As the 10th of October is World Mental Health Day it seems particularly apt to stop and reflect on what 'wellbeing' signifies in the world of academia which populates our writing retreats. As independent observer here at Chapelgarth, I have the unique standpoint and privilege of meeting academics from all disciplines and at different stages of their career paths. Overwhelmingly, these academics are from UK HE institutions, and it is about this section of the wider academic world that I feel more inclined to comment on.

As a retreat facilitator and host, I often get to know individuals in a sincere and authentic way: I meet incredible researchers who may come to our writing retreats as a last resort, when they are at their most vulnerable, having struggled to carve out writing time for months or even years. They sit quietly at our welcome meeting, uneasy and doubtful, as they feed their growing impostor syndrome…they may not have been working on a paper for weeks on end, pulled in every direction with demands put on them by work colleagues or domestic responsibilities. It takes a couple of days for these attendees to open up and talk candidly about the challenges they face every day at work, the precariousness of contracts, the overload of marking hours, the worries about the continuous ‘restructuring’ of courses due to cut-back priorities..

Luckily the sense of supportive community that we foster means that breaks, mealtimes and evening relaxation time can often become a space to share and offload work place worries – clearing the head and allowing writers to re-engage with their research work and find their focus during our structured writing sessions.

Knowing the pressures that academics are under we leave nothing to chance – and breaks become an opportunity to breathe and connect with nature in our woods and fields. We encourage everyone to connect with the green space around them - which may be yellow, orange or auburn on an autumn day. We do not guarantee a walk in the sun, but whatever the weather, rain or shine, we know that nature  will do its bit to restore the spirits of those depleted of energy. We encourage everyone to take a piece of nature back to their desk in the hope that the restorative connection to the outdoors may seamlessly float into the silence of our writing room.

And by and large, it works…

To find out more about the latest research on Wellbeing in Higher Education see Wellbeing in the higher education sector: A qualitative study of staff perceptions in UK universities