Lighthouse 2020 Sem2 - The YOU-nity issue

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SEMESTER 2 - 2020

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President’s Note ISD Recap

Last semester, most of our events were taken online and social distancing was put into place. Let’s take it back to the start and see the various events that ISD churned out!

Unity in Culture

United as students of UWA, regardless of ethnicity.

Recipes from around the Globe

Check out ISD’s collab with the UWA Student Guild Ethnocultural Collective!

Unity in Traditional Dance

Two students share about their passion and expertise in the art of two Asian traditional dances.

Life after Graduation

Need some advice about your decisions after Undergrad? Our post-grads are here to give their two cents.

Taking care of ourselves!

Our body and mind are a temple, let’s treasure the very thing that makes us.

The Beginner’s Guide to Roadtrips

If you’re thinking of searching up what to do for a roadtrip… don’t worry. I got you covered… I’ve done my research! Through firsthand experience...

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Love, M Viknash V t en id s re P ISD t Guild A Studen 107th UW

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Social Department This semester has truly been an emotional rollercoaster – with so many uncertainties and restrictions. But as a united front, we pulled through! Here at ISD, all our departments are united in our determination to make sure that all our international students are well taken care of and looked out for. Each department worked tirelessly to churn out events for everyone (be it in Perth or back in their home countries) and this is our dedication to you.

Execs

Social Director

Hi I am Destin, ISD’s Social Director for the upcoming semester.

Born and raised in Singapore, I made the choice to come to Perth in 2018 to further my studies, where I am currently in my final year as an Asian Studies major.

Liaison

While I have since settled into life in Perth, there was definitely an initial struggle where I had to adjust to a new environment, one with a completely different culture from what I have been accustomed to. However, with the support from friends, clubs and societies like ISD, I have made friends from all walks of life and I do not feel as homesick as I first did!

Hence, my advice to the incoming Freshers is to take a leap of faith and sign up for the many events that our amazing university, along with the various clubs, have installed for us in your first semester.

Public Relations

ISD will also be planning many social events such as a trip to Perth’s Rottnest Island, home to the famously cute Quokkas, an International Football League, where you can show off your amazing football talents, or soak up the sun and show off your sick bods at the Adventure World theme park! These events will not only help you explore Perth’s various attractions, but it will also give you the opportunity to make friends with other international students studying in UWA!

Social

Fun fact about me: I am into working out, soccer, and chilling out with my mates!

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Education

Social Officer

Hi, I’m Shin Shien, the social officer of ISD. I am currently in my second year, majoring in Accounting and Finance. I was born and raised in Malaysia, and I came to Perth in 2018 to start my degree.

Leaving your comfort zone and living in an unfamiliar place is challenging. As a student who is living away from home, sometimes it’s hard to deal with the changes as you’re not well prepared for them. Hence, my advice would be: “Give yourself some time, don’t overthink it and things will get better in the end”.

Speaking from my personal experience, joining clubs and societies is a GREAT way to kick start your university life.

It helps you to get rid of your insecurities and expand your connections too, because you get to meet amazing people in the events.

A little bit about my department: we plan social events for international students every semester. Last year, we organised trips to Rottnest Island, Caversham Wildlife Park, Adventure World and Swan Valley and we got to organise International Football League. We hope that this year we will be organising some even better events, making your university life an amazing and memorable one.

Welfare

Something interesting about me: I’m lowkey lactose intolerant but THIS WON’T STOP ME FROM GETTING BUBBLE TEA AND CHEESECAKES. Stay tuned for our upcoming events, we hope to see you there! ;)

OTHER EVENTS NOT PICTURED:

• O-day Sem 1 - Mini games like Chapteh, Five stones and Kendama were set up for the new incoming students at the booth • Kahoot Quizzes - Are you a perfect Perthian?

- The Worldwide Quiz Night

• April Fools Challenge - Students uploaded videos or photos of themselves playing pranks on their friends onto their Instagram stories or Facebook pages!

OTHER EVENTS NOT PICTURED:

• ANHB1101 study night with Dr. Nailya Kitaeff • Migration seminar

• A series of infographics of academic tips and resources!!!

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OTHER EVENTS NOT PICTURED:

• 14 Day Self-care plan

• Weekly cultural Recipe

OTHER EVENTS NOT PICTURED: • #7DaysOfEncouragement: Online campaign to comfort and cheer students up during the lockdown period!

• #RealBeauty: Campaign aimed at empowering

young women with the message: “You are all beautiful and unique. There’s no need to compare yourself to others in order to feel beautiful”!

• #StayHomeSaveLives : Campaign to raise

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awareness of the pandemic and to remind others to practice safe measures to curb the spread. Created a blue FB profile picture template to ‘paint newsfeeds blue’!

• ISD Take Over: Let the community get to know ISD better through Instagram story takeovers!

• Informative Posts on Instagram and Facebook: Providing both returning and

new international students with helpful information such as how to deal with homesickness, how ISD can help, available services in UWA for international students & many more! Check out our FB Page!

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Compiled & edited by Olivia-Mae Tan Here at UWA, we are so lucky to have students of so many diverse ethnicities walking amongst each other on campus. This is the kind of unspoken unity that we have in UWA. Many of us come from different ethnicities – each having their own unique traditional ethnic clothing.

I still find it amazing to this day that we are able to experience and see the cultural diversity that we have on campus. I guess this is what it’s like to see unity in culture firsthand.

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RECIPES FROM AROUND THE GLOBE ISD collaborated with the UWA Student Guild Ethnocultural Collective to bring you ‘Recipes of the week’. We asked international students to send in recipes from their home countries and this is them sharing their home cooked dishes with you.

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RECIP AROU ES FROM ND TH E GLO BE

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ROM F S E P I OBE L REC G E H DT AROUN

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RECIP AROU ES FROM ND TH E GLO BE

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ROM F S E P I OBE L REC G E H DT AROUN

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RECIP AROU ES FROM ND TH E GLO BE

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M A Y T A N A T A R A BH

By Amritha Rajesh

Hi there! I’m Amritha and I’m from Singapore. I’m currently in my second year of university, and I’m also a Bharatanatyam dancer! If you haven’t heard of it before, Bharatanatyam is a form of Indian classical dance that has a very rich history. In fact, it has been modified over centuries to what it is today, and it’s taught all over the world. There are three basic components of this style of dance, and they are – Nritta (pure rhythmic dance), Natya (dramatic expression) and Natya (a combination of both dance and expression).

I was first introduced to Bharatanatyam by my mum when I was just 5 years old.

One day my mum woke me up and took me to a dance studio and said, “give this a try” and that’s how I ended up spending the last 15 years of my life practicing this art form. Over the years I realized that learning Bharatanatyam is an “all or nothing” deal – if you commit to it, you have to be prepared for weeks of intense practice for performances, showcases and competitions. As dance became a bigger part of my life, it became just as important as school.

Not only is it a form of exercise and rejuvenation for my mind and body, but it gave me another sense of purpose.

The satisfaction of a successful dance production or completing a string of performances is what keeps me going back for more.

No matter how long you’ve been dancing Bharatanatyam, there is always more to learn, grow and improve on. That’s why having a supportive Guru who pushes you to keep dancing and improving is so important. I’ve been with Guru Maalika since I was 8 years old and in Bharatanatyam, students and Gurus have a strong bond that goes beyond just dance, you take away many life lessons from them and improve as a person as well. I’m thankful to have a person like Guru Maalika who cares for me and my journey as a dancer so much!

We’ve all been trying to keep up with the curveballs that are being thrown at us this year with the global pandemic but most of all have been able to adapt and keep doing what we love. For me, that would be continuing to dance with my dance group back in Singapore through online classes even though I can’t go back home over the Winter break. Even though the next semester will be starting soon I hope to keep up my commitment to dance classes to keep up my fitness and to make sure I don’t lose touch with it.

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BALINESE DANCE

By Lidwina Audrey My name is Lidwina Audrey. I am from Jakarta, Indonesia and I am a secondyear student majoring in Communication and Media Studies, and Marketing.

Coming to Australia, leaving my comfort zone, my family and my friends to study overseas, is not an easy decision to make. In the beginning, I was scared, worried but yet I was also excited to start an independent life on my own. I experienced a lot of new things, met lots of new people from all across the globe but still beside all of those fun things, I still experience homesickness from time to time.

One thing from Indonesia that keeps reminding me of home and gives me the strength and sense of belonging is my passion for Bali Dance. As you can tell from the name, Bali Dance is an ancient dance tradition that is part of the religious and artistic expression among the Balinese people of Bali Island, Indonesia. It has a very strong and dynamic character that needs to be portrayed with rhythmic movements of the body and it is also intensely expressive. Balinese dancers express the stories of dance-drama through the bodily gestures especially the gestures of eyes, fingers, head, hands and toes.

