Mental Health & University: making the most out of Uni life
Norfolk and Waveney Talking Therapies
We provide a range of free support for people aged 16 + with common mental health issues, such as low mood and anxiety.
University can be a significant time for mental health. From developing new support systems, overcoming new emotions and coping with independent study, there are a lot of reasons why we may need to pay extra attention to our wellbeing during our university years. March 3rd is University Mental Health Day, so we want to talk about how you can overcome challenges and make the most out of university life. And remember, we are here if you need us.
“You’re often told that university will be the best years of your life, that you’ll spend all day every day out having fun, making friends for life and instantly feeling like you ‘belong’ at your university.
Well for me this couldn’t have felt further from the case when I first arrived! People forget to mention how much time it takes to find your people and to figure out what you like to do. For many of us, this is our first experience of living away from home – miles away from our usual friendly faces and our tried and tested sources of comfort.
So, the first year especially can be hard, but you eventually start finding friendly faces amongst the crowds and you begin to find new things you like to do for self-care and your mental health. For me these things varied from feeding local horses and donkeys and going for walks around the city but also, I spent a lot of time learning how to be alone and enjoy my own company. The main thing to remember is that everyone is in the same boat, and there’s help out there if you need it.
Besides, before you know it it’ll be over, and you’ll be telling others about how It was the best years of your life!”
– Karla, Marketing Assistant for Wellbeing Suffolk who graduated University in 2021 during the pandemic.
So what challenges are we faced with when we first go to university, and what can we do to make the most of things?
You are living away from home for the first time
Living in student accommodation is exciting. However, for many, this will be your very first long stint away from home comforts, and it can be daunting. Students have to cook, clean, do laundry and manage you own finances – your parents made it look so easy! As a new student you may feel homesick; and really miss your school friends, family and pets too. But remember you’ll soon get the hang of things.
Our First term tips (no matter what year you are):
??? Care packages – To combat anxiety and homesickness it’s a great idea to ask your friends and family to send out care packages to you, these can include all your favourite things, giving you a little boost of happiness!
???Get a date in your calendar for friends and family to visit you, or for you to go home for a weekend. Even scheduling a phone or video call will give you something to look forward to and help you get through stressful times.
???Planning ahead helps reduce financial worries, have a go at budgeting! Take your monthly income and work out how much you need for bills, food, new clothing, Uni supplies and socialising. The UCAS website has some great tips for budgeting, read more on these?here.?There is also some handy information on?Savethestudent.com.
?? If Uni life has you feeling a little low and you live in Norfolk, you can access our support by self-referring on our website or join one of our workshops that cover things such as relaxation, anxiety and sleep. It's free, confidential & there’s no need to consult your GP.???
Your course is harder than you expected it to be
You no longer have to get up for school every day, and apart from a few lectures your routine is your own! Whilst sleeping in may seem like a great idea at first, keeping on top of your workload is important. Your course will likely require lots of independent study and more self-motivation than school or college. Plus maintaining a routine is invaluable to your sense of wellbeing.
Here are our Study Tips for keeping on top of your studies:
?? Visit the library! There can be lots of distractions at your house, like party-ready housemates and kitchen dinner antics (pesto pasta anyone?). So, to help you focus, head to the library. It’s the best place to study for many – grab your favourite snacks, find a quiet corner and you are good to go!
?? Share the load! With a study buddy you can help each other learn. There will undoubtedly be a course mate more than willing to team up with you and don’t forget, your lecturers are there to answer your questions if you need them.
?? Always remember to take breaks. Try taking a walk outside or testing out the local cafes. Frequent breaks will prevent burnout and help keep you focused.
?? Plan! When you feel you have a lot on, allocate time throughout every week to ensure everything is covered and deadlines are met. However, don’t fill every free hour you have with Uni work! Save time for fun stuff too!
More tips for studying here:
You feel pressure to go out and socialise
When you begin university the first few weeks are very focused on getting out, socialising and exploring the area or campus. Socialising is important for feeling included and forming friendships, but it can soon become overwhelming if you are busy 24/7, spending money, drinking alcohol, staying out late and confusing your sleeping pattern. You may feel unwelcome pressure to drink alcohol and go out and be left feeling tired and overwhelmed.
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Remember:
???It’s not good for your physical or mental health (or bank account) to go out all the time, try and think of some cheaper ideas you can do from your halls, such as movie nights or barbeques in the summer!
