In his latest column, Oliver Cary assesses the rise of instances of mental health illness amongst students.
University brings independence, and this is often associated with freedom, personal decision-making and endless opportunities for enjoyment. For many students, university is the stepping stone between late childhood and adulthood. It is a balance between study, socialising and first experiences with the ‘real world’.
But university can also bring pressure to graduate with a 2:1 or higher in a degree, to constantly improve a CV, or to work towards overall employability. Many employers value other skills such as communication, leadership and enterprise in their candidates as well as suitable work experience gained during your university career.
Education journalist Mike Baker wrote in his BBC article that employers are looking at these ‘soft skills’ second to academic requirements. He states that Deloitte LLP, employer of approximately 1, 200 graduates each year, have basic requirements of a 2:1 or higher and then hopefuls need other transferable skills and experiences to make it through the next screening process.
This increasing pressure of employment that runs concurrently with academic deadlines and financial concerns can be hard to cope with for an independent young adult. Layla Haidrani, a student at Kent University and contributor to The Independent, views the academic pressure, financial difficulties and anxiety of job guarantee as a major contributor to the increasing figures of mental health in students.
Some students suffer from isolation, loneliness and chronic anxiety after loosing their mechanism for coping with the pressures of university life. Isolation can be increased by the extended use of social media, and in particular this generation’s dedication to purport a particular image of their university life and activities. It is difficult to feel happy when seeing friends having fun at their respective university, whilst you struggle with the pressures of your own.
Chronic anxiety and depression is a global health issue. Carol Midgley writes in The Times that depressive disorders will be the biggest international health issue by 2030, according to the World Health Organisation. At universities it is believed to be increasing also. The Times suggests that one in four students will encounter or experience a mental health issue. Similarly the Mental Health Foundation has found that 50% of students have dealt with clinical anxiety, and 10% clinical depression.
Whilst it seems staggering that university, a place of socialising, ‘partying’ and also extensive opportunity, can be so challenging for individuals, it is important that each institution recongnises the need for student support. Universities have counsellors, tutors and recently ‘Wellbeing Day’ on the 20th February. Symptoms are described on studentsagainstdepression.org as a combination of constantly feeling ‘low, sad, anxious or empty’ or all of these at once. Everyone deals with anxiety daily, and it is not to say feeling the pressure of university means that one is experiencing clinical anxiety or even depression.
Charlotte, a student, has battled with depression as a teenager. She explains to Carol Midgley that she was a perfectionist and placed pressure upon herself to excel academically. She realised that she didn’t seem to have a protective layer or coping mechanism to help her deal with the anxiety she felt. The hardest part was voicing her feelings, and admitting that she was struggling with her daily life. Now hoping to restart university this September, she believes that speaking to a GP helped her and ‘she didn’t necessarily know the answers, she was just kind and listened. That was what I needed’.
The pleasures and pressures of university are new to all students and it is part of our emotional development to come to terms with these feelings. Lucie Russell, from YoungMinds, understands that ‘young people need to build a resilience to navigate the world they live in’. At times this is challenging, and one should always use friends, family and professionals to help themselves become a strong and independent young person ready to engage and participate in society. All students face strenuous times, but they are not alone, and seeking help is not a sign of weakness but of intended self-belief and recovery.
Fighting mental health issues alone seem insurmountable. Charlotte and others found sharing their difficulties with family, GPs or university counsellors as the hardest but most helpful solution. Isolation and anxiety can be dealt with, and recognising this is the first step to recovery.
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