University, Stress, and You - Issue 16

November 2023

Issue 16

Stress, university, and you Your Psychology Student Magazine

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Stories for students, by students

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Meet your Writers!

Sports Psychology and Dealing with Stress

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University Stress: 5 Ways to Destress after classes

13 University Meets Neurodiversity

11 Why We Wore Yellow

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USW & NHS Partnership

17 Meet Your SU Welfare Officer

@SulciUSW

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Sulcus (noun); Sulci (plural) a groove or furrow, especially one on the surface of the brain

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Welcome to Sulci

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Editor’s Letter

Welcome to your student-led USW psychology magazine, for students, written by students!

This term, Sulci has highlighted “Stress” in recognition of National Stress Day (November 1st). We thought topics on stress would be a great idea to kick off a brand new academic year to highlight the pressure we all go through, especially as students.

May you find inspiration, knowledge, and positivity amongst these pages!

The Sulci Team

Hello! I’m Jordan, the Editor in Chief for your student-led magazine! I am currently studying an MSc in clinical psychology, my favourite module at the moment is “History, Concepts and Controversies in Mental Health. In my spare time, I enjoy writing, spending time with friends, and gaming when I can!

This year, I am also your elected Student Voice Representative - I am very excited to continue Editor in Chief representing everyone!

My name is Izzy, I’m an undergraduate student studying psychology with developmental disorders. I like colours, video games and being creative.

Illustrator

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Featured Student Writers S U L C I

Hello! I'm Hooriya. A 24-year-old from a very sunny bustling Dubai, now living in Treforest. I'm deeply passionate about mental health issues and psychology in general, hence the decision to pursue a degree in MSc in Clinical Psychology.

Beyond my professional life, I'm a self-taught MUA, fitness enthusiast and photographer, finding solace outdoors whenever I can. Family and friends often describe me as their go-to advisor, and I value kindness and empathy in all my interactions.

Hi! I'm Akshita R, a 20-year-old MSc Clinical Psychology student from Mumbai, India. Though I was raised in Mumbai, my family roots lay in the verdant Kerala, in the south of India.

I am passionate about writing and clinical psychology. I enjoy reading and playing guitar, and I am a classically trained Bharatnatyam dancer (please don't ask me to dance). I also like to analyse psychological thriller movies in my leisure time.

I'm 22 and have just graduated BSc Hons Psychology. I am studying an MSc in Clinical Psychology part-time, alongside working as a mental health support worker for young people. I enjoy going to the gym throughout the week and listening to my favourite music! I also have a huge passion for film and love going to Comicon, Megacon and film festivals.

My name is Courtney Cooksey, I like being called Court for short, feels less formal. I’m studying my first year of Psychology with Developmental Disorders. My passion for psychology has been lifelong and has stemmed from having mental illness on both sides of my family including disabilities.

I love playing on my PS5, and my absolute favourite things are Spiderman and the Scream movies. I have a tattoo of Spiderman, and would probably marry him if he existed haha

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Sports Psychology and Dealing with Stress

By Akshita R Imagine standing in the crease, a cricket bat in your hands, and a million eyes glued on you from around the world. As you represent your country, a million hopes, expectations and bets lie on your next move. The pressure to accurately hit the last ball for a six and take your team home is weighing heavily on you. Watching sports is entertaining, regardless of whether the team you support wins or loses, but being in a position where your performance is the decisive is bound to cause stress.

Stress has a major influence on athlete performance. Depending on the level of stress, it can either enhance performance or have an entirely opposite effect. Some athletes thrive on stress and surf above the wave, while others get caught in the whirlpool. Eustress, or positive stress, helps enhance performance, motivation and productivity, and leads to more creativity. On the contrary, distress leads to frustration, exhaustion, disappointment, reduction in motivation and performance level, to name a few.

Here are a few simple ways of dealing with stress, recommended for (but not limited to) athletes:

Biofeedback: gaining control over bodily reactions Biofeedback involves learning to monitor and control bodily function. For instance, when athletes hear their heartbeat, they can try to think of calming thoughts to slow down their heart rate. This technique is also used in the treatment of Raynaud’s disease, migraine headaches, high blood pressure and muscle spasms.

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Mental imagery: Let’s play pretend If just imagining yourself at the cricket pitch makes you sweat, thinking of that scenario over and over will make you less nervous about it with time, and ultimately improve your performance in the real game. Mental imagery involves imagining yourself in the actual scenario, including all the sensations that come with it. This means imagining getting ready for the match, walking to your position on the field, the smell of freshly cut grass, the bat’s grip in your hands, hearing people chanting your name in the audience, and conjuring up all the possible combinations your opponent could throw at you and the myriad ways you would deal with it to be successful every time. This method is simple, yet proven effective. When applied correctly, it helps in gaining confidence in one’s abilities, improving motor skills, and training the mind. It has been found that the neuromotor pathways used while competing and visualising are the same, thus contributing significantly to athlete performance and stress. Mental imagery and visualisation have proven to be beneficial beyond the realm of sports, with studies showing effectiveness even in healthcare services, including treating cancer.

