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Mental Health Awareness: A Holistic Approach to Improving your Well-being

01 October 2020 | Story Melissa Barnaschone and Lize Wolmarans | Photo Supplied

SCD_read more — Student Counselling and Development(SCD), Bloemfontein Campus staff. SCD has offices on all three campuses to provide students with free psychological services such as individual therapy sessions, workshops, developmental programmes, as well as career counselling.

As humans, we tend to neglect making our mental health a priority. October is Mental Health Awareness Month and it is such an imperative campaign, as mental health affects us all. But what is mental health?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines 'mental health' as a state of well-being, in which every individual –

• realises their own potential;

• can cope with the normal stresses of life;

• can work productively and fruitfully; and

• is able to make a contribution to their community.

Pay attention to your thoughts

For many people, it seems simple and straightforward to take care of their physical well-being, but they forget to spend time on mental health. You are used to brushing your teeth on a daily basis – but do you actually make a daily effort to take care of your mental health? Unfortunately, people are also more comfortable going to see a doctor or pharmacist for medical concerns than to admit that they are struggling emotionally.

If we extend the same level of effort to keeping ourselves mentally healthy, we will reap amazing rewards, such as being able to cope with external pressures, reaching our goals, and increasing overall well-being.

Therefore, it is vital to pay attention to your thoughts, emotions, and behaviour on a daily basis. You must acknowledge and express your emotions, as this will contribute to maintaining good mental health and have a positive impact on other aspects of your well-being.

Take a holistic approach

You must take a holistic approach to improving your well-being; you are a holistic being. There are many dimensions to well-being, such as the following:

1. Intellectual

2. Emotional

3. Physical

4. Social

5. Spiritual

6. Financial

We hope that you feel encouraged and empowered to take the necessary steps to improve your mental health.

News Archive

New SRC constitution for UFS main campus agreed upon by all organisations

2005-07-20

University of the Free State Fact Sheet

1. The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) unanimously approved an amendment to the SRC constitution for the main campus to allow for the introduction of proportional representation (PR) alongside a first-past-the-post electoral system.

2. This decision was taken by the UFS Council on 10 June 2005 at the same meeting where it also approved the establishment of a Central SRC for the three campuses of the UFS.

3. The new main campus SRC constitution is the result of consensus reached during a lengthy negotiation process involving diverse student formations such as Sasco, the ANC Youth League, the Young Communist League, the ACDP, HEREXVII, KovsieAlliance, as well as the democratically elected SRC members of the main campus. Independent persons such as Mr Jack Klaas and Mr Kobus van Loggerenberg facilitated the negotiation process.

4. The consensus reached during this process, and the subsequent decision by Council, represent a major breakthrough for student governance and transformation of the UFS main campus and constitutes a legitimate basis for the democratic participation of all students at the UFS main campus in the governance of the university.

5. The introduction of the proportional representation system follows earlier calls by some student formations, notably Sasco and the ANC Youth League, for such a system to be introduced at the UFS main campus in Bloemfontein.

6. In terms of the amendments to the main campus SRC constitution, nine of the 18 SRC members are to elected by means of proportional representation and nine on the basis of an direct, first-past-the-post election.

7. The following portfolios of the main campus SRC will be contested by individual candidates on the basis of “first past the post”:
• president
• secretary
• academic affairs
• legal and constitutional affairs
• student development
• arts and culture
• men’s internal liaison
• ladies internal liaison
• media, marketing and liaison

8. The following nine portfolios will be contested by affiliated organizations on a proportional representation basis.
• two vice-presidents
• treasurer
• dialogue and associations
• transformation
• campus affairs and recreation
• sport
• international affairs
• community service

9. These two decisions regarding student governance represent a breakthrough in that, for the first time in many years, all SRC constitutional changes were processed and approved by the June meeting of the Council, well in time for the scheduled August SRC election; in addition, all relevant student organizations have been part of the process and all have accepted the outcome of the process.

20 July 2005

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