This month's way to wellbeing spotlight is on Be Active.

We'll be producing material to support and promote Be Active, alongside focusing on a different, salient wellbeing topic each week. Please visit the other items in this menu for more details.

Don't forget, if you want to plan your own activity and need inspiration, examples of previous events can be found here. As face to face activities aren't possible during the current situation, we'd love to hear from you with alternative suggestions. Please send these to studentsupport@manchester.ac.uk.

Resources

You can find ready-made resources here or, if you want to create your own, visit the University's brandsite for the assets you'll need (you'll need to scroll down a little to get to them!).

If creating your own, you’ll need to buy InDesign (in Adobe Creative Cloud) from the University's Electronic Software Delivery system.

You should also ask IT to install the University fonts, they can do this simply for you here.

Social media

Don't forget to follow us on instagram: @uomwellbeing.

Every Wednesday the Wellbeing Team will be promoting positive wellbeing to encourage students to take care of themselves during these uncertain times. 

We'll be handpicking different events and activites students can take part in throughout the day at home - from mindfulness sessions to exercise classes.

This will be promoted through our instagram page @uomwellbeing and on our student support website. You can find a clickable PDF schedule for the day here, this will be updated every Tuesday. Further assets for social media can be found below.

If you'd like to run your own activities to promote positive wellbeing and need some inspiration, take a look at this event ideas page. Due to the current situation, we know that face to face activities won't be possible so if you have any suggestions for alternative events, we'd love to hear from you: studentsupport@manchester.ac.uk

Remember to use the hashtag #uomwellbeingwednesdays in any social media posts!

Suggested copy for newsletters etc:

Looking for a wellbeing boost? Every Wednesday your Wellbeing Team will be running ‘Wellbeing Wednesdays!'. These Wednesdays will include wellbeing events and activities that you can take part in from home throughout the day - from mindfulness sessions to live gigs. Follow @uomwellbeing to get involved!

Assets:

(Right-click to save images- social media and instagram story assets will be updated every Tuesday)

University Mental Health Day

University Mental Health Day (UMHD) aims to bring together the University community and make mental health a University-wide priority. Even though this year we can't be together physically, we wanted to take UMHD as an opportunity to signpost to the different support services available.

Taking the first step to reach out for support can be really tough, so there are a range of ways that you can access support - whether that be by speaking to someone, connecting with others online, via self-help resources or by sending a text. Remember, the support is here for you. You can choose whichever support service you feel most comfortable with:

The Counselling and Mental Health Service: you can try these resources in the first instance. If you need to talk to someone, please complete this online questionnaire. You can then call their appointment line on 0161 275 2864 between 10.30am-1.30pm (Monday – Friday), stating the colour suggested on completing the questionnaire and you will be booked-in for the next day. For urgent support out of working hours please click here.

Togetherall: a 24/7, safe online community that helps support its members with self-guided courses and resources.

The Students’ Union Buddy Scheme:if you’re experiencing feelings of isolation, you can sign up for a peer buddy.

Health Assured 24/7 Helpline: our new 24/7 mental health support phone line and app means there is always someone available to offer support.

Greater Manchester Mental Health 24/7 Helpline: ring freephone 0800 953 0285 for round the clock mental health support.

Shout: text SHOUT to 85258 to access mental health support from a trained volunteer.

The Samaritans: freephone 116 123 or 0161 236 8000 charged at local rate. Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to talk confidentially about any problem, however big or small.

For more information on mental health support, take a look at the Mental Health Support page and the Support Services page on the Student Support website.

Student Support Drop in Sessions

Are you experiencing difficulties with your wellbeing and would like to chat to someone? The Student Wellbeing Team are offering Zoom appointments between 10am-11am & 2pm-3pm, Monday-Friday. They can help talk through any issues you are facing, signpost to different services and help you move forward. You can email studentsupport@manchester.ac.uk for the link and to arrange a time.

Investment in student support explained

Responding to student feedback, the University has shared an article disclosing how much is spent on student support services. Click here to learn more about the University’s recent investment in accommodation, financial support, and mental health services.

What do we mean by inclusivity and why is it important?