Goal setting: what can I do?

Goal setting involves pushing athletes to focus and work on performance-related goals rather than outcomerelated goals. This means that a basketball player would focus on improving their shoot and aim, instead of putting a focus on winning. Winning the game would depend on a lot of factors outside an individual’s control, which causes stress.

So, goal setting involves shifting focus from the uncertainty of the opponent team’s next move to one’s own strategies and techniques to score a point. This ultimately leads to shifting attention to attaining a particular skill, and on learning while reducing uncertainty. Goals must be specific to improving overall performance, controllable, challenging (depending on the particular needs and abilities of the athlete), attainable and realistic, measurable (so improvement is evident), and personal (relating to the individual).

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Self-efficacy: “I got this!”

Self-efficacy, proposed by Albert Bandura (a Canadian-American Psychologist known for the social learning theory, reciprocal determinism and more), is feeling that a person is competent in carrying out the behaviours required to produce desired outcomes.

Bandura found that people with higher levels of self-efficacy tend to try harder and persist for longer. People who are low in self-efficacy and who give up when faced with difficulty, tend to blame themselves for failure and experience greater depression and anxiety. Self-efficacy can be developed through the use of positive self-talk. This involves directing attention to desirable thoughts, and stopping unhelpful, negative thoughts as soon as they occur. One can also try to reinterpret negative events in a positive way.

Furthermore, coaches can focus on the player’s capabilities and remind them of their existing skills and achievements to develop self-efficacy.

Communal coping: we’re all in this together!

Communal coping is the way in which athletes come together to jointly deal with stressors. Members of a team hold the belief that dealing with stressors together is necessary and beneficial. Studies have also shown that players realise that their emotional displays influence the rest of the team and attempt to regulate their own emotions, while also regulating other members’ emotions to benefit team performance.

Essentially, leaning on fellow teammates for support can prove to be vital in dealing with stress. It also helps in dealing with a stressor as a team, wherein an individual would make up for their own deficits by drawing on other team players’ strengths. Of course, this is not limited to teams in sports. Communal coping can be extended to various work settings that require team performance like in hospitals.

To sum up, these are just a few simple ways to deal with stress according to sports psychology, however, these should not be considered replacements for therapy. If you are dealing with chronic stress that is severely impacting your daily life and causing high emotional distress, it is best to seek professional help.

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University Stress: 5 Ways to Destress after classes

By Hooriya Rais With the new academic year just starting off, things can take a toll. Even more so for those of you who are away from home. Our days of washing our own clothes, cooking our own food, cramming in late-night study sessions, and trying to earn a few extra bucks, all at the same time, are here. While all of this is super important, it's also vital to make sure we take care of our own mental and physical well-being.

Here are a few ways to destress when things get too much

Meditate This practice of deep breathing has been shown to not only biologically and physically help your heart and mind but also mentally. Relax your shoulders.

Reflect. Just some peace, quiet and paced breathing whilst thinking positive thoughts or imagining yourself in your favourite place, you can even play some music if that suits you. Practice mindfulness. For those of you who'd like to stretch a muscle or two can try out yoga, which also relaxes the mind and body in a similar way.

Gratitude While we're trying to achieve some of our short or long-term goals, we tend to forget we're living in some of the moments of our life that we once wished for. It helps to count the things we're grateful for. You can even jot it down in your journal. I like keeping a little gratitude journal to write in from time to time, even added in a few pictures!

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Exercise If there's one thing I can vouch for that will DEFINITELY give you a serotonin boost, it is exercise. Get your heart pumping, blood flowing and mind racing.

Free endorphins! Not to mention it's great for your health and fitness.

Disconnect It's absolutely impossible to escape stress when it follows you everywhere. Switch your internet off. Cut the cords. Avoid social media, emails, Netflix, whatever it is! Take time out of your day - even if it's for just 10 or 15 minutes - to rewind and escape from the world.

Come Up with Your Own Ways to Destress While a lot of the tips mentioned above may help some of you, it might simply not work for the rest of you. Do whatever it takes to get into your zone, listen to music, read a book, take a warm bath, get that skincare/haircare routine in, do whatever it takes if it means it'll help you destress in your own way.

