Tuesday 10-10-2023 - 10:00

Hello all, its Liv M here!

The 10^th October 2023 is Mental Health Day, of which is themed "Mental Health is a universal human right".

As students, there is a frequent struggle to balance your many obligations while also attending classes, making deadlines, taking part in extracurricular activities, and working. It's really easy to neglect one crucial component of our overall wellbeing among our obligations: mental health. But we must be mindful that mental health is a human right and is essential to our academic and personal growth.

Human rights refer to the fundamental entitlements that each and every person should have access to as a result of our shared humanity. Human rights encompasses Civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. Even though it is frequently stigmatised, mental health is included within our human rights. Mental health impacts our overall wellbeing, and can drastically impact one’s ability to undertake academic studies to the best of their ability. Mental health can also impact on our own feeling of self worth, and discrimination on the basis of mental health goes against the equality and non-discrimination principles within our human rights.

We all have our own definition of mental health, and we experience mental health and wealth in different ways.  As students, you may be subject to a variety of mental health challenges such as the ones described below (this list is not exhaustive). Transitioning to university can be a daunting process, and getting used to a new environment with different obligations can put a lot of mental pressure onto students. The stress and anxiety of deadlines and workloads can impact on mental health and academic success at university. Socialisation can also impact mental health, as speaking to others can often boost emotional wellbeing, and as such, being secluded from social interactions can impact the mental health of students.

It is important to understand that as a student, you deserve to priortise your mental health as it is a human right and can have a drastic impact on academic and personal success.  In order to prioritise your mental health, it's important to find strategies that work for you personally and help alleviate stress and overwhelm. Here are a few strategies that might be useful for you (this list is not exhaustive):

• Talking to someone. Discussing how you feel with a friend, roommate, or family member at home can allow you allows to share your perspective and actions with someone impartial. Talking to others can allow you gain a understanding of your emotions and validation. Please remember that the Abertay Students’ Association can be an impartial ‘ear’ if you will, and we are here to help if you need someone to talk to. If you ever feel like you are in a crisis, your GP or NHS24 (phone number 111) can be contacted for support. Samaritans (phone number 116 123) can also be a point of contact in crisis.

 

• Writing it out. What is the situation that has brought up these emotions? Was any of the situation in your control, or out with it? How can you find ways to decompress at this time? You can use these prompts (there are also similar prompts online if you need guidance – search “Journalling prompts when feeling *insert feeling/emotion*”) to write about it. Once you have those written down, take a step back for a little while and re-read what you have just written but from a friend’s perspective. What would you tell your friend if that is what they have just communicated to you? What would you advise them to do? This can allow you to gain clarity on a) how to take care of yourself during a difficult situation, b) how to regain some feeling of control over the situation and c) when to take responsibility/set boundaries.

 

• Therapy. This sounds like the scary part, but stay with me here. Abertay University offer a free counselling service, which you can access either via SeZ or Abertay Connect. Reaching out can be the hardest part of this process, but there is also self help guides on the Abertay University Website too. Having that space to talk through how you are feeling and to establish self help tools for yourself can help you academically and personally.

 

• Exercising. Participating in exercise and setting personal goals out with academic studies can be a nice way to detox from the stressors of daily life. Endorphins can also be great for helping with anxiety and stress. What activities do you enjoy? Can you do these with some friends?

 

• Focus on yourself. What do you enjoy? Are there any activities you find help to relax you? You could also try something new, like crocheting or yoga. Are you sleeping enough? Are you managing to have a balanced diet with enough sleep to keep you going? These can all be prompts for you to understand what might benefit you during a time of stress.

 

• What’s next? This list may not be exhaustive, but are some of the things I tend to keep in mind during these periods of stress. You could use these tips to make your own self help toolkit for when you need it.

 

Mental health is a human right. When Students are experiencing the stressors of academic and personal life, it is important to have a self care tool kit (like the one described above) to help you through this time. If you need help creating one, please feel free to come along and ask - we are always happy to help :) We shall be at AberTAYSTY on 10/10/2023 at 14.45pm to hand out resources and to ask some questions!

Positivitree!

On a different note, the Positivitree (a tree where we ask students to write positive messages on it) was released to students during Freshers’ week, and has brought so much positivity into our office. It is  pending a permanent home somewhere more visible for students, however for now, I will share some of the Positive messages left by fellow students. I leave these messages for you with the intent that you can look back at these, and smile a little, even when things seems pretty tough.

 

Positivitree Messages:

• Sometimes you think you have been buried when you have actually been planted.
• Never give up on what you love.
• Keep slaying and getting those W’s.
• Remember its okay to cry, just don’t cry alone.
• Your worth is not your productivity.
• Drink water you plant!!
• You cannot learn anything if you don’t make mistakes…
• You are amazing!! As long as you are happy, you are doing great 😊

Lastly, I shall leave you with this question to think about: How do you support your mental wellbeing/ how could you support your mental wellbeing?

 

Liv M xx