Covid-19 wellbeing support

We would like to highlight below a number of resources to support your wellbeing during Covid-19.

Guidance for Managers

Manager guidance

Guidance on supporting staff wellbeing during Coronavirus - University Guidance with 10 easy to follow step
Keeping in touch with employees during furlough leave
Wellness Action Plan - This document can be used by an individual to reflect on their own wellbeing at work, or for discussions between a manager and member of staff to discuss staying well at work.
Supporting staff who have been bereaved.
What should manager's be doing to support their staff during closure (Zoom interview with Professor Sir Cary Cooper by Gemma Dale).
How to put together a wellbeing action plan
How to have a conversation about mental health

Mindset is a series of 19 self-coaching modules that are available to access from your computer, tablet or mobile phone. There are a range of modules that you might find helpful to support your wellbeing. These include:

Thriving in isolation,
Stress test,
Resilience,
Mindfulness
Positive attitude

How to access

If you have previously registered with Mindset simply log in to your account
If you have not previously registered, to access the highlighted topics, or any of the other Mindset resources, please visit Mindset self-coaching or contact Staff Learning and Development

Other resources from Staff Learning and Development

Dr Warren Mansell, Reader in Clinical Psychology in the School of Health Sciences, speaks to Gemma Dale, Wellbeing Manager, about mental health during Covid-19.

Counselling workshops

The Counselling and Mental Health Service are delivering a series of workshops now and over the Summer. These have been tailored in response to the particular challenges COVID-19 poses in looking after and supporting mental health and wellbeing. Sessions will include live zoom versions of the familiar Mindfulness, Calm Your Brain, Managing Anxiety and Busting Low Mood workshops alongside a new online programme to tackle ‘Unhelpful Thinking Habits’ which is accessible 24/7. Many sessions are also now available for both staff and students to allow them to reach as wide an audience as possible.

To keep abreast of the programme as it develops and register for places for your students or yourself please use the following link:

http://www.counsellingservice.manchester.ac.uk/workshops/

Mywellness app

The Mywellness mobile app provides you with the ability to train at home or outdoors with daily easy, medium, and pro workouts. You can also use the app to track your outdoor activity, be that walking, jogging, running or cycling.

If you already have a Mywellness account check out the main page of the app where you will find the new workouts. If you don’t currently have a mywellness account, please go to Mywellness UoMsport.

Once you’ve created your account, download the Mywellness app and log in. You’ll see the workouts on the very first page.

Be active

Being active makes you feel good and there are plenty of ways to maintain physical activity.

Pilates

Gail is the University's Health, Fitness & Wellbeing Co-ordinator. Here she demonstrates four pilates exercises that you can practise at home.

Exercise 1

Pilates standing warm up 1 includes shoulder, spine mobility, balance and leg strength - mixed ability (15 mins)

Exercise 2

Pilates standing leg balance, quick warm up (16 mins)

Exercise 3

Pilates in the prone position—includes back, buttock and core muscles, with a stretching rest. (15 mins)

Exercise 4

Pilates Supine position, roll up, 100 and single leg stretch with stretches in between. (15 mins)

Exercise classes

Shelagh has been teaching Wellbeing classes and Fitness classes at the University for the past 13 years, and a member of staff for nearly 30 and a half years. Following staff requests Shelagh has been doing workouts in her garden/ spare room and has set up a YouTube channel where you can do many different workout sessions. Some recent exercise videos are below:

500 Squat Booty Burner

Legs, bums and tums

Breathing, alignment and Tai Chi exercises with Professor Colin Hughes

Professor Colin Hughes, is the University's Professor of Applied Geoscience. For a number of years he has also led weekly lunchtime classes sharing his expertise to many on T'ai Chi and Indian Club Swinging for the Be Active programme. Colin demonstrates four exercises that you could practise at home:

Exercise 1 - Seated Postural Alignment and Breathing

To get you 'out of your thinking intellectual head and into your feeling physical body'. Using postural alignment and awareness of the breath to: calm the mind, relax the nervous system and soft tissues (relaxing without collapsing); and to get your awareness into your body, feeling the relationship between breath, body and mind. Don't forget, be kind to yourself and work within your comfort zone. If you are uncomfortable sitting still, feel free to fidget and move a bit now and again.

Exercise 2 - Standing alignments, scanning and relaxing

More focus on getting the mind into the body. Checking postural alignments, followed by scanning from head to foot, sequentially relaxing releasing and letting go of tension, strain, contractions and discomfort. Again, be kind to yourself and work within your comfort zone. If you are uncomfortable standing still, feel free to fidget and move a bit now and again, or sit down if you wish.

Exercise 3 - Foundational warm up movements, based on Tai chi

A sequence of gentle mobilising movements: x2 head and neck; x2 shoulders; x2 torso and spine; x2 hips; x2 knees; x2 ankles and wrists. Aim for combining focused gentle mobilising movement well within your comfort zone, with whole body awareness and engagement.

Exercise 4 - Some basic Tai Chi form practice

Following the foundational mobilising ‘warm up’, let's explore some simple tai chi forms: commencement; part wild horses mane; rolling arms; closing movement and returning to stillness. Again, take it easy and try to 'go with the flow': the flavour of movement is more important than precision and detail.

Back care with Jamie Miller

The UoM Sport Physiotherapist, Jamie, provides a number of stretched and exercises that can be done at home, to support looking after your back and good posture whilst all working in newly created home offices!

Self care working at home and other wellbeing videos

Self care - a filmed online session with Andy Romero-Birkbeck of We Are Wellbeing (March 2020)

How how you can better manage your time, working and living from home during the #Covid19pandemic with @DrNathanJSmith

Our previous wellbeing lectures

Looking after yourself (48 mins) - with Tom Turner, The Psychology Team (June 2019)

Positive psychology (46 mins) - with Sukh Pabial, @sukhpabial (Oct 2018)

You can watch all our previous lectures that cover a wide range of topics.

Colouring for relaxation

Colouring for only 10 minutes a day has been found to reduce anxiety and stress.

Take some time out and calm your mind with some University inspired colouring designs.

The designs include two university street scenes, a bee pattern and a generic higher education pattern.

You can download the designs by clicking on one of the links below:

External Resources

Headspace App - meditation app with a free trail

Calm App for mediation and sleep

Oxford Mindfulness Centre - Free mindfulness sessions and podcasts

From Simplyhealth

England Rugby legend Dylan Hartley and Performance Psychologist Charlie Unwin discuss how to build resilience in times of change.

For the bereaved

Cruse has put together resources to share how bereavement and grief may be affected by this pandemic. It covers some of the different situations and emotions bereaved people may have to deal with.