Stress Awareness Week
The 7-11 November is International Stress Awareness Week, and the University, alongside the Students’ Union, has created a programme of online and face to face events for staff and students to find out more about stress and stress prevention.
We all know what it's like to feel stressed, and feeling under pressure is a normal part of life. But being overwhelmed by stress can lead to mental health issues and can make existing problems worse.
A small amount of stress can be useful. It can motivate you to take action and get tasks completed. It can also make you feel alive and excited. But too much stress can cause negative effects such as a change in your mood, your body and relationship issues.
This weeks’ activities are designed to highlight ways that stress might affect people and help our staff and students manage their stress before it becomes a problem. Students can access support for their mental health and wellbeing by contacting the Student Hub via Live Chat on the Portal. Find about more about the mental health and wellbeing support available for students.
Staff can find out how to access support, and a range of information and resources to support their mental health by visiting our Staff health and wellbeing webpage.
Stress Awareness Week events
| Event and audience | Date | Description | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art for wellbeing (students) | Monday 7 November | Come along to explore the styles of various famous artists and discover your own style in a relaxed setting. This informal group will focus on easy therapeutic artwork and use a large variety of mediums. You’ll be led by a member of Student Support Services and although the workshop is listed for one hour you are welcome to stay for another hour if you wish. Although these sessions are running for multiple weeks there is no requirement to attend all sessions. Places limited to eight per session so please sign up in advance to guarantee a place. | 2:00pm - 3:00pm |
Loch View, 2A1 Cottrell Building |
| Managing My Stress workshop (staff) | Monday 7 November | Understand what stress means to you and how your body reacts to stress. Introduce practical tools and techniques to reduce and manage your stress. | 1:15pm - 4:15pm | Staff can sign up for a session on SharePoint |
| Resilience workshops (staff) | Tuesday 8 November | Face-to-face resilience workshops for staff provided in partnership with our Occupational Health provider Innovate. |
9:30am - 11:30am or 1:30pm - 3:30pm |
Campus Central |
| Positive Pebbles (students and staff) | Tuesday 8 November | Join us for some free creative Pebble Painting. Mindful activities can be a wonderful stress reliver so no need to book, just pop along. This activity is open to all staff and students. | 12:00pm - 4:00pm | Campus Central |
| Crafternoon (students and staff) | Tuesday 8 November | Located alongside the Positive Pebbles, the Crafternoon is another chance for students to get involved in destressing through creativity. | 12:00pm - 4:00pm | Campus Central |
|
Reducing Stress (students) |
Tuesday 8 November |
An event led by one of our Counsellors giving tips and tools on how you can manage your stress and reduce it. We will also be giving information for where you can access support on campus all year round. |
1:30pm - 2:30pm | Acorn Room, 2A1 Cottrell Building |
| Reading to Relieve Anxiety and Stress (students and staff) | Tuesday 8 November | In collaboration with our Book Club the Student Union will be leading a session on how reading supports our mental wellbeing and offers an opportunity to escape our everyday worries. Book swap, mystery book giveaways, and a cozy evening to get back into reading | 6:30pm - 8:00pm | Underground |
| De-stress for less (students) | Wednesday 9 November |
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Team will be promoting some of the best, and most inexpensive, ways to de-stress. Share your top tips to relax for a chance to win a subscription for Calm for a whole year. Giveaways include stress toys, sleep tea, fruit and veg pots |
2:00pm - 4:00pm |
Outside the library |
| Dance and De-stress (students and staff) | Wednesday 9 November | In collaboration with Latin Dance Society, the Student Union will have a Latin dance beginner session open for anyone to join and dance their stress away. | 6:00pm |
Venue |
| De-Stress Room (students) | Wednesday 9 November |
Book your 15 minute slot in one of our stress reduction pods located in the Chaplaincy. A sign-up sheet can be found at the ‘De-stress for Less’ table outside the library, and slots will be given on |
Multiple slots |
Chaplaincy |
| Yoga session with Jenny (students and staff) | Thursday 10 November |
Come down to the Sports Centre and take part in a relaxing mid-morning Yoga Session with Jenny, our fantastic instructor. This class is now available to book via the University of Stirling Sport app and is available for all staff and students. |
10:30am - 11:25am |
Studio 1 and 2, Sports Centre |
| How to look after yourself | Thursday 10 November |
Session for committees of clubs and societies to inform them on how they can take care of their wellbeing as committees. Providing useful strategies and tips for how to manage stress throughout the year. |
2:00pm - 3:00pm |
2A11 Cottrell Building |
| Garden and wellbeing session (students and staff) | Friday 11 November | A chance for you to get involved with people and the community in our Community Garden. You don't have to stay for the full two hours and it’s a great chance to get involved in the light activity to improve your well-being. We’ll also be offering tea and coffee afterwards for anyone who’d like it. If you enjoy it you can continue to come to our garden sessions every Wednesday and Friday. | 2:00pm - 5:00pm |
Meet in the Atrium at 2pm before we’ll make our way up to the garden. Session lasts until 4pm before we return to the Student Union for tea and coffee until 5pm. |
| Managing My Stress workshop (staff) | Friday 11 November | Understand what stress means to you and how your body reacts to stress. Introduce practical tools and techniques to reduce and manage your stress. | 9:15am - 12:15pm | Staff can sign up for a session on SharePoint |
| Mindful meditation session (students) | Friday 11 November |
Come along to find out a little bit about how mindfulness can help reduce stress and make you feel more in control of your everyday life. This will be a 50-minute informal session led by Emily Fullwood, one of the Student Counsellors, during which you can pick up some practical tips about looking after yourself in the here and now. There will be soothing warm drinks available too. No need to book, just come along! |
1:00pm - 1:50pm | Acorn Room, 2A1 Cottrell Building |
| Library Wellbeing Space (students and staff) | Monday 7 November - Friday 11 November | Refresh and relax in the library wellbeing space. The area is equipped for mindfulness, quietly relaxing, or browsing the many wellbeing resources available. The wellbeing space is located on level 2 of the library. | During library opening hours |
Library, Level 2 |
| Library book swap (students and staff) | Monday 7 November - Friday 11 November | Pop into the library to bring a book and take a book from our book swap bookcase. A book swap is also a great way to save money, recycle old books and read new ones. | During library opening hours |
Library, Level 2 |
| Library jigsaw | Monday 7 November - Friday 11 November | The library jigsaw is back! Pop into the library and help us complete our jigsaw. | During library opening hours |
Library, Level 2 |
| The Book Fairies (students and staff) | Monday 7 November - Friday 11 November | Reading for just 6 minutes can help reduce your stress levels. The library book fairies will be ‘hiding’ books around campus this week. Will you be one of the lucky book finders? | Event taking place all week |
On campus See @isstirling on Twitter and Instagram for clues |
| Virtual Library Wellbeing Space (students and staff) | Monday 7 November - Friday 11 November | Take a break to relax and refresh in our Virtual Library Wellbeing Space. Download one of our colouring sheets or complete one of our virtual jigsaws. | Event taking place all week |
Visit the Virtual Library Wellbeing Space |