Homesickness

We’ve come to the end of the first week back (unless you’re starting next week instead)! Many people can find themselves feeling homesick at the start of the new term. This isn’t uncommon- in fact, research shows that 70% of students report feeling homesick at some point.

Signs of homesickness include preoccupying thoughts about home, friends and family from your hometown, withdrawal from social activities and work, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. If you are feeling homesick, here’s a few tips that may help:

1.  Get out and keep busy- maybe now could be the time to join a new society or the gym?
2. Bring some home comforts- making your university living space as homely as possible is important!
3. Call home (but not too often)- maintaining some connection with your home support network is important, but maintaining a balance (aka not cancelling plans with friends so that you can call home again) is key
4. Talk to someone- if you’re finding it difficult to cope, speak to someone about it, whether that’s university counselling services, friends, or us!
5. Give yourself time- it may take a bit of time to adjust to being back after the Christmas break, and that’s okay

Homesickness can happen at any point even if you’ve already been at university for a few years, so don’t beat yourself up about it. Also, if you notice that a friend is withdrawing, reach out to them a few times and let them know that you’re there for them.

Warmly,

Anon

Exam stress coping tips

Now that term 2 has started, many of you may be facing exams and assignments. It’s not uncommon to find exams daunting, but here’s a few tips on how to cope with exam stress from Student Minds:

1.  Organisation: Break your revision down into small chunks, and form a plan. Once you've got a plan, you won't have any more dilemmas at the start of the day about what to work on.
2. Schedule in plenty of free time to unwind. If you give yourself plenty of rest you can do the same amount of work in half the time or less.
3. Equally, don't panic if you go slightly off schedule - tomorrow is another day.
4.  Don't set yourself ridiculous goals. Nobody can revise 10 topics in a day! Avoid setting the day up to be a disappointment.
5. Don't cut out all the enjoyment from your life. It's tempting to decide you'll just knuckle down to work and "focus", but this is counterproductive - it's impossible to focus without giving your brain rest by doing other activities.
6. Avoid stimulants. Caffeine, alcohol and drugs impede your energy and concentration in the long term. It'll also make it more difficult to get that much-needed sleep.
7. Don’t compare yourself to others
8. If you can, discuss with your parents what they are expecting you to achieve. Parents with steep or unrealistic expectations will just add unnecessary pressure. It's helpful to let them know what you think you have the capacity to achieve, and to insist that the best way to get there is to have support from your parents, not pressure.
9. If you're feeling really worried or anxious, chat to a good friend, family member, or tutor. It helps to get it out of your system, and they may well be able to help think about practical strategies to deal with exam stress.
10. And lastly, PERSPECTIVE- exam success (or failure) does not define you as a person!

For study tips, here’s an excellent 3-minute video by asapscience on the best study tips according to science: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p60rN9JEapg

Warmly,

Anon

We're Back for Term 2!

We’re Back!

Our lines are open again for term 2! We know that coming back to university after the Christmas break can be wrought with its own challenges, from exam stress to homesickness to financial worries. We will be uploading an article every day this week about some of these challenges and tips for adjusting to being back at university. Stay tuned!

Whatever is on your mind, we’re here to listen. You can contact us via phone, text, Instant Messaging, and email (find our details on Nightline.org.uk) . Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@LondonNightline) to keep up to date with what we’re up to, and any line closures.

How is Nightline here to listen? #NLBeHeard

As a confidential listening and information service for students, we provide a non-judgemental, safe space for you to share what’s on your mind and explore your feelings. We do not provide advice. The information you share with us remains within Nightline, unless: a) we are legally required to disclose information under the Terrorism Act 2000, b) you have explicitly given us permission to share this information with emergency services if you are in danger.

All our volunteers are trained students. If you are interested in volunteering yourself, we have opportunities for hotline volunteers, ambassadors (who promote Nightline within their own university), and publicity and fundraising volunteers. You can email volunteer@nightline.org.uk to join our mailing list to be notified when applications are open for January intake. The application deadline is 14^th December. 

Applications for ambassadors are now open. Ambassadors training takes place via skype, allowing students who don't live in London to get involved! Click here to find out more about our roles, the training involved, and how to apply.

Our lines are open 6pm-8am every night of term, and you can contact us in the following ways:

Phone: (+44)207 631 0101

Email: listening@nightline.org.uk

Instant Messaging: via this website

Text: (+44)7717 989 900

Who can you turn to when you need someone to listen? #NLBeHeard

University can be a challenging time, and sometimes we just need to get things off our chest. Other times, we may need more specific support. The lack of funding for student psychological services means that the average waiting time to see a counsellor is 6 weeks, although this can sometimes be longer. Below, I’ve included some potential sources of support which you can turn to if you need someone to listen (hover over the bold items to find links to relevant websites):

The Mix

The Mix is the UK’s leading support service for young people. They are there to listen and support you with any challenges you may be facing- from mental health to money, from homelessness to finding a job, from break-ups to drugs. Services they offer include:

• Discussion boards for 13-25 year olds where you can talk anonymously about what's on your minds and help each other out
• The Mix counselling service: short-term help with mental health and emotional wellbeing. Their telephone counselling service is available for under 25s. To access support, call them on 0808 808 4994 between 4 pm to 11 pm.
•  Group chatrooms: A safe space for anyone aged 11 to 25 to support each other with their problems. Open every Wednesday from 8-9:30pm. 