Bali dance is not easy to learn. It is very challenging and difficult especially for the eyes movement and the basic stances, but that is one of the reasons why I couldn’t stop learning. Its ability to communicate feelings to the audiences only through body language is also one of the unique traits of the dance. One dance can show both anger and grief at the same time, but other dances can show feminisms, soft-hearted characters, joy and even jealousy.

Trust me, it still amazes me and gives me chills every time. Another thing that made me feel so attached to Bali dance is the philosophy behind each and every technique. My most favourite one is the one about dancing barefoot and always keeping our toes up throughout the dances. My teacher used to tell me that the reason behind it is because the earth has already given us all the energy that we need, and all we have to do to use that energy is to relocate it to our body through our feet. I 22 found this part of Bali dance very

interesting and sometimes even hard to believe. But these are the things that make Bali dance have their own meanings and cultural values.

At first I started dancing only because my mom asked me to do it. I was only around seven years old when I first started dancing, and ever since then I feel like I have found something in me that I can never let go of. At around the age of eleven I had to stop because I was not able to manage my time between school and dancing. However, two years later, I found a new balinese dance community ‘LKB Saraswati’ and decided to join them and started dancing again. With the help of this community, I participated in competitions, survived in examinations, volunteered to dance for Balinese ceremonies all across Jakarta, and even got an opportunity to dance to welcome the family of Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo. I went through not only joyful and happy experiences, but also hardships, failures and pressures. But these are the things that made me learn and helped me grow to become the person I am now. Even though here in Perth, I haven’t found any other Bali dancer to dance with, my passion for the dance will not go anywhere and will forever stay in my heart as I am grateful to have learnt it and have had my own Bali dance journey.

The ‘you’ in unity also represents ourselves and our well-being. This ‘you’ section well-being will involve giving advice on our future education and tips on our physical well-being and caring for the body that makes… us us.

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Life after Undergrad…

A fresh undergraduate? On your last year of Uni and thinking of your options after graduation? Fret not, our very own Postgrads here at UWA have chipped in to give you their two cents on making your decision regarding your life after your undergraduate education is over. If it worked for them, it’ll probably work for you too.

ASKING HIMANI JOG

A piece of advice that you’ll give to your undergrad self about surviving Uni life...

Learn to say no and prioritise what is important for you. There will always be time to party and hang out with friends but you wont be able to make up for the time lost when a deadline is fast approaching and you haven’t put any effort towards the assignment thats due in 2 days.

What skills would you have liked to acquire before starting your Post-grad journey?

I would have like to improve on my presentation skills. Compared to undergrad where you mostly do group presentation, in postgrad a lot of the time you have to do individual ones with field experts in the audience. So make sure to take all opportunities you get to present and practice, practice, practice.

Find out what skills are useful for your particular field and gear yourself towards it. If you’re doing a postgrad by research, talk to your supervisor to set expectations and pick up research skills.

If you’re doing a postgrad by coursework, choose units that are relevant to your future career.

How did you make a decision regarding your future after you graduated from being an Undergrad?

I didn’t have much of a choice of whether I wanted to continue studying a postgraduate as my undergrad did not allow me to work as an engineer. However, I also made a conscious choice in my postgraduate course to choose units that I enjoyed and that was related to the field I would like to work in for the future. Also, it would be a good idea to think about whether you actually need to get a postgraduate, or if it would be a better idea to work or take a break before coming back to study.

ASKING RESHMA SUDHIR

How did you make a decision regarding your future after you graduated from being an Undergrad?

I always knew what I wanted to do so making the decision to do a Master’s degree wasn’t a difficult one for me. However, if you need help deciding what to do in the future it would helpful to take on an internship or volunteering in an area of interest to see if it best suits you.

A piece of advice that you’ll give to your undergrad self about surviving Uni life...

ASKING TAN KAI YONG

What skills would you have liked to acquire before starting your Post-grad journey?

I believe all round organizational skills for better utilization of time would really help.

Put yourself out there, join clubs and societies to meet new friends. Plan for your future by applying for internships and joining professional clubs. Get a mentor to advise you and guide you through your uni life. You might not end up working a job in the course you’re studying, so try your best and enjoy yourself in the process!

How did you make a decision regarding your future after you graduated from being an Undergrad?

The time I spent working after my undergrad gave me a better perspective and helped me understand what I wanted to pursue further. Hence the advice I could give is research as much as possible before coming to a conclusion as to what you

A piece of advice that you’ll give to your undergrad self about surviving Uni life...

