Author: charlotte.spires

Our ‘5 Weeks of Wellbeing’ theme for the upcoming week is take notice. We invited 2nd year PhD student in the School of Cellular and Molecular Science, Jiahe Lu, to share her advice and insights on why taking notice has helped her throughout her research.

Hello Bristol! I’m Jiahe, a PhD student working on T cells and cancer. In my day-to-day research, I do a lot of imaging of cells –  and that has helped me embrace being an amateur photographer. I always take notice of colours and movement and am ready to capture the moment. So, it seems like I am one of those who has a lot to share about how “taking notice” has had a positive impact on my wellbeing.

As a researcher in the early stage of my career, pressure from my project and too many repeat experiments means I have sometimes felt isolated and depressed. My low mood at these times further prevented me from making progress in my project and my wider life, which ended up as a vicious circle. Therefore, I think it’s beneficial for young researchers to keep up a dynamic communication with the environment around them, and drive towards an active status of noticing the world, both mentally and physically.

Instagram

I’m an Instagrammer myself so maybe that’s why I found Instagram a good way to appreciate the world around me. By following some of the Bristol local Instagram accounts like @visitbristol and @bitsofbristol, people new to Bristol could be busy enough for a whole year —- Bristol looks awesome everywhere and you’ll want to pay a visit yourself to all of its neighbourhoods and parks! For people like me who have been in Bristol for many years, it’s a delightful experience to look through others’ eyes and rediscover the place you’ve become so used to –  and maybe even bored with. Sometimes, when I take a lower view of a familiar sight, or stand behind fences, the world is different and inspiration sparkles.

Also, I’m a fan of plants, so I visit @uobroyalfortgardens very often. Royal Fort Garden is the mystery garden closest to you and don’t assume you know everything about it. For example, I never knew there is a loquat tree and its flowers smell sweet! Go and have lunch with your colleagues at Royal Fort Garden, spring is around the corner –first daffodils, now crocuses, and then next up is the cherry blossom, we’re really spoiled…

I post my all my lab work’s live cell imaging experiments on my Instagram, as they make incredible art. In my experiments, the cell signals bloom like fireworks; and watching T cells hunting for cancer cells beneath the microscope really is a hunger game!

I love the hashtag my colleague Grace posts, #mypolaroidPhD, as my PhD is indeed a visually enjoyable project and on top of that, I’m a polaroid fan!

Photography

If following others’ views means to take in information, then photography means to put out your own. Take pictures of the blue sky and balloons, take picture of people’s smiles, take pictures of children hand in hand with their parents, take pictures of old couples cuddling each other…

You don’t need to be an expert or have a good camera. Catching the world’s beautiful moment is a present to yourself, and you can revisit your pictures from time to time to remind yourself how lovely the world is, and what a tender person you are. In Japanese the word “tender (優しい)” is commonly used, and I believe having a peaceful mind saves us from low self-esteem. If you’re stuck in your research project and you feel blue, move your sight away from your desktop for a while. Maybe there’s a rainbow in the sky, or maybe there’s a seagull who wants to come in and do some science!

Enough talking about pictures, you may never notice what a remarkable view your workplace has. I’m proudly claiming that our lab has the best birds-eye view of Bristol at night. But I admit that Queens Building has a better view of sunset since it has the Wills Memorial Building in its frame. I strongly miss the library of the old Biological Building, as you can see the best autumn foliage from there.

I always said to myself that “this is a world worth living (in Chinese, 人间值得)” on my way home, when I noticed how clear the dark sky was and how the diamond stars twinkled there, and then the early dark in winter is forgivable!

At the end of this blog I really want to say you don’t have to force yourself to pay attention to everything happening around you. But when you sniff the danger of sinking into loneliness and indifference during your academic life, remember you can recharge your battery by noticing the beauty of nature and the community right around you.

My Instagram:  @jiahe_lu

For this week’s theme, join us for any of the following activities designed to help you take notice within your wider research community. All activities take place in the PGR Hub, 1st floor of Senate house, unless otherwise stated:

• Mindfulness mural – colour in the walls!: All week
• Tai Chi: Wednesday, 20 February, 7:30-9:30pm
• Guided meditation: 22 February, 1-1:45pm
• *Virtual activity*: share a mindful moment on social media and tag the Bristol Doctoral College. All entries receive a free bookmark or coaster in exchange, available to collect from the PGR Hub

Pick up a free 5 Weeks of Wellbeing ‘Zine from the PGR Hub – collect a sticker for an activity each week, and you’ll be entered into a prize draw for a wellness hamper worth up to £100!

