According to student-run Nightline, more people are seeking treatment for depression, suicide thoughts, and anxiety.
The scourge continues to damage the mental health of UK university students, experts warn, as figures show a growing number of people are seeking help from and peer support services for anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.
Nightline, which is made up of anonymous volunteers, said it saw a 51.4 per cent rise in calls in 2020-21, and that has risen since, with early data suggesting the number for 2021-22 is 30 per cent. higher, and more. 23% since the beginning of the academic year.
The helpline, which has been operating for more than 50 years, said there has been a significant increase in callers discussing anxiety and stress, reaching 10.9%. That number is up 17% since September, including an increase in calls from students worried about their finances. Advertising
Despite a slight decrease in calls from students attempting to kill themselves, Nightline saw an increase in the number expressing suicidal thoughts, which rose again this year, reaching 7.4% of calls.
Warning of Mental Health Problems Among ‘covid Generation’ Students
Jennifer Smith, policy officer for the charity Student Minds, said the “vast majority” of students had experienced “significant hardship in their lives”, losing key social, academic and personal relationships, which had led them to feel a sense of “sadness, loss”. , uncertainty and distrust”. “Students today have experienced changes in higher education that are different from their predecessors and may feel that they are not ready for university life,” he said, adding that the disease remains “very serious.” current challenges. for rare students, caregivers and health care professionals. class. .
Matt Jones, a PhD student at Loughborough University with depression, anxiety and autism, called Nightline six months ago because he felt “overwhelmed” by the flood of stressful world events and he is adjusting to social interaction after two years of reduced contact and isolation. “I sat down with my friends and we all said ‘the disease has destroyed us’. Suddenly we don’t know how to handle [normal life] again,” he said.
“Locking everyone up for a year has a huge impact on people’s ability to come together. If you look at new people, they lost 15 to 17 years, which is when you make a lot of progress – you will lose all those experiences. Andrew Garfield is Releasing Pressure to Have Kids Before 40: ‘it’s More About Accepting a Different Path’
Jones, who runs his university’s Nightline, believes that we live in a time that disturbs young people because social media makes them more connected to world events – for example , watching TikTok videos that transmit photos of soldiers who killed Ukrainians and videos of friends. . She said there is also pressure to be positive about everything, or put shame on social media. “There’s this feeling of ‘we’re sick of living through history’. We’re sick of living through big events, whether it’s Covid or the January riots or the war in Ukraine . If you talk to students, more than anything else, it’s ‘can we have a year where nothing happens? Can we have an age of purity and serenity? »
He added that many students calling Nightline is also a good sign. “Sometimes [my generation] may seem more important, but I don’t think that’s true, we understand very well what we need to do to help each other and to communicate our needs.”
Dominique Thompson, an NHS doctor and author of a book on student well-being, said many studies of students’ psychological well-being after the illness showed anxiety and loneliness. He said that anxiety and suicidal thoughts reflect the feeling of not having control over your life and your future – caused by bad disease, recession and the cost of living.
“There is still anxiety from uncertainty about the world they live in, whether it’s future opportunities, environmental concerns or political concerns, as well as everyday concerns about the cost of living , academic stress and friendships. We cannot underestimate the importance of all these issues for young people and their helplessness in the face of these great problems,” he said. 안전한카지노사이트
Rachel Sandby-Thomas of the Association of Heads of University Administration said universities are aware of the impact of the epidemic on students and are developing and promoting mental health support, including staff training and early detection of warning signs and collaboration with the NHS and specialist treatment. .
