It’s time to take five: Under Pressure is here!

Coming up on March 1st is University Mental Health Day; dedicated to promoting awareness for student wellbeing across the country. Without a doubt, studying at Imperial is incredibly stressful, which can take a serious toll on a student’s wellbeing; there are a lot of deadlines, revision, and exams throughout the year; and, at some point, everyone has felt a bit out of their depth. That’s why over the next week the Under Pressure campaign is taking over the campuses to give students an opportunity to have fun and learn strategies to cope with stress.

During the week, there will be a multitude of stress-busting events for you to take part in. At South Kensington, there will be:

• Several meditation sessions through the week, with a session Monday 13:05-13:35 focusing on Christian traditions, a session Tuesday 12:05-12:50 focusing on using mindfulness with meditation and a session Friday 13:00-13:50 focusing on Buddhist traditions (all meditation sessions will take place in the Chaplaincy Multi-Faith Centre, 10 Prince’s Gardens). • Free massages in the SAF Foyer on Tuesday 11:00-13:30 – slots for that went very quickly last year so get in early! • Relaxation Arts and Crafts activities and smoothie making in Metric and Beit Quad on Friday from 11:30-13:00. Come along to have a free smoothie, give mindful colouring a go, and make your own stress ball!

There will also be activities on Charing Cross Campus, with board games and arts and crafts running in the Reynolds Bar on Monday 11:00-15:30 and free massages running in the Reynolds Bar on Tuesday 14:30-17:00.

“Under Pressure gives you an opportnity to learn strategies to cope with stress”

The highlight of the week, however, will be the University Mental Health Day celebrations on Thursday; from 11:00-15:30 there will be a fairground on Queen’s Lawn! There will be plenty of games and fun to enjoy so take a break out of your day to check out the activities on offer.

A list of all activities and times can be found on the Union Website, so check it out if you are unsure what’s going on. Other resources are also available there, such as stress busting and revision tips, a weekly meal plan template, and a list of resources that give help and advice.

These activities are not the only thing that’s happening as part of Under Pressure! The Union Shop will be selling fidget cubes at a reduced cost of £3.95, which are a great tool for anyone’s pencil case during exam season. Each face of the cube contains a different stimulus with a variety of textures, some noisy and some silent, to provide easy and discrete anxiety relief anywhere from lectures to public transport. Stress balls are designed for people to release tension when stressed, however this is not always how people react to stress! If you instead fidget when stressed, especially if you bite your nails, twist your hair, click pens or tap your fingers on surfaces, I would recommend giving a fidget cube a go.

Overall, this week is here to help every student relax and equip themselves for the exam season ahead, so make the most of it!