Students and stress: why mental health matters

It's that time of year again where students are arriving or returning to University with parent's cars full of belongings and enough tupperware of Spag Bol to feed the entire campus. The physical wellbeing of students is often discussed openly however the mental wellbeing of students is still very much a taboo subject.

The BBC have highlighted in their recent article that the support available to students for mental health issues is extremely poor, to the extent that the Higher Education Policy Institute have said that some universities need to treble the amount of support that is available for students.

Many of us have experienced the feeling of anxiety when arriving alone somewhere new without our support network close by. Add this to the feeling of being bombarded with the stress of a degree, having to fend for yourself and not quite knowing what the upcoming weeks or months have in store for you and you can understand why students are vulnerable to mental health problems.

The article by the BBC explains that student support services are under funded and often students do not know where to turn to get support for matters such as depression, anxiety and loneliness. In addition to this, Ruth Caleb of the Higher Education Working Group on Mental Health has highlighted that there is often a gap between term time and holiday time support because students are registered at a GP either at home or university.

At HCB Solicitors we understand the impact mental health issues such as depression can have on students abilities. If you or someone you know have experienced issues with accessing education or excelling in exams because of extenuating circumstances please do give us a call to see how we could help.