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Dealing with tighter budgets

This week the newspapers have been dominated by stories on the 2010/11 budget, announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, on Wednesday.

It seems likely that the budget will affect adult, further and higher education institutions across the United Kingdom, with a £449 million cut to universities already having being announced at the beginning of February.

Try the Wheel of Wellbeing tool

Try out our interactive Wheel of Wellbeing tool on our website here.

This is an opportunity for you to reflect on your wellbeing and identify any areas you would like to change.

Since we launched the tool in 2009 it's been extremely popular, with over 3,000 new wheels started across the charity group.

How can our Support Line help you?

We are here to take your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you'd like to speak to someone for support or advice, call us on 08000 32 99 52.

This fortnight we've answered over 60 calls to our Support Lines. Here's a breakdown of some of the ways we've helped this week:

Stressed out and overworked staff

The UCU website recently reported that a StaffordshireUniversity has paid out compensation to a stressed staff member.

The report described the extent of the stress that this staff member was under, regularly putting in 65 hour weeks, an excessive workload and four members of staff taking on the work of six.

Break free with National No Smoking Day

Wednesday was National No Smoking Day, a campaign that runs across the UK to encourage smokers to stop.

We all know that smoking has a big impact on our health but did you know how quickly giving up can improve your health?

Put out your last cigarette and here's your timeline to recovery:

Get help from our specialist money advisors

You can talk to a specialist money advisors by calling the Support Line on 08000 32 99 52. Lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Financial and money issues accounted for over 28 per cent of calls to our Support Line this week. We can support you if you are going through a tough time because of issues around money and finances, you can talk in confidence to our trained advisors.

LGBT History Month

February is Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans History Month.

Taking place every year, the month celebrates the lives and achievements of the LGBT community.

Organisers aim to "celebrate its diversity and that of the society as a whole" and encourage everyone to see diversity and cultural pluralism as the positive forces that they are and endeavour to reflect this in all we do."

Career decisions

With some universities being threatened by redundancies, and others experiencing either pay or recruitment freezes, it can seem a very difficult time for those looking at the current academic job market.

So, whether you are looking to move jobs, advance your career or change your workplace you'll need to be able to stand out from the crowd. Here are some ideas that could help.

Update your CV

CUSN: safeguarding anonymity

At CUSN, we take our policy of confidentiality - and the anonymity of those who contact us - very seriously.

Valentine’s Day – looking after your heart!

As Valentine's Day creeps close - and we celebrate Cupid having struck or wonder when he will - our minds turn to matters of the heart.

But it's not just our romantic fortunes that need looking after - we need to look after our physical heart, too, as well as our emotional wellbeing.

So this Valentine's give yourself the gift of a healthy heart and mind by following some of our tips!

There is a lot you can do to look after your emotional wellbeing: