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Mental Health is defined as “a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional wellbeing…???

This week is Mental Health week with the theme ‘Stress – Are We Coping?’

Mental Health – Who does it affect?

Every person needs to look after their wellbeing and it can be difficult sometimes when there are daily worries and issues caused by stress and anxiety.  These worries can be one off or ongoing and they can affect people in different ways.  

Mental Health Foundation UK advise “Mental Health is everyone’s business.  We all have times when we feel down or stressed or frightened.  Most of the time those feelings pass, but sometimes they develop into a more serious problem that could happen to anyone of us.???

When someone is trying to overcome feelings of overwhelm and anxiety in their daily lives, there are steps which they can take which will help them feel more in control, less stressed and ready to take on challenges which they did not feel could be possible.  These challenges could be starting a new job, studying a new course or just simply taking a walk around the block.

So what can you do to help yourself?

Communicate with others  

Imagine you have just enrolled yourself into a new course to further your prospects at a higher-level career but feel completely out of your depth and getting stressed because you haven’t studied for a number of years.  By communicating how you feel in this situation to your teacher, tutor or assessor you can alleviate your anxiety because ‘a trouble shared is a trouble halved’.  So, whatever you are going through in your life, communication is the key.  Find someone you can talk to and start feeling your anxiety relieved.

Exercise

Yes, even just a walk around the block can help you alleviate the anxieties that build up and start creating greater mental health overwhelm.  When you think of exercise, you think of making time to go to the gym or hiring a personal trainer.  But, what is most relevant here is that you make time for a walk, a swim or a run in the park.  

Enjoy ‘You’ time

This can be a time which most people do not have during a day, a week, a month or even a year.  But this is an essential part of being.  Taking time out for you, whether it is just sitting in the sun reading a book or taking yourself to the movies on your own, this time is the time to do just what you want to do.  It is important for your sanity and mental health. Know your identity, remember who you are.

Have a routine

Having a routine and a structure around what you do in your life can help you maintain a sense of security and stop overwhelm happening to you.  When you have a shopping list and take it to the supermarket, for example, you buy only the items you need.  You have a structure, you keep to your budget and the menus you have decided on for your weekly shop.  When you don’t have structure, your weekly shop becomes greater than it needs to be, you are overspending and then you feel stress creeping in.  Be prepared to set up a routine for yourself in your life.

Socialise and Friendship

Being around people who you care about and who care about you can make your life feel a little less worrisome and a lot more enjoyable.  Sometimes even it can be that you have a friend who is feeling more stressed than you about something, and just offering a shoulder for them can alleviate the stress and anxiety you are feeling.  Helping and socialising with others where you can forget about some of your troubling issues and laugh and smile can make your worries start to dissipate.

By alleviating stress in whatever part of your life you feel it the most, you can start moving your daily life forward to accomplish the things in life which matter the most – learning something new, moving into a new career, starting a family or even just getting your drivers licence.

What is stressing you the most right now?  What will you do to alleviate this?

We have a number of fully funded short courses which can help you help yourself or others with the care and understanding of Mental Health.  Please ask us for more information.

©Hazel Theocharous, Learn Plus Us

Students go through their regular school years, many head to University and others straight into the workforce or apprenticeships.  Over a period of time those in the workforce and in their adult years decide that there is more to learn.  No-one is ever too old to learn.

We have a number of adult learners who are not only enrolled on short courses but are also moving their career forward by completing their Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management.  They are increasing their skills and obtaining new qualifications which will lead to promotions and potentially higher wages.

“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.??? Anthony J. D’Angelo

The reasons to continue learning far outweigh the reasons not to.  For example, the following are some reasons for adult learning where age is no barrier:

• Study something which has always interested you and now is a great time to start
• Study a course which can help you support a loved one through difficulties
• Gain more confidence after possibly being made redundant and need reassurance
• Set a great example for the younger generation
• Keep a sharp mind, keep learning and keep their brains active
• Further develop your skills and upskill from say a business administration course to management
• Enjoy the continued challenge of something new
• Simply to satisfy an enquiring mind

New qualifications mean new beginnings

“The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.???  B. B. King

So when you aspire to learn something new, keep going until you find the right course (be it a short course, a certificate or apprenticeship).  So what can you actually learn?

Well there are many options and many places which offer these new skills and new opportunities to adult learners.  There are a number of short Certificate 2 courses you can undertake are fully funded and cover some of these areas which may be of interest to you:

• Caring for Children and Young People
• Business Admin
• Understanding Equality and Diversity
• Awareness of Mental Health Problems
• Understanding Autism
• Principles in Team Leading
• First Aid

In addition to these, you can apply for a Learner Loan as an adult up to 12 months before retirement age which entitles you to undertake approved qualifications from level 3 to level 6 at an approved provider in England. This give access to financial support for tuition costs in a way that is similar to those in higher education.  Advanced Learner Loans are paid directly to the training provider or college on your behalf meaning that once approved you can start your training without any costs.    

So what higher-level qualification are you seeking?  There are so many options open to adult learners so now is the time to start thinking ahead and planning what you would like to learn..

©Hazel Theocharous, Learn Plus Us

Why would learning something new be stressful?

