University is a big life step for anyone – you’re often plunged into a completely new environment, living independently for the first time, and surrounded by people you don’t know. Whilst an incredibly exciting time full of new opportunities and experiences, the challenge of going to University can sometimes feel overwhelming.
Throughout college I had been very much looking forward to going to University, and on receiving my confirmation of a place to study at the University of Leeds, I couldn’t wait to get stuck in. All things considered, first year was a brilliant experience and a time I will hold fond memories of for a long time to come, but I certainly had my fair share of rough patches.
The key challenges I faced were things I am sure affect many students when starting out at University – such as adapting to a new and exciting (yet more demanding) work environment whilst dealing with the adjustment to living independently for the first time, more often than not, in an entirely new place.
It is at as a result of such obstacles that at this time in our lives in particular, our mental health can take a negative turn, and due to the considerable stigma attached to mental health and well-being, there are many common misconceptions about both what these terms mean and how they affect people. A key example of which is the mistaken view that experiencing mental health problems is unusual or a sign of weakness.
Mental wellbeing is something that affects us all, and issues with mental health can be equally, if not in certain cases more debilitating than a problem that manifests itself physically.
To overcome the challenges posed by starting out at university and make the very most of this exciting time in your life, you have to be resilient, set realistic expectations, and be open to different viewpoints. However you also have to be kind to yourself and seek the support available to you when you need it, both from friends and family, and that offered on campus at the University; being aware of your own state of mind in this way will enable you to get the most out of your time in higher education and in your future career.
Conversely, it can often be hard to know how to go about seeking support either for yourself or for someone you are concerned about for the first time. For this reason, I aim in the next part of this article to outline the networks and services we have available on campus at the University of Leeds.
Here at Leeds we are lucky enough to have our very own society dedicated to promoting mental health and wellbeing on campus called the Mind Matters Society, which provides activities and support for those with mental health problems:
Mind Matters Society offer a range of support services, such as a weekly peer support group every Tuesday from 5:30-6:30 in cooperation with national mental health charity Rethink, and a Welfare Hour every Monday at the same time with a trained welfare officer, who provides an active listening service.
I spoke to the current President of the society, Lawrence Thompson, to learn more about the society’s core aims and what they are currently working on here at Leeds.
Mind Matters Society seeks to promote mental health and wellbeing on campus at the University of Leeds through a number of different initiatives including fundraising campaigns, the support services mentioned above and even going into schools – a project that they have launched for the first time this year.
An example of one of the society’s recent campaigns was the Time to Change pledge carried out this year. The principle of this campaign was to highlight the necessity of the integration of mental health services at the University of Leeds.
For 2014, they have also introduced annual mental health conferences at the university, the first being this year’s ‘Don’t Call Me Mental’ conference, which took place from Thursday 24th until Friday 29th November. This included talks from guest speakers covering a wide range of mental health concerns, as well as welcome messages from Frank Bruno and Jo Brand.
In the near future the society intends to launch a new fundraising initiative; Challenge 100, which asks individuals to each raise £100 in aid of improving awareness of mental wellbeing and providing better support for mental welfare.
With my Dad being a psychologist, I have always considered mental health and wellbeing integral to leading a happy and fulfilling life, and I hope that this article has contributed in some way to dispel more immature attitudes to this issue and to highlight the fact that mental health is something that concerns us all and should be treated as such.
Image sources:
Picture 1 – http://www.anickdotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/wish_i_wasnt_everyb…
Picture 2 – http://www.calliebooth.co.uk/design—mind-matters.html
Picture 3 –https://thefamilyinstitute.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/mentalhealthwordc…