Returning to University with Depression
Hi,
I am from the UK and will be attending University in September. I am 21 years old, and previously attended a University far away from my hometown for one year, when I was 18/19.
I left after the first year and moved back in with my parents to focus on improving my mental health. I have noticed a lot of improvement since then, but I still really struggle with negative anxious and depressed thoughts on a daily basis
I have applied to a University closer to my home and am very anxious about going back. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on dealing with depression and anxiety at University? I found that when I was there before, I had massive difficulties concentrating in lectures and keeping up with the reading. Trying to write essays would cause me to have extreme anxiety where the stress of trying to ensure I wrote everything before the deadline would make me feel like I was going to explode. I ended up missing deadlines for many essays despite having extensions and pulling many all-nighters in order to get the word count before the deadline. I do not want a repeat of this when going back to University.
Being organised and managing my time is something I find very difficult. I really struggle to stay motivated and concentrate on things and find it very easy to get distracted by the internet despite using apps like stayfocusd and cold turkey to block distracting websites. I have seen therapists before and am taking antidepressants and I feel that doing more exercise and eating more healthily has slightly helped me to be calmer and more positive. I am looking into getting a disability mentor to help me when going back to University.
I still don't know whether University is even worth the stress and anxiety. I will be studying English Literature and am interested in a career in public relations after graduation. I have struggled to find work during the time I have been out of education, having a brief period of paid employment last summer.
Some advice from anyone else who has studied at University whilst dealing with depression would be much appreciated.
I m sorry that you have to deal with the hard days in young age , I m proud about what you achieved in your life and your plans to your futu , evry thing will be alright with professional help and self care , support groups too , in the bad days don't stay alone ask for help , hug to you 💚
@EllaNoelle
Hey there, glad to see you're going back! :) great job!
Well I can give some advice.
First: do you have a safe place to study? Maybe your room or somewhere else? if possible has to be a place non related to hobbies or technology. Once you find that place keep everything organised and also keep it fun! Keep snacks around , those help so much to study. Specially when you're feeling tired! My favourite snack to recommend is dark chocolate because it boosts the brain activity :)
Second: quality > quantity. many people think university is ALOT of banging your head on the wall, studying for countless hours. Wrong! If you study around 1/2 h a day you'll absorve information much more. With this also go to every single class and lecture and take notes. Constant work is much more efficient than overworking, specially if you have depression. Many times our depression makes us loose motivation or energy to study. It can even happy the day before a test! but guess what? if you study a bit everyday you already know what you need in case your mind goes blank!
Third: eat healthy and exercise. We all know both of these things helps with "happy hormone" we have. It will give you more energy to study and focous! The exercise also doesn't need to be extreme. You can walk around campus while listening to music, or even walking reading some study notes.
Fourth: socialise. Now this is the hardest right. Is always hard for a uni student to find time for this. However with depression we have the tendency to isolate ourselves. So I recommend you to at least talk to your parents. keep venting , keep working on this.
Fifth: I know the uk has a free health care , specially when it comes to mental illness. Have you tried to get a therapist?
Sixth: If for some reason you aren't able to focous much on an essay (like you mentioned you have anxiety with these) or studying for a test, what about looking online? Many times if you go online you can find free studying guides on the topic you want, or even other student's notes on it! It should give you a bigger perspective and maybe show you stuff you missed :)
I hope I helped a little. I know how hard and draining it can be to study with depression. But remember you're not alone! You can do this !
Hi Ella! I can completely relate to what you're saying, depression had a massive impact on my university experience plus I did English Literature too. Here's some things that might help.
Firstly, you should get given a mentor on your course who will be your first point of call for any concerns you have about your studies. I told my mentor about my mental health issues by email after my poor attendance had been picked up on. She was very supportive & emailed my lecturers to let them know about my situation. We had catch ups in person too which really helped as telling her what I planned to achieve gave me some accountability. If you do get given a mentor but you don't like them you can usually go & chat to a member of staff that you do like instead.
As for the workload, someone once told me to only read the books you were interested in researching & writing an essay on, which can ease the pressure of needing to read so much. This is much easier if you're told essay questions in advance too as you have an idea of themes you might want to look out for. Of course being able to do this depends on how your course works. And if you're in doubt when essay writing email the lecturer your concerns so they can help you work through them.
A planner might help you if you find that electronic organisation can lead to distraction. They're a useful way to write down a few things you want to achieve each day & note down any events you need to remember. Breaking down work into manageable chunks is so much less overwhelming!
Looking into a disability mentor is a great idea! Unis provide a lot of support for mental health so there will be support out there no matter what, lots provide free counselling too if that's something you would be interested in.
Finally, if you ever feel like you can't finish your degree remind yourself what you want to get out of it, the job you want to get. This was a big motivator for me!
I hope you might find some of this helpful & that you enjoy uni!