The general perception of students is that we have it pretty easy, we spend all day in bed and all night out drinking, what could we possibly have to worry about? But unfortunately most of us know that this is not the case and sadly student life is not that simple. We have to deal with all the same problems as everyone else: relationships with friends and boy/girlfriends; family trouble; money worries; and struggling to manage your workload, all often for the first time and it can be pretty daunting. For many of us these stresses, though very difficult, can be managed with the help of a strong support group of friends and family – but what happens when you don’t have this, or something happens that just stretches you a bit too far? Is there adequate help, advice and support available to students, and are their problems taken seriously enough by their universities and society in general?
Mental health problems are actually more common amongst students than the general population, to quote statistics found on the official website of the NHS “The Association for University and College Counselling (AUCC), which represents 530 counsellors and another 120 higher education institutions, says 3-10% of the student population will have contact with its counselling service in a single year”. So chances are roughly one or two people out of every twenty you know at university will face some form of worry about their mental health which is no small number, but how many more people will feel the same and not seek help either because they’re too scared of what people will think, or simply don’t know such help exists? An even more terrifying fact is that in the past 5 years student suicide has risen by almost 50%.
So what are the signs that you or someone you may know is in trouble? There is a difference between feeling a bit down and fraught over looming deadlines (for help with this read our brilliant article on fending off those mid-term blues) and facing an actual mental illness, too often you’ll hear someone exclaim “I’m so depressed, I just missed out on a 2:1 on that last essay!” such light-treatment of terms associated with actual problems can be damaging to the cause and make actual sufferers play down their own issues. Here are a list of symptoms that could be a sign of a deeper-rooted problem than just feeling down:
· Dramatic weight loss or gain, often caused by eating disorders, a severe problem in themselves but also a sign of further mental health problems. To get an idea of just how damaging these can be read our article on the dangers of fasting.
· Decline in personal hygiene and lack of care over personal appearance.
· Poor attendance at lectures or social occasions that would usually be of interest.
· Becoming withdrawn and uncommunicative.
· Doing too much work, spending all your time studying.
· Change in the way you speak, becoming quickly agitated and easily annoyed.
If you notice any of these in yourself or someone close to you there are a number of things you can do to help. Mild mental health problems can often be overcome by simply talking about them to a close friend or family member so give that a go, many universities often have a pastoral service or counselling service run by students, Exeter’s Voice run a confidential service where you can ring up to talk to someone about your problems. There are also professional counselling services available for more serious issues, they can offer you advice on whether you may need to seek more specific treatment and give advice on how to deal with mental health problems. If the problems seem more serious or persistent there is always the NHS counselling service who can help determine the severity of your problems and offer guidance and treatment such as intensive counselling or medication.
Even if you think it might be nothing it can’t help to talk to someone about your problems, your University should understand and can offer help such as extended deadlines or extra tuition if the causes of your feelings are workload-based, or if you need more time due to family problems back home. Though it is still not given as much emphasis as necessary people are becoming more aware of the importance of mental health in students and there are now more channels available than ever if you need to seek help. Check out the NHS site specifically targeted at the issue if you would like more information. Just please whatever you do, don’t suffer in silence.
Iamge Credits: nhs.uk, guardian.co.uk