The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and our move to digital learning have made it impossible to hold physical events to mark this day, however, it is an opportunity for us to focus on the range of support services available to our students and to reinforce the message that “It’s ok not to feel ok”.
For UMHD 2021, Ulster University’s Student Wellbeing team wants to remind all our students of the help available to support their mental health and wellbeing as they continue to deliver all wellbeing, disability and money advice services remotely. Students also have access to counselling support through Inspire as well as an online community platform called Togetherall that was launched last September 2020 to support our students’ and staff wellbeing. This has been made possible through funds raised for Mind your Mood, a campaign delivered for students, by students who want to remove the stigma of poor mental health and encourage others talk about their mental health and to connect with the range of supports available.
The Mind Your Mood campaign has continued to engage students remotely, via social media and group events online, empowering them to look after themselves and support each other through these challenging times. These activities are all promoted on the Student Wellbeing and Mind Your Mood Facebook and Instagram pages.
Students are invited to join our upcoming Wellbeing Wednesday webinars, being held every Wednesday from 2:00pm - 3:00pm during the month of March, with the first of these sessions being held on 3rd March focusing on ‘Loneliness and Isolation’. This event will discuss the challenges we face when we feel disconnected from friends and loved ones including guidance on connecting online and dealing with feelings of loneliness or homesickness. Future webinars over the coming weeks will focus on subjects including ‘Change and challenge’, ‘Our Tricky Minds’ and ‘Mental Health Matters’.
Claire Drummond, Head of Student Experience & Wellbeing, said:
“While we can’t mark University Mental Health Day with on campus events this year, this won't stop us coming together to talk about our students’ mental health. During the last year, we recognise that the circumstances of this pandemic have caused anxiety among many of our students and I want to emphasise that the Student Wellbeing team is available to provide a range of supports to help them deal with these additional challenges. We are on hand to support them both now and throughout their time at Ulster.”
Join us on Thursday 4 March 2021 as we inspire conversations, take action and create change.
Keep an eye on the university’s social media channels #WeMindYourMood #UniMentalHealthDay #UniversityMentalHealthDay
More information on supporting our Student Wellbeing and the range of resources available can be found at www.ulster.ac.uk/wellbeing
Contacts:
Student Wellbeing 028 9536 7000 or studentwellbeing@ulster.ac.uk
Inspire (student counselling) 0800 028 5510 or ulsterstudents@inspirewellbeing.org