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Health and wellbeing
- Overview
- Mental health
- Mindfulness and relaxation
- General health and wellbeing
- Academic wellbeing
- Supporting others
General health and wellbeing
Being healthy and keeping well is about making sure we eat well, move more, sleep better and be aware of our limits when it comes to alcohol.
Eat well
A healthy diet is essential if you want to feel good and stay well. Eating well can have positive benefits on your energy levels, concentration, memory and mood.
Tips for eating well:
- Check out the Australian guide to healthy eating – a visual food selection guide representing the five recommended food groups.
- Better Health – information on healthy eating, recipe ideas and lunchbox tips
- Download an evidence-based app to help you be informed about the food choices you’re making:
- the 8700 app can help you when eating out to make a healthier choice
- the FoodSwitch app can help you when buying products in the supermarket.
Move more
Regular activity and exercise are essential for good health. Anything counts as exercise – as long as it gets you moving and your heart racing!
One of the easiest ways to move more is by cycling or walking to campus – it’s good for your wallet and for the health of the planet.
There are a number of apps you can download to help you keep track of your fitness and steps, including the Meet and Move app to help you find other students on campus and share walking routes.
You can also explore the sport and fitness facilities available on campus. Joining a University club or society can also be a great way to exercise your brain and body, learn new things, practise your leadership skills and make friends who share your interests.
Sleep better
Sleep can play an important role in our daily functioning and physical and mental health. Good sleep can improve mental performance, lead to less anxiety and improved mood and energy levels.
Read our sleep tips (pdf, 72KB) for strategies to help improve your sleep.
A number of evidence-based apps can also assist you improve your sleep, such as Recharge.
Alcohol and drugs
If you are feeling that your drinking or drug use is starting to affect your health, study, or relationships, or that you increasingly need a substance in order to function, cope, or have a good time, it might be time to act.
Tips
- Think about the things that are important to you, such as your family, partner, studies, or health. How does your use affect those things?
- Talk it over with someone you trust. Ask the person how he or she feels about your alcohol or drug use.
- Ask yourself if there’s anything preventing you from changing. What are some things that could help you make the change?
- Think about your past attempts at change, if any. What worked? What didn’t?
Get help
Alcohol Drug Information Service (ADIS) NSW: 02 9361 8000 – 24-hour referrals and counselling.
Family Drug Support (FDS): 1300 368 186 – 24-hour support to families in crisis due to drug and alcohol issues.
Relationships
As humans we use our relationships with other people to create a life that is rich, meaningful and rewarding.
There is no such thing as a perfect relationship. We do much better when we can accept that there will be challenges in our relationships, handle the stress of these the best we can and take action to make our relationships healthier.
You can find out more about healthy relationships (pdf, 214KB) or how to deal with arguments and conflict in your relationships (pdf, 89KB);
Effective communication (pdf, 126KB) can also help us build positive relationships.
It is also important to understand consent, and how to be sexually healthy and safe in your relationships. Find out more about sexual health and consent.
Additional resources:
- Relationships Australia – a community-based, not-for-profit Australian organisation providing support services to support all people in Australia to achieve positive and respectful relationships.
Domestic and family violence
Domestic and family violence refers to any repeated behaviour or pattern of behaviours used by an intimate, current or previous, partner or a family member to exercise power and control. Such behaviours can be physically violent, emotionally abusive, controlling, intimidating or threatening and cause feelings of fear and unsafety.
There is help available within the University and in the wider community to provide support if you or someone you know has experienced domestic and family violence. There are also things you can do to support a friend or colleague who has disclosed their experience of domestic and family violence to you.
In case of an emergency or where yourself or someone that you know is not safe, we encourage you to contact emergency services on 000 immediately or attend to your local police station. If you are not feeling safe on campus, call Campus Security on 9351 3333 who are available 24 hours a day.
University support:
- Safer Communities Office - Student Liaison Officers
The Student Liaison Officers are trained staff who work with students who have experienced incidents of domestic and family violence and sexual misconduct. Student Liaison Officers can refer you to specialist counselling and help you access other internal and external support services. They are available 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday to provide confidential, specialist case management and support. You can call them on +61 2 8627 6808 or email safer-communities.officer@sydney.edu.au
External services:
- 1800respect - online and telephone counselling support for people impacted by domestic and family violence and sexual assault. Available 24/7. Call 1800 737 732 or visit the National Sexual Assualt Domestic Family Violence Counselling Services site for more information.
- NSW Domestic Violence Line – counselling and referral service for people who have experienced domestic and family violence in NSW. Available 24/7. Call 1800 65 64 63 or visit the NSW government website for more information.
- Mensline - online and telephone counselling service for men, available 24/7. Call 1300 78 99 78 or visit Mensline Australia for available support and resources.
- Qlife - LGTIQIA+ online and telephone counselling and peer support service, available 3pm to midnight Sydney local time. Call 1800 184 527 or visit Qlife for more information.
- Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women's Legal Centre - a gender-specific service to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children. See the Centre's webpage for support and resources available.
LGBTIQ
For many people, at some point in their lives, there will be times when they question their sexual orientation.
See the LGBTIQ - Pride Network page for support and resources available on campus as well as externally.
Last updated: 15 January 2021
