Lift your locked-down life

Avondale offers free online wellbeing program to curb coronavirus blues

Australia’s only university college is providing free online access to a wellbeing program as the economic and social impact of the coronavirus begins to bite.

The Lift Project is a 10-week “educational adventure” introducing scientifically-proven strategies from the fields of neuroscience, positive psychology and lifestyle medicine that will “help lift your mood and your life,” says creator Associate Professor Darren Morton from Avondale University College.

Drawing on the latest research, Morton presents strategies to enhance mental wellbeing in an accessible style using memorable phrases. For example, he explains why: motion creates emotion; blue and green should often be seen, and; feelings follow your focus. “I never tell people what they’re doing wrong,” he says. “I simply say, ‘This is what the science says you can do to feel better.’ Why wouldn’t you want to know that?” His challenge: “Test it, see if it works.”

Those joining the program—the offer is only for individuals and families—complete one lesson each week. They explore the science by watching a video presentation featuring Morton and colleague Dr Jason Hinze. They also complete daily and weekly challenges to put the theory into practice and an activity to reflect on what they are experiencing and learning. And they are encouraged to share the adventure with others. If they choose, they can purchase at a 25 per cent discount unlimited access to unlock other lesson features, including listening to an audio presentation, completing a workbook or reading a chapter from Morton’s book, Live More Happy.

Morton is a lifestyle medicine pioneer, appointed a founding fellow of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine and directing the Lifestyle and Health Research Centre at Avondale, the only higher education provider in Australia offering postgraduate study in the field. “As an institution founded on the principles of wholism, we have a social responsibility to reach out to those in the community and do what we can to lift wellbeing,” he says.

The Lift Project begins on Sunday, April 26, when those who join receive their first lesson by email.