Mental Health Support for Students

Mental Health as a Student

One in four people will experience some form of mental health issue this year. So if you’re feeling isolated, embarrassed or alone and it’s stopping you from getting help, try to realise that mental health issues are so much more common than you would think.

Your university days can be some of the most fun and rewarding of your life, but they can also cause a lot of stress and anxiety, exacerbating underlying mental health conditions.

Students understandably feel pressure to perform given the less than promising job prospects they face. Many are worried about the debts they’re racketing up and some students struggle with loneliness after being suddenly plucked from their home and their support network of friends and family.

Most students aren’t taking enough care of themselves either. Student life often involves eating unhealthy food, not doing enough exercise and drinking heavily, which can be a depressant in itself.

A new survey by the National Union of Students (NUS) has found that 26 per cent of the students they spoke to don’t get any treatment for their mental health and even fewer make use of their university’s counselling services.

So what help is available?

Help for students

• Get moving

Although going for a run is the last thing you feel like when you’re feeling blue, it’s exactly what your body needs. This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week which took place in early May focused on the benefits exercise can bring to people suffering from a mental health issue.

Exercising releases endorphins into our body (happy chemicals), flooding us with instant feel-good chemicals naturally. And exercising in a group gives you the added benefit of interacting and bonding with people, so try to sign up for a team sport or join a running group instead of flying solo.

Most universities have sports clubs and gyms on-site which are either free to join or are subsidised, so why not make use of them?

• Speak to somebody

As the NUS survey has found, most university counselling services are underused. But they can be an invaluable source of support when you need it most, without long waiting times. Most offer free support in group or individual sessions to help you work out some of your problems or cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT); a technique that has helped many people address negative thought patterns. As well as providing you with a listening ear, they could even give you practical help by speaking to your tutor or another university department.

If you have a persistent mental health problem, you should speak to your GP about your issues. They may prescribe you something if they feel it’s appropriate or refer you to the right person.

If you don’t feel ready to speak to somebody face to face, you could call a counselling helpline (which is often included in many health cash plans) if you’d like to talk things over anonymously with a trained medical professional.

There are also some great charities which can provide you with a bit of extra support. The Samaritans are always on the line to hear you out, but they are staffed by well-meaning volunteers, not trained counsellors or psychiatrists. And mental health charity Mind’s website is full of resources to help you understand your condition more while their network of volunteers across Britain can help you with anything from getting a job while living with a mental illness to arranging for you to speak to someone.

Have you or someone you know been affected by mental illness?

The Physical Symptoms Of Anxiety

The physical symptoms of an anxiety attack are immediately
recognizable to anyone who has experienced this in the past.
Among other symptoms, the person may experience difficulty
breathing, sweating, chest pain, numbness in the
extremities, and uncontrollable shaking. Any combination of
these symptoms, or even experiencing other unusual symptoms,
can accompany an anxiety attack.

Physical symptoms of an anxiety attack can mimic those of a
heart attack or even nervous breakdown. Many people wind up
in the emergency room of a hospital as a result. Although
this step is not really necessary for the panic attack,
people may still benefit from professional care. People who
suffer from severe anxiety may need other alternatives in
dealing with the anxiety.

Researchers believe that the full-blown physical symptoms of
an anxiety attack are linked to the survival 'fight or
flight' response that is an instinctive survival reaction in
most creatures, including humans. In humans, when the brain
perceives a dangerous situation, it releases stress
hormones, primarily cortisol and adrenaline. Physical
manifestations include an energy rush, increased sensitivity
to surroundings and marked aggressiveness. These changes
allow the body to react quickly to a situation and repair
itself quicker if it is injured in some way. However during
an anxiety attack, these manifestations occur for no
apparent reason and the body often absorb or defuse this
change in it's homeostasis. Hence the physical symptoms of
an anxiety attack, as described before.

Recent research suggests that recurring panic attacks are
related to an increased incidence of future stroke or heart
attack. Those who experience a single instance of the
physical symptoms of an anxiety attack without a prior
record of anxiety disorder are not necessarily prone to
cardiovascular issues or any long-term issues. But further
study is needed to determine if repeated panic attacks
actually cause heart problems or are only related to them in
some way.

Doctors speculate that medications commonly prescribed for
anxiety disorder can put the patient at risk of a
cardiovascular event. No matter what, physical symptoms of
anxiety attacks are an indication that something is not
right, and the underlying problem needs to get taken care
of.

Anxiety attacks can be difficult to deal with. Although any
physical symptoms of an anxiety attack may be treated from a
medical standpoint, people still need to address the
underlying cause of the anxiety attack. There are various
therapies available to help people discover and deal with
the stress that is causing the attacks. One effective
therapy that can help a person control their reactions to
stress through sheer willpower is cognitive behavioral
therapy.

Deep breathing, advanced relaxation techniques,
aromatherapy, acupuncture, or massage therapy can help
people address the physical symptoms of an anxiety attack.
Regardless of what others may tell you, it is not easy to
relieve an anxiety attack by simply talking yourself out of
it. Anxiety should be treated as the medical condition that
it is. With proper treatment, people can alleviate the
effects of anxiety.