The Big Data and Mental Health Survey

by Professor Ann John and Amanda Marchant 

Professor Ann John and Amanda Marchant work at Swansea University on research projects looking at childhood and adolescent mental health, self-harm and suicide prevention. As a team they want their research to help improve mental health support for people. We find out more about their latest survey.

Here at the Adolescent Mental Health Data Platform (ADP) and Self-Harm Research UK (SHARE UK), we are running a survey to learn more about how future research can answer the questions that matter to you. This will help to shape our research and to help us push for the right changes to mental health support and care. 

Professor Ann John

Transforming young people’s mental health research

The ADP represents a ‘step change’ in youth mental health research by bringing billions of pieces of data together anonymously and securely in one place. This includes health, social, education and information from individual research studies all brought together. This is a unique resource bringing together researchers from across the world making it easier and faster to deliver results.

ADP research will be used to improve young people’s mental health care

Professor Ann John, the lead of the ADP, joined forces with other youth mental health researchers in Cardiff University (Professors Collishaw, Rice, Thapar, Moore and Murphy) to lead the ‘Big Data’ theme in the recently funded Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health (Cardiff and Swansea Universities). This is an exciting new development and this survey will help inform the ‘big data’ work - please get involved.

Your views matter

The ADP is a powerful resource for young people’s mental health research. But the data is just one part of the story. We are also bringing together the voices of young people through our Be Heard page and work with the MQ Young Peoples' Advisory Group. 

Young people make a big difference in helping us to push for the right kinds of changes. This can be changes to healthcare, support and service provision. Our goal is to improve and potentially save lives. Your views and opinions steer our research to make sure we are answering the right questions in the right way. 

The Big Data and Mental Health Research Survey

Data is created all the time. Every time we buy something online, post something on Instagram or visit a GP, are just a few examples. All of this data has the potential to be anonymised and brought together to be used for research. But which data should be used? What kind of research should it be used for? Who should have access to it? How much do you know about how data is anonymised and protected?

Getting answers to questions like these is the purpose of The Big Data and Mental Health Research Survey  We want to know more about your feelings on the use of your data for research. This includes feelings about healthcare information and personal information such as social media posts. We want to know more about how you feel about this data being used, who should have access to it, and how it should be looked after. 

Amanda Marchant

The survey is open to young people aged 16 - 24 and takes around 10 - 15 minutes with a combination of multiple choice and free text answers. You are free to tell us as much or as little as you like. If you don’t want to answer a question, you can just leave it blank. 

The survey will run until the 31st January 2020 and we want to hear from as many people as possible:

The Big Data & Mental Health Survey.

 

Find out more about this important research at Cardiff and Swansea Universities by following the project on social media:

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Stress Awareness Week 2019

This week is International Stress Awareness Week which is organised by the International Stress Management Association (ISMA).

Stress is defined by the Mental Health Foundation as “the degree to which you feel overwhelmed or unable to cope as a result of pressures that are unmanageable”.

The theme of Stress Awareness Week this year is Resilience, so we decided to ask a few PAVO colleagues what stress looks like to them (be that work-related or personal stress) and the strategies they use to bounce back from a period of stress.

How do you know you are stressed?

• I start organising things and get really “stressy” busy. I tidy in a manic fashion.
• I can’t sleep at night for ruminating. My mind wanders back to the stress. I can’t enjoy any leisure time.
• I start to talk quickly, my speech really speeds up.
• I get anxious. My heartbeat is faster. I’m sometimes short of breath. And my stomach plays up something chronic. At work I’m completely unfocused and rush from one task to another.
• I don’t sleep and I usually find it very easy to sleep.
• I eat more. And some of the stuff that’s not good for me like cake. And I drink more.
• I go into manic mode first and then my sleep’s disturbed. My skin can erupt and I get snappy.
• I can’t think straight. I can’t prioritise.
• I get irritable and snappy.
• I get impatient with people and / or things because I need to get on and deal with whatever’s causing me stress.

What helps you deal with stress?

• Keeping busy. I get more stressed if I overthink things. If I distract myself with busyness I can process things in a more rational fashion.
• I make lists. I can transfer the stress from my head to the paper and it’s parked. I do it for work and home.
• I like to go for a walk by the sea, listen to the waves and feel the sea breeze. I love it.
• I’m mindful that I need to take time out. An alarm bell will ring and I know I need to get out of the stressful situation and deal with it or I know it’s a slippery slope.
• I have a “happiness box” to look through when I’m feeling down. It contains little items that make you happy. It could be anything. A picture of your family. Something in your favourite colour. A poem. A magazine. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it’s very personal to you.
• I like my guided meditation app. It really helps me sleep - it clears your mind.
• Offloading. You should never go home from work with the worries of the day. 99% of the time that gets rid of any stress before I go home.
• Simply looking out of the window for a moment or popping out for a walk in the beautiful Dolerw Park.
• Being outside. Walking. Exercise. Healthy eating. Time to myself. Essential oils. And saying no.
• Cutting off from what I’m doing and distracting myself with something non work-related for a few minutes.
• Time out. Having a rant and then I’m fine after that.
• Exercise. Fresh air. Dogs.
• I make a decision to get up at 6am and into my routine of yoga and meditation followed by breakfast. I also make my lunch which means I’m not skipping meals or snacking. And I feel more in balance before I even get into work.

Look local

There are many sources of support if you are feeling stressed, and here in Powys you can look locally to find some of them.

Invest in Your Health is a free NHS course delivered over 5 sessions which is designed to provide practical tools and techniques to improve your quality of life and wellbeing. It is a modular course, so once you have completed the first one, Building Better Health, you can choose up to four more, such as Mindfulness, Focusing on the Positive and Follow up & Solution finding. The courses take place at venues around Powys or the sessions can be done via Skype.

Brecon and District Mind is running free Mindfulness taster sessions on 7 & 28 November. “It can be easy to rush through life without stopping to notice much. Paying more attention to the present moment – to your own thoughts and feelings, and to the world around you – can improve your mental wellbeing”.

Open Minds is a new Mid & North Powys group meeting in Llandrindod Wells on the 1st and 3rd Mondays for people experiencing stress, depression or anxiety. Socialising is combined with tips and exercises.

Ponthafren Association in North Powys runs regular Stress Management courses. To find out more and sign up to the next course you can ring 01686 621586.

These are just a few examples of courses and activities running in Powys this Autumn and Winter. To find out more check out the Powys Mental Health website events calendar.

Singing has long been recognised as a way of reducing stress. You can find out about local singing groups and choirs on infoengine, the online services directory for Powys.

Surfing online for stress solutions

There are literally thousands of websites / organisations / services out there with ideas to help you deal with your stress. Some of our favourites:

The Mental Health Foundation’s Stress page - in 2018 Stress was the main theme of Mental Health Awareness Week.

ACAS has a useful page on workplace stress with documents you can download.

The Woodland Trust has a page on the benefits of exercising in nature which can help ease stress.

The National Trust has a beginner’s guide to forest bathing - research shows that two hours of mindful exploration in a forest could lower cortisol (stress hormone) levels.

Read on our blog the Top 10 Tips for Workforce Wellness - the theme of National Stress Awareness Day in 2016.

And if you have any good tips to share with our readers about how to deal with stress, let us know in the comments’ box below.