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What skills would you have liked to acquire before starting your Post-grad journey?

Come with an open mind to welcome people from all walks of life. Ability to be receptive to other cultures may help gain friends that may last a lifetime and make your uni life a bit more easier and enjoyable.

PHYSICAL SELF-CARE TIPS

By Amril Hwang

EASY HOME REMEDIES FOR TREATING DRY SKIN IN THE WINTER: Ever hated how dry your skin felt during these pesky winter times? Well have no fear and read along to find out these easy fool-proof diys using ingredients you can find in your home pantry to smoother and healthier skin for all parts of your body!

FOR DRY FACE:

You can use common kitchen items to create your own DIY facial masks!

Apply for 15 minutes and rinse off.

1 banana (smash into paste) + 1 tablespoon plain yogurt + 1 teaspoon honey ½ cup papaya (smash into paste) + 1 whipped egg white + 1 teaspoon honey

FOR DRY HANDS:

Apply any of the following directly onto your hands:

• Olive oil • Coconut oil • Cocoa butter • Shea butter • Aloe vera gel 1 avocado (smash into paste) 2 tablespoons plain yogurt + tablespoon honey

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FOR DRY FEET:

Before going to bed, apply hydrogenated vegetable oil to your feet and then wear thick cotton socks, repeat for several nights.

FOR DRY BODY:

Grind 1 cup of uncooked oatmeal into a fine powder with a food processor/ blender. Add oatmeal to bath while water is running. Soak yourself and enjoy! After bathing (make sure that the water is not too hot), then after that, apply your favourite lotion liberally onto your skin to help retain moisture.

BEAUTY TIPS TO ENSURE A CLEAR COMPLEXION: • Wash your face every morning, night and after going to the gym • Clean your makeup brushes /pillowcase sheets once a week to avoid bacterial build-up • Stay hydrated! Don’t skimp on drinking water • Eat foods rich in Vitamin C (eg: broccoli, leafy greens, oranges) and cut down on dairy, sugary, and processed foods • Don’t skip on beauty sleep!

(They call it that for a reason) • Gently exfoliate once a week to slough off dead skin for a more radiant face 26

DIY TREATMENTS FOR YOUR BAD HAIR DAY: We’ve all been there, waking up with a bird’s nest as hair or getting frustrated with how your hair isn’t cooperating?

Here we have 3 personalized treatments you can easily DIY with items you probably already have at home for luscious hair fit for a shampoo commercial. We’ll be watching out for your debut after this!

Treatment 1: Terrific for balancing hair and scalp’s pH!

Treatment 3: Amazing for treating dry, brittle hair!

Mix ½ cup apple cider vinegar with ½ cup water and 5 drops of tea tree oil. Apply on scalp and leave on for 30 minutes and rinse.

Dampen hair with warm water, apply mayonnaise to hair as conditioner. Wrap hair with clingwrap/hair cap and leave on for 20 minutes. Rinse with shampoo after.

Treatment 2: Great for adding more shine, luster, and body to dull and damaged hair!

QUICK TIP FOR STATICKY HAIR!

Rub 1 dryer sheet down your hair to tame tresses.

Mash 1 avocado and add 1 tbs honey and 2 tbs olive oil. Mix well and apply to just washed hair and towel-dried hair.

Leave on for 25 minutes and rinse out with warm water.

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HOW TO GIVE YOURSELF A FACIAL MASSAGE FOR GLOWING SKIN: Face massages – while it might sound like a slightly unnecessary addition to your already expanding skincare routine, it has a wealth of pro-recommended benefits - firmer skin, reduced wrinkles, improved blood circulation and more!

And you can achieve all that in just five minutes, read our guided steps below to give yourself one now.

Step 1. Choose the right oil/ lotion for your skin

Step 6. Place palms on temples and massage lightly

Step 2. Place a few drops on fingers and apply all over the face

Step 7. Massage along outline of cheekbones in a circular motion

Step 3. Place one palm against the forehead and rub in circles with firm pressure

Step 8. Lightly pat both sides of your face with ring fingers from bottom on your eyes all the way to the ears

Step 4. Pull apart eyebrows using pads of your index fingers

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Step 5. Massage on both sides of your nose in circular motions from the top of your nose bridge to the bottom on your nostrils

Step 9. Place two thumbs beneath the chin and press up all around the jawline

TIPS FOR RELIEVING DRY & CHAPPED LIPS: Nothing is worst than Chapped lips. Worst case scenario, it can even cause you pain! There are a variety of reasons why your lips may crack, from cold air to the cosmetic products you are using on your lips.

