We have come to realise the importance of mental health issues and the impact they can have on individuals as well as on society at large. But how do we separate the facts from the myths? How can we improve our own mental wellness and help those around us? How can we recognise when a normal bout of low mood, stress or anxiety has become a more serious problem?
At the University of Oxford, we have some of the world’s leading researchers who work to better understand the causes of mental conditions and develop effective evidence-based treatments. The Experimental Psychology Department is bringing them together in a new series, called Our Mental Wellness, so that they can share their knowledge and answer your questions about how we can look after each other’s mental wellness in our community. Talks will run twice per term and are open to all staff and students at the University of Oxford.
The video is now available for the first talk in the Our Mental Wellness series: Managing Stress and Overcoming Anxiety. The main speaker, Associate Professor Jennifer Wild, discussed how certain people overcome enormous stress and anxiety, while others struggle. She presented seven key tools that to help us manage stress and anxiety in our own lives and examined the science of why they work. Emeritus Professor Robin Dunbar (evolutionary psychology) and Dr Polly Waite (adolescent clinical psychology) joined Jennifer for a Q&A panel discussion chaired by Professor Catharine Creswell.
Read the Questions and Answers from the panel discussion