University Life Uncovered | Part 3 Mental Health

Hi and welcome back to my blog! I will start today's blog with a trigger warning as it contains subjects relating to mental health and keeping safe in and around the towns. If you are sensitive to content like this then it may not be suitable for you and please always remember that you can talk to people about your struggles and that help is always available, most importantly - you are amazing, just the way you are - you are enough!
First of all I will discuss my own personal struggles and how I coped with the anxiety of not only starting university but also during the time I realised that I wanted to transfer, then I will discuss topics relating to staying safe in and around the town/city. Enjoy!

Summer and first week of uni:

Understandably there is a lot of build-up, especially during the summer over starting university, for some the reality may not actually hit until they arrive at uni, for me it was different though as I felt amazingly prepared and everything felt amazing and then I was faced with a shock. During the summer I wasn't too worried about starting as I was distracted by working in a nursery but then I finished working there to have time to spend with family and friends, during this time is when I had quite the turn in emotions. About 2 weeks before I was due to move in my halls of residence I found out that my boyfriend was off to Australia for two weeks starting roughly a week before I was due to move, this came as a shock to me as I was aware he was going on holiday with his parents, despite previous discussions (which will be mentioned in a later blog as it accompanies a "great" story). However, I was not aware he would be missing my Freshers, especially seeing as he promised to stay over for my first night so I didn't feel completely alone all of a sudden, in addition I believed it to be rather silly of him going on holiday around this time as it only gave him a few days after the holiday to then settle back down at his university and he may have been very jetlagged. Regardless of this, it did and has still got a lasting impression on me as a lot of my Freshers was spent with raging anxiety and consistent low moods. 

One of my biggest helpers during this time was a friend I made during the summer. I met her on Facebook when introducing myself and what I was studying in the group for my halls of residence and she then did the same shortly after me. So I picked up the courage to message her and from that she became one of my closest friends I have! I strongly encourage each and every one of you to check out social media groupd for your univeristy to see if you can get a head start with making friends. This girl was my rock throughout uni and being a fresher herself it made me realise that there were probably a lot of people feeling just as homesick as I.
Regarding freshers and drinking, I kept this at a minimum because in all honesty I just didn't feel settled at this place and felt that it wasn't right, in fact the times that I did go out, I instantly regretted. I do feel that there is this instant pressure and stigma that all students do and should do is go out clubbing and drinking insane amounts, which I can tell you now is complete trash, yes most students do drink but no, if you aren't comfortable with it or if you don't fancy going out it does not mean you wont fit in and that you are missing out. You are simply approaching university life in your own way! Another top tip is to check out societies and to at least try one or two sessions, just because you sign up for things does not mean you have to continue with them if you aren't enjoying them, but they are a great way of doing things you love with people that share that interest with you!

Exam season and meeting deadlines:

Tackling revision, attending lectures and seminars, and trying to keep up on coursework can be tiring and sometimes quite difficult, however university staff, for example your tutor, are great people to talk to if you are ever struggling. Another tactic is to get together with friends/course mates and form study groups whereby you allocate time to tackle revision and coursework in the company of each other. Sometimes this is even helpful even when the friends aren't on the same course, this is because the sheer fact that you are with people studying helps to give you the motivation to study, yourself. Another big help is to write down and schedule time for things, this isn't just time for studying but time for yourself to relax in addition to going to uni, studying and societies. This is really important to do as you can very easily begin to tire yourself out both mentally and physically and so time to relax and maybe even reflect on yourself is important. 

Around revision time was quite challenging for me as I began to have recurring nightmares which made it harder for me to sleep, seeing as I already had insomnia this became a bigger and bigger challenge. Over time I became incredibly tired and flagged most of the day, I then developed iron deficiency anaemia and then my mental health began to fall too. Over the course of the next few months I began to have self-image issues and pretty much hated everything about myself. It was in this time that I learnt that this university wasn't for me and I simply wasn't happy here anymore. Knowing this was one thing but deciding what to do after this realisation was another. I gradually began to eat less, until I lost about a stone (which yes I was happy about as I am slightly overweight) but I knew this was not a healthy way to go about things. It was only then that I decided to speak out and get help, not professionally (which I do highly recommend as people are trained to help!) but via my friends and partner. I began to go out more, even if it was going to the societies I had joined (as I had stopped going to them for a while), started to have my friends visit me more often for girly evenings with facemasks and movies, I even allocated time to read, draw and colour in mindfulness colouring books. Don't get me wrong, nothing magically became perfect, things are still difficult some days now but I spent time on myself and learnt how to cope with stress and low moods. 

So I decided to finish the year at this university even though I knew I didn't want to return, however, instead of just dropping out I am now enrolled at a different university and am honestly so excited to start my adventure there come 10 days time! 

I hope this post gave you some insight and I hope you have found it helpful, I do apologise though that I am unable to give the best advise because all I can give is that of my own experience. But remember, you are not alone and you can always seek help if need be! 

Check this space for updates on my new university experience and more advice on things related to uni-life! 

Thank you!