Student Lifestyle and Mental Health..

Student life is full of new and exciting experiences and there is often lots going on. It is important to take the time to look after yourself to help you cope with the changes in lifestyle.

Mood disturbances represent only some of the prevalent mental health issues experienced by college students. Others include serious problems like suicide, eating disorders, and addiction. Mental health professionals stress the importance of talking about such issues, but students tend to consider these stresses a normal part of college life.

Ways to Identify Mental Health Issues:

Depression

Depression is a mood disorder that involves persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities. People experiencing depressive episodes may also experience mood swings, sleep disturbances, appetite changes, and headaches and body pains that have no apparent physical cause.

Symptoms

• Physical Well-Being Symptoms: Changes in sleep habits and appetite changes.
• Emotional Symptoms: Sadness, feelings of being overwhelmed, feelings of hopelessness, and feelings of powerlessness.
• Thinking Symptoms: Seeing a glass "half-empty," having trouble concentrating and paying attention, difficulty reading and completing work tasks.

Anxiety

Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time. However, mounting, ongoing feelings of worry, tension, and panic can interfere with daily life. When your daily life is disrupted, anxiety crosses the line to become a medical condition.

Symptoms

How can I cope with the student lifestyle?

• Managing Stress
• Looking After your Physical Health
• Coping in Alcohol or Drugs Culture

Managing Stress

You might feel like there is a lot of pressure to do well academically, as well as pressure to be sociable. In particular, mature students often say that they feel under stress if they are struggling financially and they have invested money in the course as part of a career change, which can create extra pressure to do well.

Try to build up strategies to manage stress before it gets too much, so it's easier to respond to additional pressure – for example, around exam times.

• Try out some mindfulness exercises. There is a lot of evidence to suggest these can be really helpful, especially for managing stress.
• Try using a planner. This can help to keep track of deadlines and key commitments and organize your study.
• Take time out to relax. Getting away from your desk, even for short periods of time, can help keep you calm.
• Keep an eye on social commitments to avoid overloading your schedule around deadlines and exams.
• Try online support and apps. There are lots of apps and websites available that can help you to manage your stress levels, such as those offering a daily meditation or mindfulness practice.

For more information, see our pages on managing stress or the Student Minds blog, to hear how other students have managed stress.

Looking after your physical health

Looking after your physical health will help you stay healthy and maintain concentration to study well.

• Get good sleep. If you're tired, your worries can get blown out of proportion. Getting into a regular sleep routine can help you stay on top of university life. See our pages on coping with sleep problems for more information.
• Eat a healthy diet. Eating a balanced and nutritious diet can help you feel well and think clearly. See our pages on food and mood for more tips.
• Exercise regularly. Keeping active can help you improve your mental health. Even gentle exercise, like yoga or swimming, can help you relax and manage stress. See our pages on physical activity for more information.

Tiredness is one of the biggest problems with the student lifestyle and it can contribute significantly to my mood. One feels more emotional and less capable when they are tired.

Coping in an alcohol or drugs culture

While alcohol is often associated with the student lifestyle, you don't have to drink if you don't want to. Students' Unions and student-led groups offer a range of social events and activities that are alcohol free. Remember:

• Alcohol can worsen depression and cause other health problems.
• Try to ensure you have some days without drinking.
• Be careful if you are taking medication, as it's usually recommended not to drink or to limit the amount you do drink, while taking it.
• Having a friend around when you are out, or establishing a buddy system, can help to keep you safe when you are drinking or engaged in drug use. 
• Don't accept drinks from someone you don't know and always keep your drinks with you to help avoid your drink being spiked (with drugs or alcohol). 

Know Your Rights as a Student

In America, federal and state laws prohibit colleges and universities from discriminating against students experiencing mental health issues. Institutions support learners seeking help or treatment by offering academic deferments, leaves of absence, and other accommodations. Privacy laws protecting student confidentiality also apply, while disability laws play a role in cases of pervasive dysfunction.