Mental Health Foundation: Advice and support for distance learning students

The pandemic has had a negative impact on the mental health of many people across the UK – not least distance learning students.

Premier Training has recognised the need for helpful mental health advice for those studying from home who may be experiencing job uncertainty or extended periods of remote working.

To support those students, the AAT distance learning specialist has teamed up with the Mental Health Foundation to offer students a series of videos containing mental health guidance.

Following a Facebook Live Special session with the charity, the videos form another part of the popular Connect@Premier initiative, which aims to support all AAT students regardless of their training provider.

Topics covered in the video series so far include:

Talking about mental health
Perfectionism and brain fog
Get out into nature
Consider mindfulness
Focus on your sleep

Mental Health Foundation: Advice and support for distance learning studentsadvice and tips

Videos can be viewed through the Premier Training website and Facebook page, and listed below are the tips from the series so far:

1. Talking about mental health

Tip one is to please seek help, and talk about and ask about mental health. Something we talk about a lot at the Mental Health Foundation is how likely someone is to seek help for a mental health problem when one arises. It’s important not just to look at how people are feeling in themselves but also to look at how confident they feel with seeking help when they need it. Despite the common view of students as sociable and well-connected people, students are actually among the least likely to reach out for help for a mental health problem. Our advice is please talk about your mental health and make space for your friends to talk about theirs’ too.

2. Perfectionism and brain fog

We would like to ask students to go online and look up these two things. Both are common symptoms and experiences of people experiencing stress. When we think of perfectionism, we usually think of someone with extremely high standards who gets everything done to a perfect level, but actually anyone who suffers from procrastination is likely to be experiencing perfectionism. It’s when you’re so overwhelmed by thoughts of not being good enough that you struggle to complete anything or to use your time effectively. You might procrastinate or put off starting a task because you’re worried about not being able to do it well. Reading up on these experiences can help you to recognise that they’re happening – it’s a sign that you need to step back, give yourself a break and think about a new way to tackle the task at hand.

3. Get out into nature

The theme of Mental Health Awareness Week in 2021 was nature because spending time around nature has hugely positive effects on our mental health. This could be as simple as sitting on your doorstep listening to birdsong or caring for a houseplant indoors. If you can, try to go for a walk every day and just pay attention to the nature around you.

4. Consider Mindfulness

Tip four is to consider mindfulness. It’s the practice of clearing your head by focusing only on the current moment. Some people find it really helpful in stressful situations, so why not try it now?

5. Focus on Your Sleep

Your sleeping environment is critical in terms of the quality of sleep you get, so try switching off your devices an hour before bed. Do something relaxing before you go to sleep and try not to look at any screens whether that’s a TV or a phone or a tablet. Getting good quality sleep regularly has a huge impact on our mental health.