Going away to university is often said to be the best years of a young person’s life, and yet the number of UK university students who report a mental health concern is now five times what it was ten years ago (Not By Degrees, Institute for Public Policy Research, 2017). Anxiety and depression are by far the most common mental health issues among UK students, according to a 2016 YouGov Survey. The growing concern over student anxiety prompted UK mental health charities Babylon Health, Student Minds and Nightline to collaborate on a project where powerful quotes gathered from anxious students were turned into illustrations “as a way of shining a light on the issue and bringing anxiety to life”:
Source: Student Stress by Babylon Health
Happy National Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia! (Someone really should come up with a catchier name). 
We are continually working to refurbish the Library so that it is as pleasant a place to work in as possible. The next stage of this work is to replace the carpet in Area 1A on the first floor of the Library. This work will begin on 10 June. The work is expected to last for up to three weeks. While this refurbishment work is being carried out (ca. 10-31 May 2019), there will be no access to the:
People are a lot like ponds – both reflect without even knowing they are doing it. Unlike ponds, people can work to improve their ability actively to reflect and learn from life experiences – what went well and what you might change if you did it again. The habit of reflective practice helps you get to learn and develop, find better ways to do things, and get to know yourself better, particularly how you learn and what causes you difficulties. This makes you well-placed to overcome those things you once found difficult.
You have very likely heard your body compared to a car engine at some point in your life, probably at school. The analogy is a crude one but useful. Car (like computers, exams and all else that humankind has ever created) work well only when the right things are put into them in the right proportions and kept topped up so that they never run out of anything they particularly need. “Garbage in, garbage out” as the computing saying goes. Cars need fuel that works well with the whole engine, burns smoothly to supply power over a prolonged period of time and leaves no ugly after-effects, while the car also needs plenty of water to keep its radiator working and the engine cool, as well as a few other things that are car-specific – every analogy necessarily breaks down sooner or later and this one broke just now. 
It is vitally important to reward yourself regularly, especially when you are working intensively. Make time each day just for you, to do things you really enjoy. Treat yourself to a good book, a spell of gaming, a scented bubble bath, or a brutal game of squash – whatever’s your thing.
How did your academic year go?
After focusing on one topic after another, even with breaks, the mind can tire. There is only so much that the mind can manage before it starts to collapse under the weight of new knowledge and everything starts to slip and slide around. There are several ways to deal with this, meditation is one, while mindful colouring is another. The importance of colouring is that it uses your mind in an entirely different way, gently, and still inviting you to notice what is happening in the body while you cover – the pressure on the pencil, the texture of the paper, and the act of colouring.
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