herts and elsewhere. We have gathered these and listed them below. There is lots to choose from so whether you just want a chat, or you really are struggling, check out these resources below.

Herts:

We are here to support you, so if you have any problems at all make sure you speak to someone.

Find out about the support available to you and some wellbeing tips on:

• Ask Herts
• Our YouTube channel

If you are still on campus, welfare support is available 24/7 by contacting security on 01707 281010. You can also access a one-off same-day appointment with the wellbeing team by calling Student Wellbeing on 01707284453 on week-days (these are provided on a first-come-first-served basis).

You can self-refer for Student Wellbeing services (counselling, mental health support, disability support) online through Ask Herts.

You can contact Student Wellbeing for advice on 01707284453 or email studentwellbeing@herts.ac.uk

For any information about advice and support from the university SU click here. 
If you have any concerns about your health and wellbeing while working from home, contact deanofstudents@herts.ac.uk 

HPFT website

The Hertfordshire Partnership University provides a wide range of resources to help you help yourself. They have lots of information about different websites you can visit for self-help. Click here to have a look at their self-help resources.

MoodGYM

Moodgym is similar to an interactive self-help book which helps you to learn and practice skills to prevent and manage symptoms of depression and anxiety. This interactive website consists of five modules for you to work through at your own pace to help reduce anxiety and aid depression. Register here.

Living life to the Full (LLTTF)

Living life to the full (LLTTF) has lots of free online courses covering low mood, stress and resiliency. These will help you to work out why you feel as you do, learn how to tackle specific problems, build confidence, feel happier and stay calm.
Click here to see the full range of courses.

No panic

No panic helps people who suffer from panic attacks, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorders and other anxiety disorders. You can find out lots of information on where to go to for help, as well as online self-help resources to help you to learn skills to manage particular conditions and work towards recovery. Find out more on their website.

Mind

Mind supports those who are experiencing mental health problems and provide supportive, reliable information, advice and support services. If you are struggling, please reach out. To seek support and advice from Mind, click here.

Anxiety UK 

Anxiety UK supports those living with anxiety disorders and provides information, support and understanding through lots of online resources. There is also a national helpline that is staffed by volunteers with personal experiences of anxiety.

Beat

Beat offers helplines, information and network of self-help groups for adults and young people with eating disorders. Since the outbreak of coronavirus B-eat has seen a 30% increase in demand for their services. We know lots of you are struggling during this time, but there are lots of people here to support you. People of all ages, genders, ethnic groups and backgrounds can be affected by eating disorders.

If you know somebody who has an eating disorder or you think you might be affected, click here.

NHS Moodzone 

NHS moodzone helps with boosting your mood, coping with stress, anxiety or depression or simply improving your overall emotional wellbeing. It offers practical and useful information, interactive tools and videos to support you on your way to feeling better.

Frantic world

Frantic world has lots of mindfulness clips for meditating in these troubling times. Take a moment to stop and reflect on how you are feeling and listen to some of these clips to help you relax.

The Samaritans

The Samaritans are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can talk to The Samaritans about anything you like. Just talking to someone can be a tremendous help. You don’t have to be in crisis to get in touch. Even if you just want to chat with someone, it can really help.

Students Against Depression

One in ten of us will experience depression or anxiety with depression in any one year and due to coronavirus unfortunately this figure will increase. This is particularly the case for students and young people. Depression is one of the biggest dangers facing young people today – suicide is the biggest killer of young men under 35 in the UK.

Students Against Depression offers advice, information, guidance and resources to those affected by low mood, depression and suicidal thinking. It provides a calm environment for you to find the support that you need. You can also read stories about other students who have suffered from mental health problems and how they coped with it– after all, who are better placed to speak about how depression can be overcome, than those who have gone through it.