Our ‘5 Weeks of Wellbeing’ theme for the upcoming week is connect. We invited 1st year PhD student in English, Surangama Datta, to share her thoughts on what the theme of connect means to her and her research.

Research, as I see it, is like a package deal. “Pushing the boundaries in your field” comes with having to push internal boundaries. There are days when I feel like a super productive PGR ninja, smashing away at my keyboard with high levels of passion (and caffeine), clearing my email inbox like a pro, and totally nailing deadlines. And then there are days when all I have is a blank page. And lots and lots of funny cat videos.

After an entire vicious cycle of blank page, funny cats and anxiety, the white page continues to be just as daunting. The more I stare, the larger it seems to get. Meanwhile, “I am not good enough” starts playing on loop in my head.

Slowly but steadily, I shatter into pieces and begin to fall apart.

As a first year fresh-into-the-research-oven PhD student, I have days when I feel absolutely paralysed by the fear of this huge mountain called my PhD. I feel lost, confused and one hundred percent like an impostor.

I have always had the tendency to keep my struggles to myself and it is only recently, after a few moments of letting go and finding surprising results, that I have finally started to realise that sometimes, reaching out can be the antidote you convince yourself you don’t need, but which you positively do.

So here are three things I highly recommend for days days we can’t, just can’t:

1. Connecting to people you know
This could be friends, family, or anyone else that is close. Just call, meet, email or text. This is a safe space where you can be yourself and vent, vent vent away! These people are often the best qualified to remind you of your worth, how you need to take it easy, and know you well enough to understand your struggles. This is the most personalised help you will get. And sometimes, you will find that your friend, or sibling, or even your fellow researcher, is going through a similar crisis as you.

And you will get support, comfort, hacks and solidarity.

Like this one time I went to the gym in my accommodation to blow off some steam after a series of bad days, and struck up a conversation with a friend to kill time while waiting for my turn at the treadmill. Suffice it to say, that conversation lasted two hours, and I walked in with chaos, and came out with at least five different solutions and a very light heart.

2. Connecting with people who know

There is also an entire community of people out there who know. They know what you are going through, have perhaps gone through similar things themselves, and they know how to help. Sometimes, all you need is to reach out to them. These people may be your supervisors, your fellow PGRs, or perhaps your wellbeing advisors. The point is, they understand your experiences and are willing to listen, and provide specific advice.
Sometimes, I spend weeks feeling like there’s no progress. When I finally get around to meeting my supervisors, they tell me that what I am doing is good enough. And sometimes, that’s all that’s needed.

3. Getting to know new people

I have been surprised over and over again at how much connecting can help in contextualising problems, bringing comfort, and providing practical solutions, or the courage to find them. And sometimes, this involves connecting to new people. New people bring new ideas and experiences. They can bring out parts of you you didn’t know existed, and apart from adding fresh layers to your sense of self, they may even add to your project. This can be particularly refreshing especially when you feel stuck.

So I make it a point to socialise whenever I can. Besides, it can be extremely relaxing just to hang out with new people, have some good laughs, and put your problems aside for a while.

***

A nod in the right direction, a few compassionate exchanges and knowing that you don’t have to do this alone.

I walk into the PGR Hub after an awful writers’ block. I find an insanely difficult 1000-piece puzzle lying around. The pieces are tiny and the puzzle is giant. I fumble at it for a while, and am about to give up.

My fellow researchers join me. We circle around and scramble through the numerous, exhausting pieces. And slowly but steadily, we put the pieces back, together.

For this week’s theme, join us for any of the following activities designed to help you connect to your wider research community. All activities take place in the PGR Hub, 1st floor of Senate house, unless otherwise stated:

• Coffee and Cake hour: Tuesday, 12 February, 11am-12pm
• Is it me, or is it the PhD?: Tuesday, 12 February, 5-6:30pm
• Spring researcher inauguration (for PGRs starting since Oct 2018): Wednesday, 13 February, 5:30-7pm
• Connect yourself: design-a-puzzle-piece activity: Thursday & Friday, 13 & 14 February, all day
• Lego Serious Play workshop: Friday, 15 February, 1-4pm
• *Virtual activity*: share your puzzle pieces with us via social media and we’ll add them to our design!

Pick up a free 5 Weeks of Wellbeing ‘Zine from the PGR Hub – collect a sticker for an activity each week, and you’ll be entered into a prize draw for a wellness hamper worth up to £100!

Looking out for our research student community’s wellbeing is a big priority for us.

Taking on a research degree is no easy feat: studies conducted across Universities in the UK have demonstrated that all postgraduate researchers find their degree to be “a stressful experience” at some point. A “stressful experience” looks and feels different to everybody, and is often hard to identify, hard to talk about, and hard to admit – whether in yourself, your friends, or your wider community.

