Thanks for stopping by. My name is Cynthia, and I’m part of the HAPHE student community. When I first encountered HAPHE, the conversations around it sounded familiar pressure, overwhelm, burnout. But our focus is risk. It made sense at the time. It reflected what many of us were noticing and struggling to put words to. But as the work continued, something else became clearer. What sat underneath those experiences wasn’t just stress or difficulty it was risk. Specifically, how exposed people become when too much of their emotional energy is tied to one thing at a time: one relationship, one goal, one identity, one plan. When change arrived as it always does the impact travelled further than it needed to. That shift in understanding started to take shape in late 2023. HAPHE began moving away from talking about outcomes and conditions, and toward something more upstream: how emotional over-investment increases vulnerability when life changes. Around the same time, I started applying that way of thinking myself, without really naming it. I didn’t abandon my goals or relationships I widened them. I explored more interests. I spread my time across different friendships. I added vocational courses alongside Law, which was still important to me, but no longer was the must be a top five practice lawyer!. It didn’t feel like “ risk prevention” It just felt like not putting all my weight on one leg or eggs in one basket. Later, when a major personal change hit; My Dad walked out on us, I noticed the difference. The experience still hurt, but it didn’t collapse everything else around me as it would have before. Looking back, that’s when the idea of understanding and preparing for risk before change really clicked for me. That’s why I stayed involved with HAPHE as it evolved. Not because it offered answers, but because it began offering a clearer way to see how risk builds unconsciously us and how it can be reduced long before change. If you’ve come here expecting the old language, this is why things look different now. HAPHE didn’t stop caring about outcomes; it started focusing earlier, where those outcomes are shaped. This is the beginning of that way of thinking and an invitation to make sense of it in your own terms.
Before the Careers Fair: A Moment of Reframing
Ahead of the careers fair, students at the University of Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University, were invited into a short, informal pre-session designed to help them pause before making choices. Using a simple reflection board, over 30 students wrote what they were currently pouring their expectations into often a single role, industry, or outcome. As the self-reflections unfolded, many began to recognise how narrowly their cognitive energy had become concentrated, and how much pressure that created. Alongside this, we shared clear, accessible data on how careers are increasingly non-linear: roles changing, pathways overlapping, and outcomes evolving over time rather than following a single track. The shift wasn’t about lowering ambition, but about redistributing expectation. Students left with a practical insight that investing cognitively in more than one possible future doesn’t weaken focus, it strengthens resilience. For many, this was the first time career change was understood not as a setback, but as an advantage they could actively prepare for. We have 7 University Career fairs lined up. Thank you to all our volunteers
I DO NOT POUR All OF MYSELF INTO ONE
2nd Year Student Jennifer Farr's interpretation of ‘I Do Not Pour All of Myself Into One
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“I Do Not Pour All of Myself Into One” is a phrase students like Jennifer have used to express how they think about preventing risk and understanding it.
Each of Jennifer's posters reflects an individual interpretation visual, emotional, or symbolic created by students themselves.
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Clara and Over 1,200 Students participated in the preventing disengagement and isolation portraits last year.
I came to the Open Mic Night planning to play the drums. That was it. Earlier in the year, I’d put almost everything into one thing. One direction that felt like it would carry me forward. I organised my time around it. Let other interests fade. Told myself I’d come back to them later, once this worked. When it didn’t, the loss wasn’t dramatic. It was more like the ground quietly giving way. I realised I’d been standing on one leg for a long time, and I didn’t have much else to steady myself. At these nights, people share short reflections before and after performances. Three minutes. Nothing polished. Just a few words, or sometimes not even words, about balance and how we’re learning to make more than one connection in our lives. Friends. Work. Study. Creative things. Different ways of doing the same things. Different ways of being okay when plans change. My three-minute portrait came out through the drums. I didn’t explain what I’d lost. I didn’t need to. Playing reminded me that this part of my life had always been there, even when I stopped paying attention to it. It wasn’t about replacing what didn’t work out. It was about widening things again. Someone later told me that HAPHE comes from an old Greek word about connection connecting in a way that benefits the whole, not just one part. I realised that was what I was doing without knowing the word for it. Letting more than one thing matter again. That’s what these nights feel like to me. Not fixing anything. Just making room. Performing. Pausing. And slowly learning not to pour everything into one place.
How Students Describe HAPHE
Across four universities, students were invited to write the word HAPHE and explain what it meant to them. What emerged was not a single definition, but a shared way of understanding connection. Again and again, students described HAPHE as being about connecting intentionally rather than automatically. Not withdrawing from people or interests, but being more aware of how time, effort, and emotional investment are distributed across different parts of life. In their own words, many students described HAPHE as a reminder not to over concentrate their investment in one person, one role, one group, or one goal. They spoke about the importance of having more than one place to put energy, attention, and meaning, so that change in any single area does not carry disproportionate impact. Some students explained this through short written reflections. Others used diagrams, symbols, or single sentences. The interpretations varied, but the underlying theme was consistent. HAPHE was understood as a way of connecting that reduces single point exposure by spreading investment more intentionally across different domains of life.
Insights From Friends
HAPHE is about connecting and diversifying the things and people we connect to so that we are not vunerable if that one thing changes or is lost from insight gathered across 823 student experiences, their life experiences help build understanding of the areas we invest time, energy, and attention in.
