Studying and surviving at LSE Friday 15 October 2014 Wolfson Theatre, 3.30 Adam Sandelson

1. Studying and surviving at LSE Friday 15 October 2014 Wolfson Theatre, 3.30 Adam Sandelson LSE Student Counselling Service

2. Aims • Common challenges in starting at LSE • Practical tips for dealing with transition • Stress management skills • Sources of advice and help

4. Common challenges in starting at LSE Academic Social Settling in tips Part 1

5. Settling in: The Academic side New level of study Previous standards Reading strategies Use SQ3R: Scan, Question, Read, Review, Recall Presentations, essays and exams Academic adviser relationship

6. Academic challenges • Overwhelmed with material • New style of learning • Independent critical voice • Anxiety can lead to procrastination • We may disguise avoidance by being busy • We may find things to do that are interesting, but don't contribute towards the main goal

7. Settling in - the Social Side • Meeting new people • New contacts through shared activities • Keeping contact with people from home • Balance of work and leisure

8. The challenge of transition • Loss of familiar • home, friends, family, routine • Coping with loss, after initial excitement subsides • Depression and anxiety • Cultural isolation • Relationships and Identity • Financial difficulties

9. There is a natural grieving reaction associated with change extremely common often in first weeks can occur when leaving home, but also later (eg after Xmas break) Feeling Homesick

10. distance from home high expectations/ sense of anticlimax time to adapt to culture, language, lifestyle work overload and low control over it most people come through homesickness and go on to do well and enjoy their time Homesickness is associated with

11. Why did you choose to study at LSE What are your initial impressions Academic Social Cultural Initial impressions

12. Talk to someone - others feel the same Call home but also get involved here It’s not disloyal to to enjoy yourself! Be realistic about what to expect Balance work and leisure Time to adjust You don't have to get everything right straight away Food and sleep Settling in Tips

13. The context for studying What are you really doing here? Part 2

14. Ambivalence? Independence Relationships Being a student Studying at LSE Your course Career

15. Trying to please others Being a perfectionist Feeling under pressure to do everything right Setting yourself impossible targets Repeating anxiety, stress, fear of failure … The family/ historic context for your success … Underlying dynamics

16. Dynamics of study, work, life ...

17. Under Pressure? What pressures are you under as a student coming to LSE From others From yourself Are these pressures realistic or excessive?

18. Practical ways of dealing with study challenges Part 3

19. Practical approaches • Revise study skills • see LSE Learning World on Moodle • Time management skills • Set realistic and achievable goals • Short term targets, longer term strategies • Recognise your achievements • Talk to others, ask for help and support

20. Concentrate on the task …

21. Focussing on the task • Concentrate on the task, not the outcome • Break down huge activities into small manageable tasks • Remember past successes • Time for breaks • space to breathe and think • mind maps, scribble ideas • go for a walk, talk out loud

22. Stress Management Skills Part 4

23. Stress Management Skills • Physical, behavioural, cognitive… • Regularly switch off • Schedule some kind of physical activity • Good self care • Sleep, diet, caffeine, alcohol and nicotine • Time out without guilt • Acknowledge anxiety, rather than denying it. • Ask: ‘are my negative thoughts realistic?’

24. Challenging negative thoughts • Imagine them under test in a Court of Law • Identify the negative thought (I can’t do this course, I’m going to fail…) • Ascertain the evidence For and Against • Am I making a ‘thinking error’ • Propose a more reasonable alternative thought

25. Thinking errors • All or nothing thinking • Discounting the positive • only seeing the negative side • Over-generalizing • ‘If it happened before it will happen again’ • Believing a catastrophe will happen • Emotional Reasoning • ‘If I feel it then it must be true’

26. Advice and help Part 5

27. Sources of advice and help Academic Adviser Departmental Staff Disability and Wellbeing Service Student Services Centre TLC study skills advisors Learning World Student Union and Advice Centre Medical Centre Mental Health and Wellbeing Advisors Deans Don't wait until problems have grown impossibly large It’s OK to ask for help earlier

28. LSE Student Counselling Service – KSW.507 • Free and confidential • Mainly short term counselling • Book appointments in advance • See Website for • Stress management handouts • Self help resources • Relaxation MP3’s

29. Future Workshops Good Writing Psychology Wednesday 22 October, 3:30pm – 4:30pm: TW1 G.01 Friday 7th November, 3:00pm - 4:00pm: CLM G.02 (repeat session) Managing study related stress Wednesday 29th October, 3:30pm - 5:00pm: TW1 G.01 Adapting to Life at LSE Wednesday 5th November, 12:00pm - 1:45pm: CLM G.02

30. Groups • Stress Management Group (3 weeks) • Self Esteem Group (3 weeks) • Bereavement Group (7 weeks) • PhD group • 24+ Group Places on all groups need to be booked in advance. Please see the website, Call Ext 3627, visit KSW.507 or email student.counselling@lse.ac.uk.

31. Transition can be stressful, but also allows us to grow as a person Imagine looking back in 5 years Talk Final thoughts