Time to Talk Campaign

Thursday 01-02-2018 - 17:03

Today is Time to Talk Day, in which people are encouraged to talk about Mental Health.

According to WHO “one in four people in world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives”. YouGov also found that “More than half of students know between one and five people who suffer from a mental ill…” They are just two sources of information, out of the many, that all points to the commonality of mental illness. An article in the guardian depicted pictures of mental illness from a student’s perspective and I would recommend having a look at it (link at the end). The sketches from Ella Baron touch on many issues that students face Claustrophobia, Depression, Self-Worth, Sleep Deprivation, Anxiety, Loneliness, Panic Attacks, Bi-polar and Grief, this is not an exhaustive list but it does highlight some common areas. A lot of people battle against these every day, the exhaustive internal fight to just carry on to get some normality. The fight can be so difficult, it can feel like it is you against the world. Just talking about these things can be really difficult, but what is even harder is seeking the support. One of the big difficulties of getting support is the not knowing where to go, who to talk to and what can be done.

At Edge Hill there are a variety of people to talk to, these people are here to help and are willing to listen. Don’t suffer in silence and take the brave step in contacting some of these people.

Below is a personal account from VP Welfare, Rosie, about her experiences of having a mental health condition while at University:

As your VP Welfare, mental health is something in my remit that I feel very strongly about. My focus this year has been on my #FeelingMySelfCare campaign, to help you focus on caring about your own mental health, and taking time for you. (You can see our self-care guide here; https://issuu.com/edgehillsu/docs/self_care_tips_ )

I know how hard it can be to prioritise your own mental health while your studying, and how bad things can get when you don’t. So, this Time To Talk day, I’d like to talk about my own experiences of mental health difficulty while at university.

I’m very open about my mental health condition, I have Generalised Anxiety Disorder (or GAD.) The way my anxiety works is I get ‘fixations,’ situations or thoughts that when I am confronted with my mind spirals, and I end up having a panic attack.

Moving to a different country for University was difficult for me; it took a lot to push myself to do it. What was also difficult was moving from a homeless shelter to halls of residence. My family was in a really hard situation, and that added to the pressure to do well, to settle in and succeed.

My welcome week was one of the worst weeks of my life. I tried so hard to pretend I was fine, but spent most of it curled up in a ball with my duvet under my bed in my room in forest court, panicking, thinking there was no way I was going to cope here. I was going to fail.

But then, something really amazing happened.

I got dragged along to a few society meetings by people on my course. And I found people who had similar interests, and the meetings were really chilled out, and I felt safe. Little by little, I could stop acting, I made friends, and actually started enjoying my time at University.

When things got too much, when I felt like I couldn’t do this, that I wasn’t capable, it was going to a society meeting for a few hours that helped me get out of that headspace. That then turned into volunteering with campaigns in the Students’ Union, which turned into me getting enough confidence in myself to run for election. First as an NUS delegate, then as an officer representing students at Edge Hill.

Had you told me in Welcome Week 2013, when I was crying into my duvet ready to quit, that today I’d have a first class honours degree and be Vice President of the Students’ Union, I would never have believed you.

It’s incredible what you can achieve, when you have the support structures in place to step outside your comfort zone.

This Time to Talk day, talk to someone about how you’re feeling and find your ways to cope. Whether that’s joining a society, a sports team, making time to FaceTime home, having a night out with your mates or something as simple as having a bubble bath; make time for the things that keep you grounded.

All my love, Rosie xx

Here’s a list of some of the many people to contact if you need to talk:

SU Advice Centre: https://www.edgehillsu.org.uk/advice

Campus Life: https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentservices/campus-life/

Email - Campuslife@edgehill.ac.uk

Chaplaincy Service: https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentservices/chaplaincy/

chaplaincy@edgehill.ac.uk

Counselling Service: https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentservices/counselling/

Email - counselling@edgehill.ac.uk

Inclusion Team: https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentservices/inclusive/

Email - inclusionteam@edgehill.ac.uk

Student Services: https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentservices/