Emotional Well-Being at Wyke

This week marks Transgender Awareness Week and our blog post hopes to take a step in helping to raise awareness amongst our student and staff population and beyond. So, what does Transgender mean? A person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex. Gender is different from sex. Sex is the biological term for determining whether someone was born with X or Y chromosomes. Gender is a social construct to which traits are ascribed as either ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’. Someone’s gender does not define their sexual orientation – often these two are distinct.Gender is a spectrum across which many people identify in many ways. What can I do to help? Approaching transgender people with respect, awareness, and a desire to learn about gender is an important step in making sure you don’t hurt anyone’s feelings. Take some time to research more about gender identities and langauge. The following websites provide a great place to start. https://www.glaad.o

Covid-19 has brought uncertainty for us all, face to face services have been reduced and lots of interactions are now taking place via Teams or Zoom calls. Remote working will affect everyone differently, some may find it useful, for some it may alleviate anxieties, for others it may cause anxieties. There are lots of things you can do to keep yourself feeling well, here are 4 suggestions you can try to promote better emotional wellbeing; Sleep - if we do not sleep well, this affects our concentration, mood and how our bodies function. Having a good sleep routine is very important as it will help you to relax and ensure you are fit and well. Sleep suggestions: Take a bath or shower before you go to bed Read a book or listen to calming mindfulness music Switch off devices an hour before you go to bed Try to keep your phone out of your room at bedtime Have a set sleep time, for example, 10:30pm to 7:30am Try not to sleep during the day Don’t focus on having to get to sleep,

Lockdown lows or a chance to set new goals? As the country heads into a second lockdown have a think about things you can do to keep yourself feeling well both physically and mentally. The good news is support is available. Think about your daily maintenance plan – what keeps you feeling good and functioning well? This could be as simple as having a good sleep routine, eating well, and getting regular exercise. This doesn’t have to be anything specific and you may find that your normal exercise plan changes as things stop for the lockdown. Getting out for a walk can really help to clear your head and make you feel great. You could set yourself a goal during lockdown to try a new hobby or complete something you have wanted to but have not had chance. Don’t forget you can use online resources if you need: www.togetherall.com - a safe online community for mental health support 24/7. You can access this for free using your college email address. www.kooth.com - free, safe and confide