A Fresher’s guide to managing mental health at university

Topics mentioned: looking after yourself at uni, self-care, anxiety, social media

About: Starting uni can be lonely and overwhelming, but you've got this. Our blogger shares their mental health tips for uni, settling in and coping with the transition.

When I arrived at university, so many of my friends and family had told me that I was entering ‘the best years of my life’. The feeling that you’re approaching the peak of your existence may be exciting for some, but it began to feel like more of a pressure when things weren’t perfect.

Beginning uni is often labelled as wholeheartedly fun and exciting. In reality, I found it exhausting and overwhelming. For many it’s their first time away from home, which is a difficult acclimatisation that’s often underplayed. Home can have serious emotional attachments for people, so naturally, managing feelings of homesickness is often the first step to settling in.

At first, I tried to essentially ‘forget’ about my family and home friends as I threw myself into university life. This was really an attempt to avoid my difficult feelings of homesickness. However, eventually, I found that updating and communicating with family or old friends about the start of your university experience is a great way to process all the emotions you are experiencing. It also gave me a chance to reflect on the progress I’d made in settling into university life, which can often be forgotten during such an intense time.

In my first few weeks, I often felt fatigued and overwhelmed because I was eager to expose myself to as many new events and people as I could. But instead of genuinely wanting to be there, I felt I couldn’t miss out. It helps to acknowledge that these feelings are natural and understandable. Setting boundaries with other people and your own expectations of yourself allows you to also factor in time to prioritise self-care and relaxation.

It’s important to note that while those who stay and adapt to university life should be really proud, it's also absolutely okay to feel you are not in the right place or not enjoying it. A surprising number of people I met, some who were clearly not enjoying university and some who seemed very happy, subsequently dropped out. They chose to either start again at a different university, or even realised that uni wasn’t for them at all. Your journey will be different to everyone else’s and we should all try to take pride in our own paths, whatever they look like.

My experience of starting university for the first time has shown me that transitions can be extremely overwhelming. Especially when beginning university, we tend to compare our lived experience and vulnerability to people’s idealised images. This can fuel anxiety about the progress or pace of our acclimatisation.

So, if you're either thinking about university or about to join, I recommend accepting your unique adaptation period, whatever that looks like and however long it takes.