While lip balms can certainly help, there are also a variety of home remedies you can turn to for relief.

• Exfoliate: Use a soft toothbrush to gently rub in circular motions against your lips to remove dry skin flakes. Mix equal parts honey + olive oil and gently rub on lips. Wipe off with a damp washcloth.

• Apply shea butter, aloe vera, coconut oil or jojoba oil on lips for relief.

• Prevention tips: Stay hydrated and use a humidifier at home to make indoor air less dry.

TRICKS FOR EATING HEALTHIER: • Eat the healthiest food on your plate first. Or whatever is in front of you.

This way, you will be less likely to binge on unhealthy items.

• Please indulgent foods in hard to reach / out of sight places

• Always have healthy food inside (fruit in a bowl) so that if you feel like snacking, you will eat that.

• Always follow the 80% rule. Stop eating when you feel 80% full.

• Keep a food journal. By writing down what you eat and how it affects you (mentally and physically), you will make more mindful choices regarding what you eat.

• Eat on smaller plates.

Psychologically, you will feel full after finishing what is sat in front of you.

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HOW TO WORK OUT AT HOME WITHOUT A GYM MEMBERSHIP: Oh no, has covid-19 shut down your regular gym temporarily?

Not too sure you want to go back to sharing facilities with a bunch of strangers just yet?

Why not bring the gym to you at home by utilizing ways outside of the usual, sweat-filled fitness centers? Read more to find out how!

Take advantage of free information, resources and tools you can find online / your library / apps: -> Exercise apps / books -> Workout YouTube videos

In general, adopt a mindset to move more everyday by: -> Walking your dog -> Parking further -> Taking the stairs -> Biking/walking to work

Be creative and use objects around your house as exercise items such as using milk jugs filled with sand as weights or a chair as a step platform.

Small sampling of things you can do on your own without a gym: -> Jumping jacks Commit to a consistent workout schedule of activities you enjoy, such as taking a hike with friends or biking

-> Push-ups -> Pilates -> Basic weight training -> Jump rope

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MIND TRICKS TO ADD MORE EXERCISE INTO YOUR LIFE! • Associate exercise with a fun activity or reward such as listening to your favorite podcast/tunes.

• Better yet, have an exercise buddy and mix it up with fun socializing.

• Have your own personal, positive and fun reasons that do not fixate on physical aspects but more so how you feel (more confident/ energized) for exercising more.

• Quantify your physical activity such as having a fitbit to count your steps or marking down your days when reaching your exercise goal to have a tangible way of measuring.

• See exercise as a means to explore new skills, try unusual activities, visit new neighbourhoods and make new friends!

• If you are having trouble coming up with motivation for regularly exercising, think of some of the benefits it comes with:

o o o o

Lower risk of illness Better quality of sleep Longer life span Stronger immune system

• Sometimes the hardest step is the first step. Commit to putting on gym clothes and workout clothes.

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A NEWBIE’S GUIDE TO MEDITATION: Our minds are usually occupied with so many things from day-today worries to annoyances and insecurities, etc. Meditation can definitely help clear your mind and make you more mindful of the good things coming to you such as being more mentally alert and having a heightened intuition and creativity. Follow our easy guide in starting your meditation journey.

• Sit down in a comfortable position that is quiet and with little to no distraction • Close your eyes and settle into silence • Simply sit quietly for the next few minutes and focus on paying attention to your breathing and being mindful of your surroundings (feel the surface you’re sitting on, the temperature of the air, the way your clothes feel against your skin. The more you focus on the present moment, the calmer you will feel) • Try a guided meditation app if you prefer to listen to someone

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WEIRD TIPS TO HELP YOU FALL ASLEEP: Ever lay in bed staring at ceiling for the last half hour and still not getting an ounce of drowsiness? Tired of counting hundreds of sheep and worrying about how little sleep you will have left? Try out these weird hacks to put you on the right track to dreamland!

• Listen to white noise, which can be an effective way to block out other noise.

• Drink cherry juice as it is rich in melatonin and can help some people with insomnia.

• Take a cold bath or shower before going to bed as it lowers your body temperature and make you sleepy.

• Think of what you did in the morning and work your daily life chronologically.

Sometimes the mental effort of remembering will make you feel drowsy.

