University is a brilliant experience, but undoubtedly challenging; you’re away from home and you have to learn to look after yourself and cook and deal with money while also being bombarded with assignments and exams. Add a mental illness or two to that and you have a potential recipe for a really hard time.
If you’re battling both university and your own brain, these things might go some way to making life a bit easier and more enjoyable:
1. Get help
There’s no shame at all in admitting that you could do with a bit of help. It doesn’t matter how severe your illness is or even if you’re not sure you have one; if you feel like you’re struggling it’s always worth going to talk to someone. Student Services can set you up with therapy or counselling and it’s all very friendly. The trained practitioners can help you work on anything from your general state of wellbeing to nerves about giving a presentation. They can give you support and the tools to start enjoying your time at uni a lot more.
2. Exercise
It probably won’t feel like it on the days when all you want to do is stay in bed, but getting up and getting a sweat on is so good for your mental health. Hitting the gym before lectures wakes you up, lets you channel your energy and can put you in a better frame of mind for the rest of the day. If you don’t feel like you’ll keep it up on your own, find a gym buddy or start a team sport; that way you have to go regularly so you don’t let other people down. Doing a sport that requires lots of focus is ideal; your brain will be so busy concentrating that it won’t have time for the normal unwelcome negative stuff.
3. Get outside
This could tie in with exercise, but if you’re really not into being active then just leaving the house and breathing some different air can help. Take a book and sit in the park, go for a walk on the beach and pat all the dogs along the way or revise outside on the rare days when it isn’t cold and raining. The fresh air and the small but important victory of getting yourself out and doing something can help get you out of any rut you may have fallen into. For me, even walking in the wind and rain makes me feel more human and alive.
4. Eat well
Binging on carbs and eating Nutella out of the jar with a spoon may seem like the right thing to do when you’re feeling down, but it probably won’t help in the long run. Eating a decent healthy breakfast with set you up to take on whatever the day throws at you. Getting a good balanced diet, making an effort to eat enough fruit and veg, and drinking lots of water will help both your physical and mental wellbeing. You’ll feel healthier, sleep better and hopefully have more energy, all of which can help keep you happier and more focused. Besides, you can buy weeks’ worth of carrots and bananas for the price of a couple of Cadbury bars.
5. Alter your environment
If you’re a messy person, dedicate some time to tidying your room. If your room is bare and uninspiring, cover it in photos of people and things that you love. Add plants – plants are always good. The wall opposite my bed is full of motivational quotes and pictures so I start the day feeling more positive, and the other walls have photos and maps to remind me of the brilliant people in my life and all the places I want to go to. Having a tidy, relaxing and positive environment can really affect your mood for the better.
6. Spend time with people who care
Life is far too short to waste time on negative people or people who don’t care about you. Spending time with them will drag you down and make you feel worse. Outside of the unavoidable group projects and first year accommodation you get to choose the people you surround yourself with, so make sure they’re good ones. Talk to people who share your interests, who make you laugh and who you can trust. Joining a new club or society is a good place to start if you’re finding it hard to make friends (or if you realise the ones you have aren’t good for you) – you can focus on the activity to begin with and then talk to people once you feel more at ease.
If you feel like you can, telling someone close to you that you’re struggling with your mental health can really take a weight off – it’s a comfort knowing that there’s someone who will answer the phone at 1am when you can’t sleep. If not then that’s ok too; just having a positive and fun conversation with someone will boost your mood. Catching up with friends and family at home is important too – you already have strong connections and history with these people – so schedule a Skype chat or set up a WhatsApp group with your friends so you can share funny things that happen or ask for advice.
7. Take time out to do what makes you happy
Yes it’s important to work hard at uni, since you’re paying a silly amount to be here and you want to do well, but pushing yourself too hard for too long will eventually burn you out. Take regular breaks when you’re revising or working on an assignment and do something completely different that you enjoy: read a chapter of a book, sketch for 15 minutes, do yoga, bake something. This will allow you to come back to your work with a clearer mind and stop you from getting utterly bored of it.
The same applies for your free time – fill it with things that relax, inspire or invigorate you, or just make you smile. Try colouring or listening to an audiobook before bed if you have trouble falling asleep. Try a Zumba class, pick up the instrument you haven’t played in months, go out and dance. Don’t feel guilty for having fun; as long as you get your work done to a standard you’re happy with then the rest of your time is for you to do what you want with.
8. Be kind to yourself
This one is a lot harder than it sounds, I know, but it’s vital. Try not to compare yourself to how well other people seem to be doing. Remember that you’re doing your best and that it’s ok not to find uni easy. It’s understandable being disappointed if a mark isn’t as good as you’d like, but try to channel your frustration into making your next assignment better instead of using it as evidence to convince yourself that you’re not good enough. Remember to be proud of yourself when you do well; tell your parents and do a victory dance in the kitchen.
Take the pressure off yourself to have ‘the best years of your life’ and just focus on learning, having fun and being as happy as possible. Don’t beat yourself up if you stumble; there will probably always be down days. The important thing is to remind yourself that you can get through them to the days where you can enjoy life to its max.
As I read somewhere in the vast wisdom of the internet, ‘you have survived 100% of your worst days’. Things might seem difficult now, but you can finish university an even stronger person than you were before. This is a time for learning about yourself and about life, not just about literature or beetle reproduction. Soon you will be able to look back on the bad days in the same way you will remember the comedically disastrous attempts at cooking, the evenings at the beach and the flat film marathons to distract you from looming deadlines: with the knowledge that they all got you to where and who you are now.