To mark stress awareness month this April, new emotional fitness app Fika is raising awareness among the student population of the potential positives of stress, as well as the negatives.
“It’s important for people to recognise the difference between acute stress and chronic stress,” said Gareth Fryer, co-founder of Fika. “Chronic stress really is a health risk, and can impair memory and cause anxiety and illness. Whereas acute stress – the type of stress that comes with life changes and exams – is actually perfectly normal. Studies have shown acute stress can even sharpen the brain, priming it for improved performance and leading to improved creativity and innovation.
“As university students gear up for the beginning of exam season in May, we want them to recognise this, and learn to channel stress correctly in order to improve their performance and thrive, both at university and beyond, in their careers.
“We also think it’s important for university students to understand stress is just one of the things life throws at us, and there’s nothing we can or should do to change that. What’s important is that we learn how to handle stress, and channel it as a source of creativity and innovation, rather than hiding from it or hoping it will go away. That’s what Fika aims to help with – our guided packs provide a roadmap for young people learning to handle the new pressures of adulthood.”
The Fika app launched in February, rolling out across UK universities to help young people improve their emotional fitness. The app, which draws on learnings from sports psychology, provides guided packs and five-minute emotional workouts to help young people stay focused on their goals, building their resilience and coping skills and improving their relationships and active listening skills.
“We have a lot to learn from the training athletes get when it comes to our approach to our emotional health,” said Dr Fran Longstaff, who has expertise in sports psychology and works with Fika.
“Athletes understand that mindset is essential, and they receive specialist training to hone not just their physical performance, but their mental performance too. The Fika app draws on these learnings to help students optimise their mindset, enabling them to reach peak performance in their studies as well as in their relationships.”
The Fika app is rolling out across universities including Coventry, Exeter, Lincoln and Manchester Metropolitan, and is in conversations with many more universities nationwide.
Nick Bennett, co-founder and CEO of Fika, said: “Students’ mental wellbeing is a growing concern across universities nationwide, and uni wellbeing and counselling services are struggling to cope with increasing demand across their student cohorts.
“The time to act is now. Fika offers a scaleable, peer-to-peer solution to help improve the mental and emotional fitness of students across the UK. We are calling on universities nationwide to get in touch about introducing Fika on their campuses, safeguarding the wellbeing, relationships and careers of the next generation of talent.”
In March, the UK’s largest ever mental health poll of universities was published in the Guardian, revealing alarmingly high levels of psychological illness and stress among students. Half of the students (50.3%) who took part reported thoughts of self-harm – almost twice as high as reported rates in 2017 – while just under one in 10 (9.4%) thought of self-harm often or always.
More than four out of 10 (44.7%) admitted using alcohol or drugs to cope with their problems, while one in 10 (9.5%) said they did this often or always. One in three (33.9%) had experienced a serious psychological issue for which they felt they needed professional help – an increase of just under 1% in a year.
Fika is a health technology business on a mission to mainstream the healthy habit of emotional fitness. Through its app, it provides five-minute emotional exercises that combine the science of positive psychology and CBT with a Scandinavian trend for making the time to talk about, and listen to your emotions and those of your friends.
Launched in London in 2018 by Nick Bennett and Gareth Fryer, it has raised £800k in early stage private funding and has established partnerships with major UK Universities, including The Universities of Coventry, Exeter, Lincoln and Manchester Metropolitan, to pilot its service with students and develop empirical evidence via primary research studies into the benefits of proactive emotional exercise.
What is Fika?
Fika provides 5 minute emotional exercises based on techniques which combine the science of Positive Psychology, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Sports Psychology and Mindfulness with the Scandinavian trend for taking the time to talk, listening to your emotions and those of your friends.
How to Fika
Users start by choosing an outcome focused pack, such as ‘Achieve your goals’ or ‘Strengthen your relationships’. Each pack has a series of guided exercises based around a key question.
The exercises have a 5 minute timer to help with focus and the formation of a healthy daily exercise habit. Each exercise has an audio guide and on-screen prompts to help you prepare with suggestions on how to make the most of the 5 minutes.
Designed to maximise inclusion and accessibility, you can Fika on your own to build confidence. Or, with someone you know face to face by taking it turns to talk through the exercise while your friend uses the prompts to help you. This role play simulates co-coaching between peers, guided by the mediator in the audio guides promoting active listening, perspective and empathy, all essential soft skills that are industry recognised and required to make the most of your social and work life.