By inclusivity, we mean the inclusion of different identities, abilities and bodies within the realm of exercise, wellness and sports. 

Exercise isn’t just about keeping fit. Physical activity can help us to think and feel positively, have more energy and can help us to feel present in the moment. However, ideas surrounding sports and exercise are heavily associated with an emphasis on visual aesthetics and athletic ability, resulting in many feeling excluded from taking part.  

But remember, Be Active has a range of mental and physical benefits that all of us can advantage from, no matter who we are or what we look like.

In our discussion of inclusivity, we are looking to diversify the image of sports, exercise and wellness. As well as diversifying the attitudes we have towards sports, exercise and wellness.

Where can I learn more?

If you’d like to learn more about Inclusivity within Fitness, take a look at the following resources:

• Parasport UK
• Meet 7 Fitness Trailblazers Determined to Redress The Whitewashing of The Fitness Industry
• 8 Fitness Pros Making the Workout World More Inclusive – and Why That’s Really Important
• Hearing Our Voices: Speaking to the Fitness Industry’s Inclusivity Problem
• Diversity and Inclusion in Fitness – Why We Need More of It

Don’t forget to follow @uomwellbeing on Instagram for more Be Active Inclusive content, created by Wellbeing Champions!  

Reflecting on Body Image: COVID 1 Year on

There’s no doubt that the shift to lockdown may have changed the relationship we have with our bodies. As we reach the one year anniversary of living through the pandemic, we wanted to acknowledge that this may be a very stressful time for many of us. As news of restrictions lifting spreads, this may bring a lot of anxiety about how our bodies look and how they may have changed over the past year.

In response the various pressures we may be feeling, we hope to celebrate inclusive ways of moving and find body positivity through movement that makes our bodies feel good. 

Body Positivity and Neutrality 

Over the last few years, conversations around  body positivity have opened us up to new ways of viewing ourselves and our self-worth. Yet, the dominant self-love approach to your body can often still be difficult to navigate, particularly in a lockdown where we have had more space to think and reflect. More recently, the concept of body neutrality has entered the scene and shifted the focus from loving your body no matter what to a more accepting approach, relieving the pressure of feeling body confident all the time. 

In this month of Be Active, exploring body neutrality allows everyone to go at their own pace. If loving your body all the time feels too hard, body neutrality is a way to make self-love and self-acceptance more attainable and more sustainable. In essence, the idea is to think less about what we look like but more about how we feel and what our body is capable of. Our relationship with our body image plays big role in how we feel about our self-worth and can massively influence our mental health and wellbeing. And so, although feeling positive about your body may never come easy, this month we encourage you to find a way to Be Active that brings you joy, and consider what your body can do and how it makes you feel. 

Body Image and Self Esteem Workshop – Thursday 25^th March @ 5:30pm 

Whilst conversations about female body image – and how the media and popular culture has distorted it – are becoming increasingly frequent, it’s difficult to know how to react to them. Should we cry or laugh? Should we scream and shout or to talk rationally and persuasively? Should we tell our stories to the world or to share them exclusively with the trustworthy women around you? 

In this session, So La Flair Theatre will guide you through an hour and half workshop in which you will unpick this through discussion, creative practise, and reflection. This workshop is an opportunity for you to creatively discuss our relationship to our bodies in a safe, supportive and empowering way. 

If you identify as female, register in advance for by clicking here, and find out more about So La Flair Theatre here. 

Want to learn more?

If you’d like to learn more, take a look at these resources:

• What is Body Positivity?
• What is Body Neutrality? (happiful.com)
• Celebrating Ourselves: Body Positivity in Quarantine
• Tips if you are struggling with body image in lockdown
• What is body neutrality and why do some people prefer it to body positivity? | The Independent | The Independent
• How to Deal with Negative Feelings About Your Body During Quarantine
• 6 things to do if you’re having negative thoughts about your body
• Saturn Returns with Caggie Podcast: Body Neutrality with Jada Sezer

And don’t forget to follow @uomwellbeing and @uompodium on Instagram for more Body Positivity content. 

We are currently training our new intake of Wellbeing Champions ready to deliver exciting wellbeing events and campaigns from next Semester. Watch this space!