Student mental health is extremely important.
Mental illness is most likely to develop between the ages of 18-25, the group that students encompass. It’s not hard to see why mental health among the student body is high, with the daily stresses of living independently for the first time, to significant social and academic pressures placed upon them by peers or parents. While there has been significant progress over the past few years there is still a pervasive social stigma that can lead to many students feeling isolated, ashamed and feeling unable to seek help.
This progress has not been uniform either, while significant strides have been made in cultural attitude towards depression and anxiety, students who are schizophrenic or bipolar are much more likely to face stigma and discrimination when they attempt to seek help. University mental health day is a day meant to raise awareness of student mental health and encourage those who are struggling to seek help from the campus resources available to them. The positive is that resources for mental health are much more readily available to students, as compared with the general population.
The welfare officer Lloyd Harris had this to say about the day “I personally think University Mental Health Day is fantastic! It’s a great opportunity to get students talking about mental health. It also facilitates an improved understanding of how to look after your own mental health and support others at university. I would encourage all students to get involved with the biggest day of student mental health activism in the UK.” This March 3rd students from the student mind society on campus launched a stall for raising awareness of student mental health.
In singleton library the society encouraged students to share tips for taking care of their mental health and sold a variety of cakes, with money raised going to student minds nationally. Students were encouraged to share tips on how to improve their mood and mental well being, and writable posters were placed across singleton campus as part of the student minds national Ripple campaign.