"Preventing the risk of connection vulnerability with 56 HAPHE Cafés ... Every single one felt like a breakthrough... My name is James Ncube
I Invite You To Host One"
— James Ncube, BA Philosophy & Wellbeing, University of Birmingham
Last year university teams were doing much more because understanding and preventing risk can be a deficit reducer. And sometimes, it just starts with connecting, enjoying, investing.
Join the movement at your University or College! If you are passionate about mental health, particularly prevention, like we are and would like to make a difference! Get leadership experience. Recognition and impact grants.
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Concentrating emotional investment in one area increases vulnerability when change occurs.
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Loss has the greatest impact when alternative sources of connection or meaning are limited.
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Modern digital environments amplify risk by encouraging narrow, sustained emotional focus.
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Reducing single-point emotional exposure lowers the severity of fallout after disruption.
* Source: Sociology and social capital research
74% of students said they tied happiness to one thing... when that thing was taken away, they fell into ... emotional decline'.
According to the study of 823 students across the UK and US
The question we ask our self at HAPHE is, if one loss can led to debilitating breakdown, in 74% of students. How can we prevent such impact ? Each event, initiative and campaign is your contribution and answer to that question.
If mental health and prevention is something you care about, Join us; create impact!
The 800 Student Study
Why I Shared My Story
I came across HAPHE through something students were doing across a few universities. What caught my attention was that there weren’t surveys or set questions. People were just writing, in their own words, and choosing whether or not to share them anonymously. That made it easier for me to take part. I didn’t have to shape my experience to fit a form. I could write about a good day, a bad one, or something I was still trying to work out. Knowing it was anonymous helped me be more honest than I expected. After I shared my own story, I read others that had been shared with permission. Names and details were taken out. What was left was the experience. Reading them side by side, I started to notice things I hadn’t really seen before. How much of my time and energy had been sitting in one part of my life. How exposed that made me when things shifted. It wasn’t just about risk though. Seeing other people’s stories helped me notice the parts of my life where my connections were more spread out, and how much steadier those areas felt. It made me think differently about where I put my attention, without anyone telling me what to do. HAPHE didn’t feel like a programme or a solution. It felt more like a space where things became clearer, just by being able to write and read honestly. If you want to share your own story in writing, you can. If you’d rather host a small listening session, that’s okay too.
However...
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or feeling suicidal in the UK, please seek immediate help.
OUR CORPORATE SPONSORS WHO BELIEVE ONE PERSON'S STORY CAN HELP ANOTHER PERSON.
We extend our sincere thanks to our corporate sponsors for their continued support.
Your belief in prevention through listening by creating space for student stories and self-expression has helped advance a more grounded understanding of how connection, change, and vulnerability intersect in young people’s lives. This support enables earlier awareness, reduced risk, and more resilient pathways as students navigate an increasingly complex social landscape.
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Would you like your employer to sponsor a HAPHE Cafe at a designated University for a term, A semester or even the whole year!
Find out what it means to be a Corporate sponsor and the impact you'll have.
Just thought we'd tell you that we have you in mind while you have mental well-being in mind
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Receive an induction and supervision
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Join a Movement.
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Meet new people from the comfort of your home
We can't wait to hear from you !
ARE YOU A STUDENT WORKING ON RESEARCH ?
WE WANT TO PROMOTE YOU ...
Making a difference in young people’s lives - preventing escalating rates of depression comes in many guises and you could play a part. We would like to acknowledge not just your work but you.
If your work - Any discipline involving young people or a person; maybe loss or emotional trauma... We would love for people to hear about you and your work!
SO... WHAT'S HAPPENING AT HAPHE?
Want to stay in touch? Why not join 'What's Happening at HAPHE'
PrimeStudents
HAPHE is excited to announce it's collaboration with Amazon Student, offering a six-month trial packed with fantastic benefits to enhance your student life. As a HAPHE ambassador, you're invited to experience: Unlimited One-Day Delivery on countless items, perfect for all your student essentials. Unlimited streaming access with Prime Video – thousands of TV shows and movies at your fingertips. Dive into a musical world with Prime Music, offering over a million songs and hundreds of ad-free playlists. Exclusive student discounts on select textbooks and the chance to participate in unique prize draws. Never worry about photo storage again with unlimited space courtesy of Prime Photos. Get early access to Amazon's Lightning Deals – perfect for snagging those student bargains. Each month, choose a Kindle book to borrow from a selection of over a million titles in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. This partnership is just another way HAPHE is committed to enhancing your university experience, both academically and in everyday life." *Note: Specifics of the Amazon Student trial should be confirmed with Amazon to ensure accurate representation of their offer.
Because children learn best through curiosity, exploration, and trying things out for themselves, HAPHE Fun Days are designed to be engaging, hands-on, and age-appropriate. Activities are playful and interactive, but they are guided by a clear purpose.
At the heart of HAPHE Fun Days is helping children understand how they connect to their world. Through simple activities, they learn that time, attention, and effort can be shared across many different interests, people, and experiences, rather than focused on just one thing. This early awareness helps reduce vulnerability later in life, especially when change, loss, or disruption occurs.
HAPHE Fun Days are not about fixing children or pushing them toward a single path. They are about building early habits of balance, flexibility, and intentional connection, giving children tools they can carry forward as their lives grow and change.
This is a great event for either the whole school or individual grade levels that have multiple classrooms.
If you would like a HAPHE team to come to your school or your class, let us know. We'd be happy to.