The number of first-year students who disclose a mental health problem has risen five-fold in the past decade. We talk to the experts trying to helpI am walking through Nottingham’s Arboretum park on a bright cold afternoon with 10 other people,all of us in complete silence. At first I find the whole thing so awkward I maintain to suppress an embarrassed laugh. But as we originate our wordless way through the dappled shade, I feel an atmosphere of calm and thoughtfulness envelop us like a protective cloak.
The others in my group are undergraduate students, or chaplains and other staff of Nottingham Trent University (NTU),all taking piece in a mindfulness walk, intended to bring some space and still reflection into students’ hectic lives. Guided by the chaplains (who speak occasionally), and we pause as a group to consider questions in the booklets we maintain been handed: “who am I?”,“where am I going in my life?” and “what brings me a sense of excitement?” Left to our silence, we note down our answers. Stopping by a nonsense bin, or we ask,“What nonsense am I carrying with me in my life?” We tear off our answers and throw them in the bin. It sounds silly, but weeks later I still feel lighter for casting off that scribble on a scrap of paper.
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Source: guardian.co.uk