Hey everyone,
It’s April. A great month in many respects but also a very busy and stressful time with exam season, internship applications and summer planning ensuing. This is a shorter newsletter - because we know you’re short on time (who isn’t!!) and so have compiled some features which we hope you’ll find super useful.
There are links at the bottom for student support services.
Self care or revision?
The exam period means packed schedules and lots of work - I say this as past papers loom ominously beside me here. To avoid burnout, we have to relax, but relaxing takes away precious revision time. Even if you do, you might not feel that relaxed and just guilty instead. Incorporating self care into an exam schedule is best in small regular chunks, written into your routine. Taking a small part of your day and dedicating it to self-care activity will not take away from your work but might improve it.
An easy, essential and often forgotten thing, is incorporating breaks into your schedule. These can be spent meditating, chatting to a friend, reading a book chapter, going outside, getting a coffee - whatever suits.
Meditation helps regain and cultivate focus, relax and introduce a sense of balance in just ten minutes by focusing on your breath and letting your thoughts pass through you. It may sound cliche, but it is well-practised for a valid reason.
Eating nourishing food is a form of self care, as is getting your full hours of sleep. These little things which we do everyday, should be invested in more during exam season. If you don’t manage to spare a few hours for forest bathing or a run, you can still try to get eight hours of rest (not even sleep, just rest) which will stand you in good stead.
When you’re studying, to get into focus and out of procrastination mode (which will reduce your actual time for relaxation), try shifting all distractions two metres away from you. Whether it’s a phone, food, a book - put it out of sight and it’ll go out of mind.
One afternoon every four days might work for you as a period to take off and just relax in. This is okay - it’s about getting the balance right for your body. Knowing the workload required for your goals, how you relax best and what simple steps you can take to make your lifestyle less stressful will inform your self-care needs.
From the GUFAB journal…
Written by Thalia
Content warning: discussion of restrictive eating
I'm lucky enough that I don't have any exams this semester, so the end of my degree will end with an anti-climactic moodle submission. Still, I always find essays more stressful than exams. I always find myself getting overwhelmed at the amount I have to do, especially when I have essays due all at once and other commitments at the same time. My strategy for dealing with this every deadline season has been to make a very detailed schedule. This is less so I stick to it, and more so I can reassure myself that I have time to do everything. In terms of food and my body, the trickiest time is actually post-semester. Each year I find myself at a loose end at the beginning of summer, and this usually results in some sort of eating-habit-spiral. This is where all my anti-ED self-programming kicks in, and I have to remind myself that any supposed benefits of restrictive eating are to the detriment of enjoying delicious food and having the energy and focus to do fun things. This is exactly what we should be doing come summer, and in the meantime looking after ourselves through the stressful times as best we can.
Relapse in recovery: when exam stress takes over
Content warning: discussions of eating disorder relapse
When flight-or-flight mode kicks in, with looming deadlines and revision schedules, it can be difficult to do the things we want to and instead fall back into established but undesired habits. I feel like this, and I know some readers will be experiencing it too.
Recovering from an eating disorder specifically can be a tough process and the eating disorder habits can remain, in the background waiting to emerge when we feel vulnerable.
Here are a few ideas to help stick on the recovery path and not stray into emotional eating, restrictive dieting etc.
When making a revision schedule, insert times for breakfast, lunch and dinner to establish a healthy eating pattern. Stick to these times to avoid using food as a distraction, for procrastination or when very stressed.
Organise food with friends to make it a social and pleasant experience.
Drink less coffee and more water - because one just hydrates whereas the other can increase anxiety, thwart focus and dehydrate when consumed in large quantities. A cup’s alright, but many coffees will not make your study sessions easier.
Keep track of what you’re feeling - maybe in a diary - and if you notice you’re going down a darker path or not feeling as well as normal, talk to someone in your support group. It’s better to discuss issues early on instead of prolonging the pain.
Have some go-to recipes for when you’re feeling too tired to think about what to make. Keep an eye out for foods high in Omega-3 (salmon), antioxidants (blueberries) and zinc (pumpkin seeds) as these all help brain function so would be perfect to include. However, don’t stress too much about what you’re eating - just remember to have something, to keep you fuelled over the busy period.
Making food during exam season
One issue highlighted in our insta story responses for struggles during exam season was making food from scratch to save money.
Here are some recipes that yield a lot of food for the time spent making them. Just stick them in the fridge/freezer and have them for the rest of the week. Get some staples like bread, rice and tortillas to eat alongside them.
Anna Jones’ Vegetarian Chilli
(this makes 10 - 12 portions so def stick it in the freezer)
Takes 45 mins
Jones’ recipes in general are fantastic, but this one really smacks. Maybe it’s the cocoa powder…
Ingredients
Olive or rapeseed oil, for frying
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
A thumb-size piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped, or 1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin (ground or bashed seeds)
1 tbsp paprika
3 × 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
300g soaked green lentils
200g bulgur wheat, pearl barley or brown rice
1 tbsp cocoa powder
400g tin of small beans (haricot, black or black-eyed)
Salt and black pepper
Method
Put your biggest pot over a medium heat. Add a splash of olive or rapeseed oil and cook the onion, garlic and ginger for 10 minutes, or until soft.
Add the chilli powder, cumin and smoked paprika. Stir around in the pan for 1-2 minutes. Add all the other ingredients, stirring as you go – but start with 1 litre of the stock and keep the rest on hand to add as needed if the chilli starts to look a bit dry. Bring to a gentle boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 30–35 minutes, until the lentils and grains are cooked and the chilli is deep and flavoursome.
Season then serve in tortillas, or with rice and salad or in a sandwich with some cheese and salad leaves.
Vegan Coconut and Ginger Black Beans
(this makes four portions, and is, again, versatile in serving style)
Takes 30 mins
Ingredients
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans
2 tablespoons coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin or coriander
1 (3-inch piece) fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (about 3 tablespoons)
1 (13-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
Kosher salt and black pepper
½ cup plantain chips or toasted coconut flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon lime zest plus 2 tablespoons juice (from 1 lime)
Hot sauce, for serving (optional)
Method
Rinse 1 can of black beans, and set aside. In a large saucepan, heat the coconut oil over medium. Add the cumin and half of the ginger and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the rinsed black beans and the remaining whole can of black beans (including the liquid), and the coconut milk; season generously with salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil over medium-high, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are soft and the mixture is flavorful, 15 to 20 minutes. (If you want a thicker consistency, smash some of beans with the back of a spoon as the mixture cooks, and simmer longer.)
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, crumble the plantain chips into bite-size pieces. Add the lime zest and a few generous grinds of black pepper, and stir to combine.
Remove the beans from the heat. Stir in the remaining ginger and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the lime juice a little at a time until the beans taste bright but the coconut flavour is still rich. Top with the seasoned plantain chips and serve with hot sauce for more kick.
Have it with bread or boiled rice.
Pasta bake
(this serves two, but you can triple if batch baking.)
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
400g can cherry or chopped tomatoes
pinch sugar
few dashes Worcestershire sauce
100g rigatoni or other tube-shaped pasta
50g gruyère or cheddar, grated
Hunk of baguette or sliced bread, coarsely grated
2 frankfurters, sliced (or vegan sausages like M&S Plant Kitchen chorizo puppies)
Method
Heat the oil in a medium pan and fry the onion for 5 mins until softened and lightly golden. Stir in the garlic and cook for a further min. Mix in the tomatoes and sugar, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 mins. Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and season to taste. This basic sauce can now be chilled or frozen, see recipe intro.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to pack instructions. Heat the grill to high. Mix together the cheese and breadcrumbs.
Drain the pasta and stir into the sauce. Tip in the frankfurters and spoon into a heatproof dish. Scatter over the cheesy crumbs and grill for 3-5 mins or until bubbling hot and golden. Serve with a simple salad.
Chill and calming music
An oddbod selection of music that makes me feel less anxious. It may help you too.
Songbird by Eva Cassidy.
Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Neil Young.
Southern Nights by Allan Toussaint.
Mood Ring by Lorde.
Adagio in E-Flat major ‘Notturno’ by Franz Schubert.
Student support services
GUFAB Events
Lastly, come along to our exam de-stress activities throughout May!
Our first event will be on 12 May from 6pm - 8pm at the Art Studio in the St Andrew’s Building. We’ll be doing some pottery so make sure to save the date and bring friends too!
Keep an eye on our socials - Instagram and Facebook, as we’ll be advertising more events there.
Thanks for reading! We hope everyone has a slightly less hectic exam period than it looks and that you all get the grades you want. Remember, you can do it, you belong here and you will ace this.
Written by Aysha Sohail with a contribution from Thalia.