University can be great fun. You’ve started a brand new chapter of your life and the world is your oyster, all you have to do is grab that metaphorical bull by the horns and tackle it. While you’re loving that first week of university, partying by night and attempting to attend lectures by day, you don’t give yourself time to think. Once the initial excitement has subsided, however, you may find you begin to feel the press of the Uni Blues.
This year a study came out showing an increase in student stress levels. The BBC News article states that a report from the Higher Education Funding Council for England has reported an increase in students searching for counselling over the past couple of years.
The University of Reading, for instance, shows mental health has increased by 20% every year. Students are not only looking for help and advice on homesickness, relationships and loneliness, they’re also showing more serious mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety and eating disorders.
Providing you with top quality student housing in Lancaster and other CityBlock locations, we’ve seen our fair share of struggling students. Though we do our best to ease your financial stress, we thought we’d pass on some advice to help you cope with your Uni Blues.
Spend Time With Friends and Socialise
You won’t be the only one feeling the tug of loneliness or stress. The worst thing you can do is board yourself up in your room and wait it out. Not only will you grow sick of staring at the same four walls, you’ll feel worse than you did before. Going days without seeing or speaking to people is a huge knock on the soul.
Pick yourself up and step out into your hallway, knock on a few doors, talk to your friends and socialise with them. Go to the cinema or the pub, visit an event and have some fun. A little TLC with your university friends may be all you need to feel like yourself again.
Put Time Aside to Try Something New
Moving to university gives you the chance to try things you may never have tried before. First Aid courses, Paragliding and trips out to foreign countries are all at your fingertips so take the chance to experiment. During your Freshers week you’ll find that your university will have stalls showing off their amazing societies and clubs. Not only is joining one (or several) of these great fun, but it’s the perfect way to meet new people and make lots of friends!
You may find that a new love in your life, or a hobby you fall head over heels for, can help to reduce your stress.
Talk to Somebody
Above all else, talk to somebody. Talk to your friends, your housemates, your family or a counsellor. Talk until your mouth feels dry and you’ve no more words. Suffering in silence, especially if you’re feeling more than a little homesick, won’t help you. If nobody knows why you’re so quiet, if they don’t understand why you want to lock yourself in your room, then they won’t be able to help you.
The Uni Blues isn’t something to take lightly. A lot of the time stress levels in students come down to financial struggles and fears of future job prospects. There are plenty of things in place to help you deal socially and financially at university, you just need to say something. Here at City Block we understand student struggles, if you’d like to know how we can help you, contact us today on 01524 541251 or follow us on Facebook or Twitter for updates.