Our wellness campaign celebrates 5 whole weeks of wellbeing amongst our postgraduate researchers, based on the NHS guidelines for Five ways to mental wellbeing. This research-backed set of evidence-based actions has been shown to improve personal, holistic wellbeing. The idea behind the “5 Ways” format is that when individuals engage in modest activities focused on their mental wellbeing, their general wellbeing will improve. We also hope it will provide a safe space for everyone to consider their own wellbeing, others’ wellbeing, and what “being well” means to you.

Each week of our campaign centres on a different theme:

• Connect
• Take notice
• Stay active
• Keep learning
• Give

These themes are centred around finding ways to build connections to others through shared activity and healthy relationship-building; to better understand ourselves through self-reflection and mindfulness; and to embrace positive habits such as physical activity and mental stimulation. The “5 Ways” approach views wellbeing as a state of being that incorporates mental health, physical health and emotional health, rather than viewing – and therefore treating – each one as separate and not interdependent on the others.

The Bristol Doctoral College will be hosting a series of short activities themed around each week. All activities are free, and we have tried to offer a range of opportunities for those based on and off-campus, whether you are full-time or part-time.

Of course, wellbeing is something that lasts beyond 5 short weeks. Our PGR Hub offers a range of activities to support PGR development and wellbeing needs, so be sure to look at our calendar of activities. Do you have an activity you’d like to see, host, or share with us during the 5 Weeks of Wellbeing? Fill out this form or get in touch with us directly.

There are also a range of support services available to students who are experiencing more specific difficulties and/or require more direct support. Talk to a Student Wellbeing Adviser based in your faculty if you would like to find out more, either for yourself or on behalf of a friend.

See our schedule below – which will be update continuously throughout the 5 weeks. All of our activities take place in the PGR Hub, located on the 1st floor of Senate House:

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December has arrived: the nights are drawing in, the winter months rapidly approach (yes, that’s right – despite what the gritted roads and frosty mornings might suggest, it’s not even officially winter yet), and the University’s closure over the New Year period looms. Of course, it’s a festive time of the year, with Park Street’s warm streetlights twinkling over the misted traffic and sparkle adorning all the shopfront and café windows.

December is also a colder, darker time of year – and we’re not talking about the earlier sunsets and longer evenings. Mental health and wellbeing have been huge topics on the University’s agenda this year, and it’s a topic that is here to stay. While the media’s attention has been primarily focused on undergraduates and taught student wellbeing, we at the Bristol Doctoral College are thinking about our postgraduate research (PGR) community. We’re taking this December to reflect, regroup, and reach out to our PGRs, and to remind you that there are places you can visit, helplines you can call, and small comforts you can find for both yourself and those around you.

The needs of our PGR students are varied and numerous. This year, we’re trying to offer more activities and events that will help our community feel better supported. Is there an initiative or activity you’d like to see take place? Do you have ideas for how we can run activities to support PGR students? Get in touch with us about it.

Reflect

Distraction proves an easy feat this time of year. Don’t let a busy calendar of teaching duties, experiments to finish, exams to prepare, papers to write, and holiday events to attend stop you from checking in with yourself, your peers and your friends.

• Take some time out during the day for a quiet break. There are a number of spaces on campus you can visit:
  • The PGR Hub, 1st floor of Senate House, is a neutral space designed to support PGR development and wellbeing
  • The new Bristol SU Living Room, on the 4th floor, is a space specifically designed for all students to “just go and chill”
  • If you are far flung from the central campus, step outside for a brisk walk over your lunch break so you can benefit from a change of scenery
• Check in with yourself about how you relax. It might feel silly – relaxation is supposed to be easy, right? – but research shows that discovering daily tips and small ideas that work for your lifestyle can have profound effects on how you cope with stress. Check out charity Mind’s resources on relaxation and try a few new techniques out to see what works.
• When we talk about wellbeing, we don’t often discuss what it specifically means to “be well”. The 5 Ways of Wellbeing are a scientifically-devised, empirically-researched, and useful measure for your mood and how you are feeling. Read more about them through the NHS.
• Join the BDC for a calming Christmas “crafternoon”: a perfect mindfulness pitstop just before the winter break. Bring a friend, or just drop in – there is no need to book, and we’ll have board games, puzzles, colouring, and crafting for you. 19 December, 12-3pm in the PGR Hub.

Regroup

Gathering information, figuring out positive steps and making movements – no matter how small or gentle they are – towards looking after yourself, or helping someone else look after themselves, takes time and resources. Find out where you can go for help, and what resources are available to you:

• University’s central resources
  • Review their services to get help in the Christmas holidays
  • Student Counselling Service – including group sessions information
• Bristol Wellbeing Therapies services, available to anyone living in the UK registered with a GP.
• Bristol Mind, a national charity, has a round-up of information for coping with everyday life.
• Self-help resources for looking after yourself and caring for others: check out the full list.
• Reading Well, an online Books on Prescription service curated by health experts and service users

Reach out

Need to reach out and talk to someone? A range of helplines, both broad and diagnosis-specific, are listed below:

• Alcoholics Anonymous: 0800 9177 650
• Beat: Beat Eating Disorders: 0808 801 0677 or 0808 801 0811
  365 days a year, 12pm-8pm Mon-Fri, and 4pm-8pm Sat-Sun.
• Bristol Mind – general helpline: 0808 808 0330
  8pm – midnight, Wed-Sun.
• Men’s advice line – support for men in abusive relationships: 0808 801 0327
  9am-5pm, Mon-Fri.
• Narcotics Anonymous: 0300 999 1212
  10am-midnight, 7 days a week
• National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247
  24 hours, 7 days a week
• National drugs helpline: 0300 123 6600
  24 hours, 7 days a week
• No Panic – support for anxiety: 0844 967 4848
  10am-10pm, every day
• Samaritans – general helpline: 116 123
  24 hours, 7 days a week
• Shelter – help in housing: 0808 800 4444
  8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm, Sat-Sun & Public Holidays
• Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide: 0300 111 5065
  9am – 9pm Mon-Fri
• Victim Support – for those affected by crime: 08 16 89 111
  24 hours, 7 days a week

You can also find information about peer support groups, local activities, and counselling services through the University, within the city of Bristol, and through national agencies and organisations:

• Bipolar UK: national charity supporting those who live with bipolar disorder
• Bristol Mental Health: NHS funded services across Bristol
• Changes Bristol: mental health support for those living in Bristol
• CRUSE (Bereavement Centre): national charity supporting those who are bereaved
• Off the Record: local charity for 18-25 year olds
• Womankind Bristol: local charity offering specific services for women

Your PGR Faculty Reps are elected student representatives who represent all the students in their faculty to the university.  There are three reps per faculty, one for each level of study: Undergraduate, Postgraduate Taught, and Postgraduate Research. They play a vital role in supporting, consulting with, and building a community amongst their course reps. Each rep chairs their own Faculty Student Staff Liaison Committee (FSSLC), spaces where students can air any faculty level academic issues with university staff and find solutions to them.

They attend meetings such as University Senate, the highest committee in the university, ensuring students’ views on educational issues are being heard.

Moreover, they’re a valuable voice in the Bristol SU democratic structures, sitting on Bristol SU Standing Committee, and being voting members of Student Council. Faculty reps make sure that SU policies and campaigns take into account the needs of students in thier faculty. They also work with the SU’s Full-time Education Officers by sitting on the Education Network committee, to improve students’ academic experience, and make sure that SU policies and campaigns take into account the needs of students in their faculty.

Meet your elected Postgraduate Research Faculty Representatives below!

William Hamilton, Faculty of Arts

My goals for the upcoming year will be to make progress in areas with recurring problems, not least work space, and balancing research with extracurricular projects. I want to grow our postgraduate research communities by supporting pre-existing networks, as well as facilitating the creation of new events and communication channels.

 

Joshua Mudie, Faculty of Engineering

I am hoping to work with the PGR Course reps to improve the welcome that new postgraduate researchers receive when joining the Faculty, and also making sure that every department and Centre for Doctoral Training has their own course rep who is linked into the Faculty network of course reps to make it easier for us to help each other and improve the quality of doing an Engineering PhD.

Edmund Moody, Faculty of Life Sciences

I want to focus on increasing mental health awareness for postgraduate research students and integration between all schools in the life sciences faculty. 

Chris Brasnett, Faculty of Science

My main priorities for the year ahead are to work on promoting representation of Science postgraduate researchers at all levels across the faculty, and developing training opportunities for doctoral teachers.

Shubham Singh, Postgraduate Education Officer

I want to ensure that there are efficient support-structures in place to enhance the well-being of postgraduate researchers.

Please note that Jessica Naylor, PGR Faculty rep for Health Sciences, and Jafia Naftali Camara, PGR Faculty rep for Social Sciences and Law, will be updated once they officially take post early in the academic year 2018-19. Please email Caitlin Flint, the Bristol SU Representation Co-ordinator, if you would like to get in touch with either of these reps.

If you would like to get in touch with any of your reps, you can email them directly.

Find out more about the various Bristol SU Networks, including the Education and the PG Networks, on their website.