Ever wondered what it’s like for people with mental health issues to be students?
Well, here I will give my personal experience of being a student with mental health issues. I will say that I can only speak for myself since everyone experiences things differently so I cannot speak for everyone who is in a similar situation.
Disclaimer: I am not a trained mental health professional, so anything mentioned is from my experience. And if you do need urgent help, please reach out to someone you trust or to a medical professional.
How mental health makes studying harder:
For me some days can be really hard.
Mental health issues can range in complexity, with me it can be a wild ride. I have a lot of memory issues, so I struggle to remember what has been taught in lessons. Luckily my tutors at college are very understanding and will go over things again and let me take voice recordings so that I can place them back to refresh my memory.
I’ve seen many students struggle at exam time; the stress of sitting exams can be immense sometimes to the point where students start to have break downs. It’s quite sad to see especially in this day and age where you’d think there would be more support for stress and mental health.
I remember losing my friend group at the time of my GCSE exams, they turned against me and kicked me out of the group. It was awful especially with the issues that I had buried for many years. This had a negative effect on my mental health, but there was no support whatsoever. In the end because of my mental health issues, I managed to get my GCSE’s but the effect it had on me on results day was awful.
Why I hate the education system:
Most of my friends know that I despise the education system, especially secondary school.
School is supposed to be a place to learn, to be educated. But instead, it’s more like a pressure cooker. They shovel information at you expecting you to learn it but instead most of it is useless.
All schools care about are who can get the best grades this year.
The education system has always been like this since its incarnation. The exams are a waste of time because they don’t test your knowledge, they test your memory to see how good it is. I didn’t sign up for that.
I expected to learn things that would benefit me in life, but instead I was tested on how good my memory is.
The way that exams work is disgraceful. Teachers telling you that you need to get this certain grade. We I’ll tell you this, grades are just a number or letter on a piece of paper. I still value my worth on my grades but that what the education system imbedded in me.
The amount of pressure that students put on themselves is unbelievable. I had a mental break down because of it.
How we can fix this issue:
After many years of thinking and talking to fellow students I established what needs to change.
First off, we need to get rid of exams and replace them with course work and practical skills.
Then, implement proper support especially for mental health. I believe that we should be taught about being more aware of our mental health and being taught that it is okay to ask for help. Obviously, I’m being to hopeful here because I know that it would be well out of the budget range of schools.
I think that students should be taught valuable skills that they can carry on into adulthood.
My final criticism would be getting rid of uniform. It sucks wearing uniform at school, especially a blazer. They get too warm in the summer and the price is just too much for some.
I think that students would learn better if they could wear whatever they want to school, just like you can at college. And giving them the freedom and right to express themselves.
What to do if you are struggling at school or college:
- talk to your teacher or wellbeing officer
- use fidgets if your teacher lets you
- If you’re at college ask your teacher if you can put earphones in (some colleges don’t allow you to have earphones in because it’s against their rules. So always check just in case.)
- Chat with friends. This can be done over text, in person or over apps like discord.
- Take a break and go for a walk.
- If things get so bad ask if you can go home. (Usually, teachers at college are okay with this as long as you let them know. However, at school this might not be possible)
Things that help me:
- fidgets
- doodling
- talking with my teachers
- messaging friends
- playing games either on my phone or if I’m at home on the PS5
- Calling in sick on a bad mental health day (I’ve only done this once)
What support do colleges offer?
Each education institute provides different support. Some schools and colleges now have welfare officers who you can talk to if you are struggling or need support. One college that I went to did support groups, which I didn’t attend but they were a good idea. I know that they are some colleges that have a mentoring scheme where you can request a mentor, this is usually a member of staff that works closely with the wellbeing team but sometimes it can be other students who could be your mentor.
I thought it was great having a mentor, she was very nice and understanding but unfortunately it was too little support too late.
Closing Message:
This is my first blog so I do appreciate it if anyone wants to leave some feedback on anything I could improve on. Please do be polite though and if there is any other topics that you want me to cover, please let me know.
I do apologise if any information I wrote about was incorrect, again this is what helped me through college, so I based it on personal experience.
If you need to talk to somebody or need support, I have left some resources that I have used myself.
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