• When lying in bed, try curling and uncurling your toes.

• Rub your belly in clockwise motion in big circles and then counterclockwise motion in smaller circles.

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SELF-CARE TIPS THAT ARE GOOD FOR THE SOUL Dhashayani D/O Suhenderan

The Covid-19 period has put us all through tough times. Having to adapt or even accepting the fact that we might not be able to see our family back home for a long time. This might have affected our mental health greatly.

Our mental wellbeing encompasses financial, cognitive and social wellbeing. Emotional wellbeing matters as it is a critical aspect of your existence and influences your feelings, habits and emotions. You can take steps to improve your mental health everyday. Therefore, I am going to share with you 5 self-care tips to promote good mental health that you could try out.

1. MEDITATION

There are several ways to meditate, and since it’s such a personal practise, there’s more than any of us know. The technique I suggest you to use will be focused attention, or mindful meditation, which is when you concentrate on a single thing — it may be your movement, your breathing a feeling in your body, or an outside entity.

The point of such meditation is to concentrate intensely on one point and return your mind to that focal point as it wanders. Meditation gives us better focus, lessens our anxiety, more creativity, better memory and lessen stress.

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2. EXERCISE

Exercise promotes mental health by reducing fear, stress and depressive mood and increasing self-esteem and cognitive performance. Exercise activates endorphin and serotonin molecules that boost the mood. This will even get you out of the world, help reduce any feeling of depression and isolation, and bring you in contact with others. Exercise sends oxygen to the brain, making you remember more clearly. Australians recommendations suggest that adults perform at least 30 minutes of moderate-to-intensive physical exercise on any of all weekdays.

By combining shorter 10-15 minute sessions, you can make up 30 minutes over day.

3. ARTS

5. READ A BOOK

4. EAT HEALTHY

I hope this tips would help you!

There always more than just this 5 tips for someone to maintain a good mental health. If you are feeling depressed or lonely, do contact Mental Health Emergency Response Line @ 1300 555 788 (Metro). You can also reach out to your friend around you and talk to them about how you feel. They might be able to help you overcome what you are going through.

Creating art offers you the chance to calm down and discuss any problems you may have. Art treatment supports the emotional wellbeing of individuals with addictions, fear, caring conditions, sadness and death, diabetes, insomnia, food habits, physical disability, PTSD, stress, intimacy problems, and far more.

Art therapy is a complement to traditional mental health treatment. The aim is to control habits, express emotions, minimise tension and anxiety, and improve self-esteem. Studies also show that art-making stimulates dopamine release. If we do something pleasurable, this chemical is released, which essentially helps us feel better. Increased rates of this feel-good neurotransmitter may be beneficial in combating fear or depression. In the art production cycle, you must start on a selfdiscovery trip that will help overcome relational roadblocks and learn how to connect with yourself and others. So go out, and grab your arts supplies.

The food we consume will help keep us alive or lead to weight gain or illnesses like diabetes, but it can also keep our brains running and alert. You may have noticed that your mood often affects the food you choose, and how much you eat. Some foods can lift your mood, energy, and concentration, while others can do the opposite. Consuming lots of fresh fruits , vegetables , nuts, and whole grains, for example, may reduce your risk of mental health problems such as depression, whereas eating foods high in sugar and saturated fat can increase your risk. When you feel low and depressed, placing good behaviours in place is vital – to offer yourself a stronger opportunity to deal with life’s difficulties.

In today’s fast-paced environment, we continue to turn to our television or convenience screens, flipping through news updates that may add to our tension and insecurity rather than support. Reading poetry and other texts forcing the student to challenge significance has revealed interesting shifts in brain function patterns. Reading has been found to place our minds in a meditation-like environment, offering the same health benefits of intense relaxation and inner peace. Active users sleep well, have reduced pain, stronger selfesteem, and reduced suicide levels than non-readers. So, go down to your nearest library and get a book right away!

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When the Winter Break started, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

Being an international student, Western Australia was this huge area of land with unfamiliar yet endless opportunities. There was so much that I hadn’t seen, a sight that I wouldn’t see back home in Singapore.

The real question of the season was: Did I really go on Winter Break if I didn’t embark on the craziest road trips of my life??? I think not. & that’s exactly what I did. I had my friends, we had a plan and we acted on it. A roadtrip to the South? A roadtrip up North? No wokkas mates, I got you covered. This is me (an adventurous yet lazy gal)… sharing my experience with all of you.

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