No one should have to face a mental health problem alone. Sharing a problem is often the first step to recovery.
Living away from home or alone for the first time can be a struggle that can be amplified even more when you feel trapped inside your own head. Being a student is likely to bring a number of changes to your life, such as:
- meeting new people
- managing your money
- leaving home – homesickness
- exams & deadlines
Coping with these challenges all at once is a lot, but there really are lots of activities and things you can do yourself to ease your stress and make your student experience more enjoyable.
As far as expressing your feeling goes, you can:
- Apply for free counselling through your University Student Welfare deperatment
- Apply for counselling through the NHS via your GP
- Join a society
- Facetime/video chat a friend from home. Calling someone is a good step, but being able to see their face is even better!
- Write a diary (It’s surprising how good it feels to get your thoughts out of your mind and on to paper)
Ways to meet people and develop new friendships:
- Take a hike – Wales is only around the corner and is home to some beautiful scenic areas perfect for a walk or hike. Not to mention you’ll be exercising as well as socialising which releases serotonin and will generally make you feel a lot better. It can be hard to get out of bed some days but you won’t regret taking yourself and someone you want to get to know better for some fresh air.
- Volunteer – volunteering to help at events on your University campus could easily lead you to finding a group you click with.
- Talk to your neighbours – sometimes the people we are looking for are right in our back yards. You may even find that your neighbours are students themselves that are looking to make new friends.
- Talk to your course mates – you and your course friends already have something in common… you’re in the same classes on a daily basis! This gives you plenty of time to get to know a few people.
- Sit at community tables – instead of isolating yourself eating in your room, sit at the dinner table and get chatting to a housemate!
- Host a get together – before you go out and hit the town, ask your housemates to invite some friends around and extend an invite out to people you may already know.
Lets get together @ CSL!
Here at Chester Student Lets, we’ve decided to host a social event at our Hub in the next few months. This will be an opportunity to meet fellow students in a relaxed and fun environment, with drinks and food provided. Stay tuned on our social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) for updates!
If you think you may be suffering but aren’t sure, click here for a list of types of mental health problems.
Thanks for reading and don’t forget to follow us on social media @chesterstudents