With just a few weeks until students across Basingstoke and beyond will be returning to university, 19-year-old creative writing student Robyn Hill from Lychpit discusses the stigmatisation of mental health, and how she combated feelings of loneliness during her first year at Arts University Bournemouth.

THIS year, I started university. I was excited and ready, but of course I was still scared. Without the added confusion of the pandemic and changes in rules, I was scared to be living away from home for the first time and studying at this level. However, I settled in quickly and made good friends with my flatmates. Unfortunately, this definitely isn’t always the case. Even though I was lucky enough to like and get on well with my flatmates, there was something I realised that no one really prepares you for when you go to university.

I didn’t know just how lonely you could get.

Despite loving my course, getting on well with my course-mates, and exploring a new town, I found myself at times more lonely than ever. I had more time alone with my thoughts. It was easy to become insular and to isolate myself further.

Of course, this isn’t something that’s exclusive to university students. Considering the past year and a half we’ve all had, there’s an extremely high chance that you or someone close to you has experienced feelings of isolation or loneliness. Since the pandemic, there have been significant increases across the country in cases of depression, eating disorders, and self harm. These have been particularly noticeable in secondary school children, with rises in a number of mental health illnesses. Having someone to talk to is more important than ever.

I think Covid has brought a greater awareness to a problem that has always been there. The mental health of students isn’t something new, with Mind finding that "many people first experience mental health problems at university". Early into my second term, one of my flatmates became so stressed over the massive workload that she ended up making herself physically sick which resulted in her getting further behind on work. You could see just how easy it would be to spiral into a dangerous place. Another student in the same accommodation as myself sadly took her own life whilst at university. And this was just my experience. These stories happen up and down the country and aren’t rare, with or without the pandemic, and something definitely needs to change.

Mental health is spoken about much more widely now in comparison to just five years ago but there’s still such a long way to go. The demand for mental health services is higher than ever- Rethink Mental Illness has seen a "703 per cent increase in people seeking information about anxiety" in the last year alone. Sometimes it seems like mental health services are everywhere, like online or at school, but finding the right fit for you can be exhausting. I know there was someone to talk to at my college as we had a hub dedicated to it but the service definitely wasn’t used to its full potential. Why is that?

I wonder if it’s because if you’re having problems at college, do you really want to talk about those problems at the source of the issue? Is that the right environment for everyone? Some people may feel unsafe discussing it in the same environment as their friends and education and would maybe rather keep their mental health separate. Equally, it’s endlessly important that we have services like this in schools and colleges for people to access should they need them.

Covid has certainly had a catastrophic impact on this. Upon joining university, I was made aware of mental health services but I had never been on campus to actually locate them. This added a distance between me and any possible help, and although they were accessible through email, starting university was intimidating enough without the added step of reaching out for help. Are there ways this could be made easier?

I think there’s currently a gap between young people who need help and the people offering the help. There’s a lack of information and education being shared in schools which can lead to people not knowing that they need or are able to receive help. I know from my experience at school and college that there is still so much that needs to be done in educating students on where they can get help for their mental health, and how to recognise that they might be struggling. Frequent workshops or events run by mental health professionals would be a great way to further break down stigma around mental health and to educate younger generations for the future. As well as that, mental health services could utilise tools such as social media in order to reach a wider audience. For example, there are plenty of Tiktok and Instagram accounts that frequently share mental health tips that can really help people in need. An active social media presence can alert people to these services, either for themselves or maybe to recommend to someone they know.

In Basingstoke, we’re lucky enough to have services like YPI Counselling and Mentoring. They offer counselling to 11-25 year olds and mentoring to 10-19 year olds. If you’d rather contact people online, there are countless websites like Childline, Samaritans, and Shout where you can reach out for help. Whatever you’re struggling with, you’re not alone, and there are people who care and want to listen to you.

For ore information about YPI Basingstoke services, visit: https://www.ypicounselling.co.uk/