This could be for a number of reasons, but a main reason is fear.  Fear of the unknown, fear of feeling silly if you don’t understand something new, fear of exams, fear of moving forward, fear of a new commitment.

After working with new learners for a number of years, we have seen one or more of these fears. These are legitimate fears but fears which can be worked through and supported to ensure a positive outcome to new learning.

Stress Awareness Month

This month, April, is Stress Awareness month and we thought this was the right time and opportunity to help you face your fear when learning something new.  The post is not limited to this month and therefore we hope you can come back and read whenever one of these fears reaches out to you.

Fear of the Unknown

What is the unknown?  It happens from the moment we are born and when we start to learn to clap our hands or to start walk.  Everything is an unknown until we take up the challenge and start learning.  So the fear of learning something new, comes from not really knowing what is involved with the study, the tests and also what you need to accomplish at the end of what you would love to know more about.  Yes, you need to face the unknown to achieve greater knowledge.

Fear of feeling silly

We all feel like this at one stage in our lives.  It could be from when you are watching everyone else walk along a balance beam in school gymnastics but you have tried before and fallen off.  The way of overcoming this fear of feeling silly, is to realise that everyone of us is good at something that others are not.  We cannot all be the same, don’t hinder your learning of something new because of this fear.

Fear of Exams

Imagine you are an adult returning to study and you have the worst memories of school and exams and this is stopping you from further studies.  If this is the case, then researching a training facility, a further education college is the most important research you can do.  It is imperative you find out about the support you will receive, the tutors you will have and start alleviating the fears you have which will stop you learning.

Fear of Moving Forward

This is a fear which, although understandable, is a fear which you need to stall.  Moving forward in life or in your career can only make you feel more empowered and more successful.  It can be hard to imagine moving out of the comfort zone you are currently in but look around you, are people around you moving forward?  What does that look like to you?  Do not fear moving forward, embrace it.

Fear of a New Commitment

The reason you may feel this, is because you may not feel you have enough time, perhaps you are not ready to meet other people.  A new commitment can be difficult and taking the first step into your new commitment can seem daunting, but take the first step and take it from there.  Move forward slowly, but keep moving forward.  

So now is the time to start facing your fears, stop stressing about an unknown and move your life and/or your career in a step in the right direction by learning.

©Hazel Theocharous for Learn Plus Us

Maths is just one of the subjects in life that you either get or you don’t and then feel like all you are doing is playing catch up or will never understand it.

However, you should not feel like that.  Everything can be learnt or re-learnt, the timing just has to be right.  So, in this Mathematics and Statistics Month, we thought we would give some tips or info on just how you can overcome being anxious about learning about Maths.

What is Mathematics and Statistics month?

Since 1986 when this month started as Mathematics Awareness Week, becoming a full month in 1999 and incorporating Statistics from 2017, there has been an ever-increasing appreciation and awareness of how diversified our use of Maths is across most of what we do in our lives.

So, now is the time for you to gain transferable skills to help you, as a learner, feel more confident and in turn work effectively in your chosen area of employment.

Maths is for everyone

We often think that Maths is just for when we are at school, but anyone can learn or improve their understanding of Maths and its processes.  Perhaps you have missed the opportunity at school to pass your Maths course, or perhaps you just wish you were more confident in understanding Maths and how it can work in your daily life or working environment.  We all use Maths to varying degrees and there is always the opportunity to improve our understanding and further increase our knowledge and skill levels.  

Find out more about training available if you would like:

• To build your own confidence
• See your competency increase
• Increase your attention to detail

Why does Maths make you so Anxious?

For some people the mere mention of the word ‘Maths’ brings on the feelings of stress and anxiety and it is not uncommon for you to feel that way.  But what this is doing is holding you back from learning something which can broaden your career prospects and just help you feel empowered.

What could be holding you back?

• A Maths teacher at school
• Maths exams which you just shudder at the thought of
• You have a creative brain and not a logical one, which is making you feel stressed at thought of doing anything non-creative

Always remember that you can overcome any of the above once you know what has been holding you back from learning something new.

Take some time out to think about the reason you have been holding back and what makes you the most anxious and then look forward to locating the best course available to you to get you started on the Learning Maths route.

Maths – Unknown or Challenge?

If you have a fear of Maths is generally either because it is an unknown or because it just feels challenging.  So, what does Maths mean to you?  This is also a question to ask yourself.

Do you find Maths?

• An unknown
• Challenging

There are many elements to Maths, more than just the standard maths and times tables everyone had to learn at school, but the rest can feel like a complete unknown – fractions, algebra and more…  What does it all mean?  This can seem daunting and set the anxiety feelings running.  But learning this can overcome this.

Challenged by the thought of Maths?  The best thing to do is meet the challenge.  Think about, as above, what has made you the most anxious when it comes to Maths and meet that challenge head on.  By sitting back and wondering what could have been, you will always have the battle to win when it comes to Maths.

So, what are your plans now?

It is now time to set aside the fears and challenge yourself in Maths.  What has been holding you back and what course are you going to take now?

For details of our Maths and English courses, click here.

©Hazel Theocharous for Learn Plus Us