However, if you find that the stress is still getting to you even after trying everything you possibly could, it's always a good idea to ask for help. USW has dedicated a mental wellbeing service to support you. You can learn more about it here:

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illustr ation

Illustrated

by Izzy Cole Warning: High Stress Module Detected

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Why We Wore Yellow

By Faith McLachlan World Mental Health Day (10th October) is an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organisation with members and contacts in more than 150 countries. This day, each October, thousands of supporters come to celebrate this annual awareness program to bring attention to mental illness and its major effects on peoples’ lives worldwide.

Why is Good Mental Health Important?

Mental health is a basic human right for all people regardless of race, gender, age, sexuality etc. Whether young or old, the importance of mental health for total well-being cannot be overstated! Good mental health is vital to our overall health and well-being providing benefits such as improved learning, creativity, higher levels of productivity, better social relationships, good physical health, and increased life expectancy.

How Prevalent are Mental Health Conditions Globally, 1 in 8 people are currently living with a mental health condition and in the UK, 1 in 4 people suffer from a mental health condition. Currently, mental health conditions are affecting an increasing number of adolescents and young people. 1 in 6 children aged 5-16 are likely to have a mental health problem.

This figure has gone up by 50% in the last three years. Between 2021 and 2022 alone, the proportion of older young people aged 17-19 in Wales with a mental health disorder jumped from 1 in 6 to 1 in 4. This highlights how mental health conditions are increasing year by year.

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Young Minds #HelloYellow Young Minds is a charity that provides support for young people’s mental health.

Their website contains helpful links, tips and tools to help regulate good mental health practices. They also provide a chat service for those struggling- you can text “YM” to 85258 any time to chat with someone. Hello Yellow is an annual national campaign run by Young Minds to show young people that they are not alone with their mental health. Thousands of people each year take part by wearing yellow and donating.

Here you can see some of USW’s MSc Clinical Psychology students taking part in the #HelloYellow campaign this year. Efforts like these can help bring people together and provide a safe space for young people to feel supported with their mental health.

Increasing mental health awareness brings many benefits. It draws attention to new treatments, helps people to find support, reduces the stigma, and helps people see that they are not alone.

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University Meets Neurodiversity My Story

By Courtney Cooksey

To all of those like me who overschedule, overthink, overwork, over-worry, and over-everything, please know you’re not alone. – Ryan Reynolds first year of Psychology with Developmental Disorders.

Being Autistic has its challenges, and attending University just being one of many. I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) back in 2020 during COVID when I was 20 years old. Lockdown was incredibly difficult for me – I had just been diagnosed with something that had been affecting me my entire life. This changed everything, and the Government Guidelines during this period meant that I couldn’t start receiving the professional support that I needed. I was limited in the things I could do to try and better myself.

Being forced to stay inside because of my health conditions was not something I thought would ever apply to me, however, it gave me the opportunity to start thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. Through the isolated days, I started looking at college courses and found myself applying for a Level 2 Teaching Assistant course. I got accepted to start in 2021.

As I was doing my college course for Level 2, I was enjoying working with Autistic students at Porth Comprehensive School. I felt really accepted there. This encouraged me to complete the course and then do an additional year of college to obtain the Level 3 certificate.

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After, I looked at university courses at my nearest Uni, being the Treforest campus of USW, to see what courses they offered that would allow me to do something similar, but not in a school. I originally thought I could have been an Educational Psychologist, but there was still too much of a link with schools, and a lack of the involvement of diagnosing and liaising with families to help people. That then sent me down a path of psychologist jobs, and now I’ve realised that I want to be a Clinical Psychologist. I’ve just started my BSc Undergraduate Degree in Psychology with Developmental Disorders, and I’ve applied for lots of Psychology Plus Scheme courses to give me more experience, and a bit more fun along the way.

The Disability Support Team at USW are fantastic and have really helped me with all aspects of my Autism. I had been liaising with them to figure out what types of support I’m able to access in Uni. As I have both physical and cognitive conditions, I need multiple forms of support. I had a phone appointment with one of the members of staff, and we talked about my struggles. For example, I have a back disability that I was born with called Spina Bifida Occulta. I said that I couldn’t sit or stand for too long without being in intense pain and gaining fatigue. We also discussed my Autism and how it affects me. I disclosed how it affects me socially and how I can struggle in group environments if I’m put on the spot. After the phone call, he typed up a Support Plan for me to send to my tutors for them to know how to support me. It’s completely confidential and is not shared with others without my consent. On my support plan, it supports my back issues by allowing me to have short breaks maybe every hour just for a stretch – this means that I don’t have to ask to be excused or ask beforehand, I can just give a signal for them to know. It also supports my Autism by allowing me to verbally contribute to lessons if I want to. The tutors know this, so they won’t ask me any direct questions as it could overwhelm me and cause me distress.

The University has been fantastic so far. The lessons can feel like they drag sometimes, but the lessons are so fun and fascinating. Dr Greville is one of my favourites, he’s relatable and very engaging! His stories are ones to remember. He saw a spider in class one day and spent a lot of the lesson talking to his class about spiders.

