MENTAL HEALTH DAY: THOUGHTS FROM A STUDENT OFFICER (MARIA)
Winchester Student Union proudly supports World Mental Health Day. Student Officer, Maria Freitas shares her thoughts:
Mental Health... Why is it that we run away from any discussion that includes those two little words next to each other?
Nowadays, it is extremely rare to find someone that has never suffered with their mental health. Children are struggling at school and experiencing panic attacks, teenagers turn to drugs and alcohol to muffle the pain they feel all the time. Young adults are being diagnosed with depression that keeps them from getting a job and starting their life. Every single generation is being affected by this and suffering in silence cause society’s norms say no one should talk about their injuries unless they are visible, but you know what? This is completely insane! For the good of our future we need to change those norms, we need to start talking about mental health and we need to do it now!
I have been on an ongoing battle with my own mental health for as long as I can remember. No matter how much we want to believe in it, life is not a fairy-tale and I had to come to terms with that a long time ago. However, I didn’t fully understand the extent of the damage my mind had suffered until I was around 16 and had my first panic attack, one so big that it broke my body along with my mind. From that day on I have been at war with myself, trying to reclaim the bits of me that anxiety decided to take as her own. There are days when I win and feel joyous and confident as if nothing in the world can take me down. But there are also days when I loose, days when everything my body aches and I want nothing more than to curl up in bed with a box of ice cream and just binge-watch my favourite rom-coms. Nevertheless, I keep fighting! I wake up every day and try my hardest to overcome the barriers that that day brings and even when I feel like my mind is battered in the trenches about to face a whole battalion alone, I still hold my head up high and refuse to wave a white flag.
For many University is not the greatest time when it comes to their mental wellbeing, I know that some of my lowest points anxiety wise happened in the last two years and many of my friends relate to this feeling. Being away from home and living by yourself for the first time is super exciting but also terrifying. For the first few weeks everyone is happy to finally be independent but then homesickness and freshers flu kick in and suddenly independence doesn’t look as much fun anymore. My best advice for these moments is to talk to someone, either your flatmate, a friend from your course, a family member or a professional at the Student Union or the University. Do not suffer in silence! Let someone know you are not feeling your best so they can be there for you and be your “brother in arms” when your demons attack you.
Mental health can and will be tricky during this time of your life when everyone around you is trying to figure out who they are as an adult and making plans of what their life will look like in 5 or 10 years. The trick is to make sure you have a good support system that will be there to catch you when you fall and to always remember the good times that have happened before as well as the ones that are still to come.
I will leave you with one of my favourite quotes ever, one that has carried me through some of my darkest times.
“May the flowers remind you why the rain was necessary.”
That’s all from me, remember to take care of yourself and never suffer in silence.
Nightline is a confidential listening service, run for students by students. Lines open from 6pm-8am during term time. Call: 0207 631 0101 or Text: 07717 989 900
Samaritans provide support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Call: 116 123 for free
Student Listeners is a peer support scheme, enabling you to have 1:1 peer support with a fellow student who has received training in listening and support skills.
Email: studentlisteners@winchester.ac.uk
University Security urgent matters on campus out of hours. Call: 01962 827666
Maria Freitas
