Hey guys!
Hope everyone’s good? How’s everyone dealing with the weather difference? You can definitely tell winter is coming. Autumn always has me feeling some type of way. It’s hands down my favourite season though. Maybe it’s the colours or the Halloween excitement in the air. I don’t celebrate Halloween, it’s not part of our culture (lol can you imagine the reactions of people back home if suddenly people started dressing up as ghosts and witches for a holiday?), but I find the decorations so cute. Is it just me? Yes? No?
Last week Wednesday, October 10th, was World Mental Health Day. So that’s what today’s blog post focuses on. The importance of paying attention to our Mental Health. We all know uni can be so stressful. With different sources such as studying/coursework/exams (obviously), and the not so obvious such as maintaining friendships, good relationships etc. You’ll agree with me that mental health is not something we take too seriously at home unfortunately. Especially with the older generation. Thankfully, things are changing now as there is more awareness around issues, but it’s still not enough. And this has led to so many people in distress without any form of help.
Fortunately, both the uni and Student Union have so many support services available to students when in need.
- Personal Tutors: every student is assigned a personal tutor at the start of their academic career that stays with them till the end (usually). They are usually part of your department so can be your first point of contact for any academic related issues. Whether you’re falling behind or to resolve conflicts in group work. Its always worthwhile to find out who your personal tutor is. As an international student its compulsory to meet with them once a semester anyway.
- Centre of Wellbeing: this is situated right on campus. Staffed with fully competent and trained professionals who are always happy to help. Its easy to book a consultation session to talk through a psychological, emotional or personal issue.
- Big White Wall: they provide free, 24/7, peer and professional online support to uni students. It’s perfect if you just want to speak anonymously with a trained professional if you’re struggling to cope.
- Nightline: organised by the student union, this service is run by trained student volunteers ,from 7pm to 7am, who provide a non-judgemental ear. It’s a listening service if you have something to get off your chest, no matter how small you might think it is. Some examples of why you might want to call could include; not being able to sleep, walking alone at night, friend trouble or even if you’re homesick.
Mental health problems can literally affect anyone at anytime and its important that we start to pay more attention to ourselves and those close to us.
That’s it for today guys.
Till next time!
Fawziyyah.