The humour of all my tutors has made uni life that bit more special for me and means I can just be myself. I feel like I can talk to the tutors about anything. If I want further support, all I need to do is speak to my tutors, or send an email to the disability support services. To everyone who has given me continuous support and made me feel like I can access the university just like any other student, I will forever be grateful.

If you are in need of Disability Support at USW, follow the relevant links on page 18

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USW & NHS Partnership: Bringing Academia & Expertise Together

A new partnership between USW and Sanwell West Birmingham NHS Trust (SWB) has been made to evaluate the award-winning SWB Alcohol Team and to better raise awareness for alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD).

The Addictions Research Group, led by Professor Bev John and Professor Gareth Roderique-Davies, have been producing research at an international level. Their work ranges from raising awareness, prevention, early identification, diagnosis, and treatment development.

Addictions Research Group

The new partnership has “created a bridge” between academia and clinical expertise which aims to evaluate the Alcohol Care Team, promote their care model between academic and health care audiences, and to move forward towards future research all in anticipation to improve patient care.

The USW researchers have also provided SWB with an ARBD online training course which will be released nationally to raise awareness and to provide a better understanding of ARBD.

Dr Darren Quelch and his colleagues Professors Bev John and Gareth Roderique-Davies have, in just three months, provided unrivalled insight, expertise and enthusiasm that has transformed the academic output and research vision of the Alcohol Care Team. We are excited and inspired by the opportunities this collaboration presents for future academic studies and service developments to improve the care of patients whose health is adversely affected by alcohol.

- Prof. Sally Bradberry, Director of National Poisons Information Service

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In recognition and celebration of this new and exciting collaboration, the partnership has been short-listed for a National Institute for Health and Care Research, Clinical Research Network award in the category of collaboration/partnership in research.

We are aware that there are many people at risk of ARBD and this is worrying. This condition is often hard to diagnose so it is vitally important that we raise awareness and that patients are put on a recognised treatment plan.

By working with the Addictions Research Group and implementing the training, we will improve care for our patients who present with this condition. We know that if a person stops drinking, remains alcohol free and receives good support they may be able to make a partial or even full recovery.

- Arlene Copland, Lead ACT nurse

Scan above to read the full article

This progressive collaboration came about after the Trust’s Head of Research and Development, Kelly hard, facilitated the partnership. Professor Bradberry said that “we are indebted to Kelly Hard

The Alcohol Care Team at SWB are innovators in their field.

Promoting their approach to providing care for this vulnerable, and often overlooked group, is crucial for development of national improvements to the management of alcohol-use disorders.

- Darren Quelch, USW Senior Research Assistant

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Meet Your SU welfare officer!

Cheryl Chingosho -Students’ Union Welfare Officer

Hello, fellow students at the University of South Wales! My name is Cheryl Chingosho, and I am the student union's Vice President of Welfare. I studied biomedical sciences for my undergraduate degree in Malaysia. I came to the UK to study MSc in public health. I like to draw in my free time and enjoy playing video games.

As the Vice President of Welfare, I prioritise enhancing your student experience as much as possible. I work tirelessly to address your concerns, from well-being and mental health to housing and financial stability. My role is to ensure that you have access to the support and resources necessary for a fulfilling and successful university journey. Being the welfare officer isn't just about helping individual students; it's about encouraging a positive and nurturing university environment. Dealing with university stress is a universal challenge we all face. I've found that open communication with my peers and professional support services has been incredibly valuable. Taking breaks, engaging in physical activities, and practising mindfulness have also played a pivotal role in maintaining my well-being.

Your Student's Union is a goldmine of opportunities waiting to be explored. I encourage you to actively engage by participating in clubs, societies, and our events. Make your voice heard through our democratic processes, namely our AGM, elections change week and getting involved with our student council and student voice forum. Throughout your time at USW, feel free to reach out to me with any concerns, ideas, or suggestions on your student journey. Stay engaged, stay positive, and let's embrace this exciting phase of our lives as students!

www.uswsu.com

Full-time Exec Officers are USW students who have taken a year out of their studies or have recently graduated and are responsible for making high-level decisions for the Students’ Union. They are annually elected and work a full academic year supporting activities, running campaigns and making sure your student voice is heard at the highest level.

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Support and Resources Support for Disabled Students

USW wellbeing Service

Our Previous Issues

Your Students’ Union

disability.southwales.ac.uk

issuu.com/sulci

wellbeing.southwales.ac.uk

www.uswsu.com

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By contributing to Sulci you can also work towards a certificate from the Psychology Plus scheme

Positions Available Content Writer Illustrator Editor More

E-mail

30017002 @students .southwa les.ac.uk

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