Papyrus

Papyrus are a suicide prevention charity who provide confidential help and advice to young people under 35 and anyone worried about a young person. Their hotline service, HOPELINEUK, is staffed by advisors who are there to listen and provide you with confidential support and practical advice. You can contact them in the following ways:

Call: 0800 068 4141                      Text: 07786209697                       Email: pat@papyrus-uk.org

Their opening hours are as follows: 10am – 10pm weekdays; 2pm – 10pm weekends; 2pm – 10pm bank holidays.

Student Minds

Student Minds offer support groups as a safe, confidential place that allow students to talk and listen without judgement. They offer different support groups all run by trained facilitators:

·       Positive Minds: six-week course for students experiencing low mood or mild depression

·       Eating difficulty groups: informal groups to provide support and encouragement to any student who is experiencing difficulties around food

·       Supporting supporters workshops: for those supporting a friend or family member experiencing eating difficulties

Click here to find out if your university has a Student Minds support group.

Student Support and Wellbeing Drop-in Sessions

Some universities offer drop in sessions. The availability of these drop-in sessions and the type of support offered will vary from university to university. You can take a look at the support services on offer on your university website to find out more.

If you need someone to talk to between the hours of 6pm to 8am, Nightline is here to listen! 

If our lines happen to be closed and you urgently need someone to speak to someone, the Samaritans are a 24-hour service. You can contact them by calling 116 123.

What makes a good listener? #NLBeHeard

Active listening is not only a valuable soft skill that employers look for, it also helps you become better at supporting someone emotionally through times of need. We hear the term bandied about, but what does active listening actually involve?

Below, I’ve included some tips on how we can be better listeners:

Acceptance and Non-Judgement

People come from different backgrounds and have different experiences shaping their views. The fear of judgement can stop people opening up about themselves or their problems. Showing the person you are listening to that you are not judging them can help them feel less afraid to open up. Listen with an open mind and try to recognise how your own background and views may influence your perception of what the other person is saying. Try not to make judgemental comments about what the other person is saying or jump to conclusions. You could actively reassure the person that you are not judging them and you accept them for who they are, if they are opening up about a topic that’s very sensitive in nature or that they are really afraid of talking to anyone about.

Listening

This may sound like an obvious one, but one of the first rules of active listening is actually showing someone that you are listening to them. That involves not going on your phone to scroll through Instagram mid-conversation, making eye-contact with the other person (to the extent that you’re both comfortable with of course), and showing through your facial expressions that you are really registering their message. The use of non-verbals is also a golden strategy, especially if the conversation you are having is over the phone where you cant use visual cues to show that you are listening.

Empathy

Many people get confused about the difference between empathy and sympathy. Imagine that someone is drowning in a pool and needs your help. Sympathy would be feeling sorry for the person, whereas empathy would lead you to actually throw out a rope for them. You can see which of the two is more helpful. Empathy involves actually trying to put yourself in the other person's shoes and see where they are coming from, whilst sympathy involves simply pitying the other person. It’s not always going to be easy to put ourselves in others shoes if they are going through something we have no experience of ourselves or cant really relate to, but we can at least try to better understand their experiences by asking questions. We can use our words to acknowledge their struggles and emotions, and avoid minimising their problems by bringing up a problem of your own that you thought was worse.

Reflection

Reflective listening is a method of communication which involves two key steps: seeking to understand what the other person is saying, then offering the idea back to the speaker (e.g. paraphrasing what the speaker has just said) to show that you have been really listening. It's also important to reflect the language that the other person has been using- this reduces the risk of you appearing to make any assumptions about the other person. You should also reflect tone of voice (this doesn't have to mean matching the tone of voice exactly, it can be closer to neutral). You can imagine that it may not come across well if the person you’re listening to sounds very despondent, and you reply in a very cheerful tone of voice. To illustrate this, I’ve included a link to a video clip of Inside Out (a great movie I’d recommend).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT6FdhKriB8

And lastly, remember to take care of yourself! Supporting others whilst we are emotionally and mentally drained ourselves can be difficult, so it's important to remember to look after yourself. If that means that you aren't able to support someone at the moment, that's okay, your needs come first. If you need to talk to someone, Nightline is here to listen (go onto nightline.org.uk for contact details).

If you’re staying tuned to our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (@LondonNightline), you’ll see our daily listening tips! And if you have any questions about anything mentioned in this blog post, please put them in the comments.

Warmly,

Anon

Nightline Awareness Week 2018: #NLBeHeard

It's Nightline Awareness Week! This year we are focusing on what it means to be heard, whether that means highlighting what makes you feel heard, giving you some tips and tools on how to be an active listener, and letting you in on how here at Nightline we try and make you feel heard and listened to.

Over the week, we'll be posting some of the key tips that our volunteers use to be good listeners on our lines, from empathy skills and non-judgement, to questioning formats, as well as the importance of looking after yourself; see some of our posts from last year's Awareness Week around the theme of self-care if you're interested!

We'll be posting here everyday talking about different aspects of this year's theme, including:

• What makes a good listener?
• Who can you turn to when you want someone to listen?
• What projects are Nightline working on to represent students?
• How can Nightline make me feel heard?

We have also released a new resource in partnership with Papyrus, the national suicide prevention charity for young people under 35, as well as those concerned about a young person. Together we have created a leaflet for students to keep and use as a starting point for how to support friends, flatmates and anyone in need, as well as a poster for universities and housing accommodation blocks to let you know all of the methods of support open to you. 

If you want to get involved, and we'd really like you to, visit our social media accounts (@LondonNightline) to follow our week and share your thoughts and if you would like to post about it, make sure to use #NLBeHeard to get involved!