Students, graduates and influencers take to social media to #BeatAnxietywithGratitude

Instagram influencers including Amelia Windsor, Holly Gabrielle, Jess Sharp, Ruby Granger and @CoffeeMLK join forces with Fika for #WorldMentalHealthDay

Graduates, Instagram stars and youth celebrities will join forces with students’ emotional fitness app Fika today for World Mental Health Day, in a movement to help university students nationwide beat anxiety.

Looking to support the two in five UK students struggling with anxiety, Instagram stars including Amelia Windsor (@AmelWindsor), Holly Gabrielle (@VeganHollyG), Jess Sharp (@JessRachelSharp), Ruby Granger (_rubygranger), Jack Edwards (@JackBenEdwards) and study channel @CoffeeMLK will come together with a message to help them cope.

The @TheFikaApp #BeatAnxietywithGratitude movement will see students and influencers UK-wide posting about people and things they’re grateful for, referencing psychological research which shows time spent feeling grateful reduces anxiety.

Encouraging others to participate, the Fika #GratitudeChallenge will direct online audiences to a specially-created World Mental Health Day workout in the Fika app, titled ‘Gratitude beats anxiety’.

The workout explains anxiety for users, outlining how it is an integral part of our survival instincts, but one which must be managed proactively. It also cites research which shows writing down what you’re thankful for, twice a week for four weeks, can reduce anxiety for up to three months. It then asks participants to write down some of the things they are grateful for – something Fika’s Instagram stars will share on social media for their followers to see.

Model and influencer Amelia Windsor said:

“Fika’s cause couldn’t be closer to my heart. Going to university is a time of enormous transition, and students need to build emotional muscle to protect their mental health and achieve their personal best. I’m proud to stand alongside Fika for World Mental Health Day and help students learn how to manage anxiety in such a healthy, relationship-strengthening way.”

Nick Bennett, CEO & co-founder of Fika, said:

“We’re humbled to see so many students and influencers rally around our Fika mission for World Mental Health Day. Anxiety is something which can easily spiral out of control, in particular for students – but not enough people know how to manage it. 

“Just like physical fitness, emotional fitness is about learning, exercising and slowly building muscle – we hope this movement catalyses that process for the UK’s 2.3 million students.”

Fika’s five-minute emotional workouts are designed to help students thrive across all areas of their lives, protecting their mental health and helping them navigate the challenges of university life.

The workouts follow a scientifically-grounded ‘learn, reflect, act’ model  – teaching students interesting facts about human behaviour and psychology, encouraging them to write down how these facts relate to them via brief written bulletpoints , and prompting them to act on what they have learned.

Created by psychologists, world-class product experts and leaders in human-computer interaction, Fika helps students build resilience, confidence, focus, empathy and active listening skills, boosting their wellbeing, relationships and employability.

Just eight months after launching, Fika has been shortlisted for a Start-Up of the Year Award by the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, thanks to the positive impact it has had on students.

Students using Fika have reported increased positivity (83%), reduced anxiety & stress (81%), improved ability to handle challenges (82%), increased motivation (81%) and increased confidence (79%).