Mental health at university
By Lauren Wilks
Mental health has become a growing problem, especially among students. University is often associated as being the best years of your life but, for some it's far from that and the stigma can be hard for students to seek help.
A shocking report from the NUS (National Union Of Students) revealed 8 out of 10 students experienced mental health issues in the year 2015. A third of these students also revealed they had suicidal thoughts. Shockingly, more than half of respondents who admitted to struggling with their mental health did not seek help.
A government report expanded on the statistics by sharing depression and anxiety are the biggest mental health problems amongst students (77% had depression and 74% had anxiety).
Margaret Lewis chief executive at Sheffield Mind said: “Clearly a lot of students do experience mental health issues – you are all under a lot of pressure: to get a good degree, have a fantastic time, cope with living away from home, make friends, manage your money and live with the prospect of huge debt.
Margaret Lewis
Margaret Lewis
“Thankfully, people are talking more about mental health now, but there is still a stigma. My advice is to always talk, if you cannot talk get advice online, you could use Elefriends to talk to people online or phone lines such as CALM if you find that easier."
There is still a huge stigma stringed with mental health and with this people are suffering in silence, it’s important to keep an eye on friends and family just a simple check in could really help somebody out.
Here, two students tell us their story and how they are staying happy at university today...
Neha's story
Neha Kittikulsingh, a 20-year-old University of Sheffield student, from Thailand, said: "Being an international student I struggled to fit in, Sheffield just broke me as a person. After moving here I became a different person; my first year was the most vulnerable year of my life.
"There were times when I just didn't want to socialise with anybody. I would surround myself with a bunch of people but I would still feel so alone, I just felt like I didn't belong here at all.
"I didn't seek help from anybody at uni because I was ashamed more than anything because there's always a stigma attached to mental health."
Neha is now in her second year and has joined a basketball society which she said has really switched her mental health and keeps her happy. It is important that we socialise and stay active, isolating yourself can make your mental health worse in the long run.
Neha said: "Im feeling so much better now because I decided to do something about it and that was basketball. Being part of a team really helped me, it cleared my mind and helped me build my confidence.
"Today I don't allow myself to be negative - I truly believe I learnt this through basketball."
Joining a society can be a great idea, it allows you to try something new, stay active and make new friends. What Uni.com says that societies can benefit personal development and boost your social life - all of which can help your mental health.
Ash's story
Ash Williams, a 19-year-old University of Sheffield student, from Scunthorpe, said: "I started to become unhappy at university when the work came along. I personally don't think the strikes helped with this as we had weeks of no teaching so, getting back into the swing of things again was very hard.
"It all started to spiral from there really; I constantly kept putting work off and it slowly got too much for me.
"My solution was to keep putting the work off - if it wasn't in my head it wasn't really happening, but this was only short term and in the long run it made my mental health worse.
"I didn't tell my parents or tutors as I didn't want anybody to know I was struggling with the workload.
"The transition from school to university is a big change and I did struggle in first year.
"Thinking back now, I would seek help as I realise now I made things worse by letting everything build up."
Ash is now in his second year and says he is now feeling much more relaxed. Ash manages his time much more by planing ahead and avoids leaving assignments to the last minute.