???Recognise that you need downtime for yourself to practise self-care & so does everyone else!
???It’s okay to say no. Whether you want an evening to yourself or a whole day. There’s a lot of joy to be had in a quiet house while everyone else is out doing things; use that space to cook yourself a healthy meal, bagsy the bathroom for a relaxing bath or to clean your bedroom to tidy your headspace.
???BBC good food?has a wealth of recipes from healthy snacks to comfort dishes and birthday cakes!
Here are some self-care ideas if you are feeling low at university:
And if you don’t want to drink alcohol here are some ideas of things to drink instead, making mocktails can be just as fun:
Open app student support at the UEA
OpenUp UEA?is a student support app designed by students, for students, with the help of Dr Laura Biggart and Dr Kamena Henshaw both lecturers in Psychology at the UEA. It can help students track their emotions to solve problems, as well as offering advice for support services, tips on manage your money and a lot more.
We had a chat with Senior lecturer Dr Laura Biggart about the app and herself:
1 . In your opinion what is the No.1 factor that can take its toll on a students’ mental health?
It’s quite variable depending on each individual student, but interestingly, student minds did a research study – they found a number of themes particularly around transitioning into university. So essentially one of the things about universities is the transition to adult life, it is a big transition into living independently away from home, and suddenly you’ve got to learn to cook and manage your money, and all of this kind of thing.
The other big worry for students is the pressure of their academic studies, particularly that they’re having to shell out for these big loans, so they worry about paying them back and having a job that is good enough to pay them back, that kind of thing.
And then there’s the university lifestyle. There’s lots of opportunities, so that can be quite overwhelming and you want to fit as well. There’s extra peer pressure I think to maybe do things that you wouldn’t normally do, drinking, partying, drugs and generally being out of your comfort zone. I would just say it’s a time of life where there’s loads coming at you.
2. Can you tell us key things that students can do to boost their mental health?
Reach out to someone or a service.?Check out?Student Space, this website is run by?Student Minds?and has lots of advice, resources, and a helpline. Try and talk to someone rather than trying to deal with it all on your own, people are really willing to help and it’s not a bad thing to seek support.
My other suggestion would be to use your diary and plan your week. Especially at the beginning, because you are in such a new structure you don’t quite know what you’re doing when, this is something students mention a lot in research – “there’s just so much, I don’t know where to start, I don’t know how to prioritize it, there’s just too much to do.” Having a diary can really help you navigate your way through that.?You can change things in your schedule, but at least you’ve got a structure in your head.
3. Can you tell me a little bit about what the app offers?
In some of the research that we’ve done as part of creating the app we spoke to an awful lot of students and found that what tends to happen is that if they’re not having a direct issue they do not realise what support is out there. So In the app, there’s a campus map and an A-Z list of services, that includes not just the university services, but services in the region of Norfolk. So signposting to all sorts of things that may be helpful to students in terms of their wellbeing. There’s a little budget planner on there too.
4. Apart from OpenUp what other support and resources does the UEA offer students when it comes to mental wellbeing?
The UEA is offers a lot. They’ve got a student services team split into wellbeing, learning enhancement, and student life. In each department there’s a team of advisors that you can see and they can talk through some of your concerns and help you create an action plan to deal with your situation. The UEA also offers talking therapies and group workshops on things like self-esteem or confidence.
There’s also a student-run phoneline called?Nightline, which is run 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM in the hours when quite often students will feel bad or things might happen.
5. What do you do when you yourself or feeling stressed or a bit low that you know will give you a boost and help you feel back on track?
Good question. I’m an introvert, so I quite like being on my own when I’m stressed, but I wouldn’t necessarily advise this for extraverts, because they usually prefer to go and be with people. So I like being in nature and getting outside away from the screen. I do quite a lot of landscape and nature photography, so that’s a good excuse to get out there as well. It also helps me to focus on something else and think about something unrelated to work or any other worries. A bit of exercise, nothing too drastic; walking, jogging, cycling, that kind of stuff. I also find planning something to look forward to helps, it’s really important to have that bit hope at the end of the week!
Don’t feel embarrassed about asking for help. Mental illness can be lonely and really overwhelming, it can be hard to cope on your own.
If you are struggling with your mental health, ask for help.
You can self refer via our?website?or calling 0300 123 1503 – Monday to Friday 8am-8pm.