5 Bristol university student suicides since the start of this academic year. Why?

[Restorativepowersoftea]

This is so sad and such a shock. Why so many at Bristol though?

Why would you imagine that there hasn't been/isnt a 'review of support' going on? Quite apart from everything else, any student support professional, personal tutor, hall warden or anyone else who had any contact with any of these students will have been in agonies going through everything they'd ever done to see if they could have done something differently - when I was in this situation, I convinced myself it was all my fault and had to seek counselling myself to help me through it.

I have been in academia for over 20 years and I concur that there has been a substantial increase in students with mental health difficulties - and my role in Admissions tells me that in an awful lot of cases those difficulties do not develop at university. There has also been a substantial increase in student support, which, when I was an undergrad, was genuinely non-existent - both generally, in terms of personal tutoring and making time to talk to students, and specifically, in terms of help for people who are struggling or who have or develop mental health problems. One of the lessons that anyone working with people with mental health difficulties has to learn is that there is only so much you can do - if a student accepts help, or just is prepared to reach out and talk, a great deal of difference can be made, but if not, one is limited. And, as others have said, suicide can be contagious.

There may be things Bristol can do differently, or are already changing, but there may not be and it is not for us to judge - it is for the people within the situation, who are going through a hugely traumatic time and are probably doing more than enough blaming of themselves- we really shouldn't add to it.

Both my DC know young people who suffer with MH issues.

They all ( except one) intend to go to university in the Autumn, where their problems may be worsened by trying to deal with them alone for the first time.

I worry about one in particular .

I was extremely unhappy at university, many years back.

I think another difference now is the prevalence of social media, which can suggest to students that they ought to be permanently looking good, having fun, new experiences etc.

I also wonder whether parents - and obviously I'm one - demand both too much and too little of their children. Many of us on Mumsnet are incredibly invested in our children's academic success. Which can make it hard for our children to talk about difficulties they have with the process of education.

And society is a lot more protective of children now. I think in general children aren't travelling about independently so much, or earning money in Saturday jobs - doing the sorts of things which give them practice in aspects of adult life, before they go off to university. Gap years can help of course - though sometimes these can be rather structured/managed affairs which only offer limited help in providing the skills and qualities that will be needed at university.

I wonder sometimes (currently on a GCSE thread for my younger son) whether young people are generally less independent now. That won't necessarily cause mental health problems but could contribute. Parents never went to open days or interviews when I was applying to university - you got there yourself on the bus or train. And the GCSE thread shows both enormous pressure on children to be revising practically all year and a lack of independence given to them by schools - constant structured revision classes, no study leave, constant mock exams. Maybe in addition to everything else students just don't know what to do when all that academic scaffolding is removed as well as the support from home.

I should add that I was also sometimes quite happy at university. What I didn't have was the life experience or general stable framework to help me deal with the less happy times. Which I suspect might be true of those students who ill have periods of acute sadness in which they can't imagine feeling happier again.

Because uni is a breeding ground for depression, anxiety and self- hatred.

Bristol have stated they are conducting a review of student mental health services. It has been reported here. "In the context of increasing national concerns about student mental health we have been working with our staff and students to review how best to support all students’ including those with enduring mental health difficulties."

I think we have to be very careful about the way this type of issue has been reported in the media. There are some aspects of this story that have been repeated in multiple articles. We also need to be aware that some of the families could potentially read this type of thread on here and be sensitive to their needs as well.
All universities are having to do more to meet the needs of a growing number of students who need extra help in MN and for all sorts of other reasons. As the parent of a 17 year old who is considering going to uni, I also think that schools and sixth forms need to do more to make young people aware of these issues and what to do to support their friends or if they need help themselves. However it is a complex issue which must be difficult for all concerned students, parents and university staff.
I have just found the following article in the Bristol student newspaper which looks at the issue from a student's point of view epigram.org.uk/letters/2017/03/dear-editors-bristol-post and which seems more thoughtful and balanced than some of the media.

Above should read "need extra support in MH issues"!

I don't think Bristol has more of problem with student suicides than other universities. Or at least we don't have enough information to come to any conclusions about it. Bristol has received publicity while others have not.

5 suicides out of a student population of over 22,000. How does that compare with other universities? How does that compare with young people in general?

Like Carl my dd has several friends who have mental health issues. Their problems won't magically disappear when they head off to uni and may well become worse in that environment.

5 suicides out of a student population of over 22,000. How does that compare with other universities? How does that compare with young people in general?

Every suicide of a student is a suicide too many.

I completely agree Bobo. The death of a young person is always completely tragic.

And I suppose for most parents if your child doesn't have any mental health problems at the time they set off for university it's not something you think too much about in terms of comparing student resources - and in fact how would you know unless you knew someone who had used them? I realise anyone can develop mental health issues at any point but it's a hard thing to evaluate in advance. Bristol is in the news at the moment but may not be worse affected than other universities, I suppose. I have no way of knowing. I do know university can be very difficult for many students at one time or another so it is important to make sure there is support in place.

Another one chiming in to say that the incidence of MH issues amongst universities is skyrocketing. A combination of complex factors are to blame, but the levels of anxiety that they are experiencing about their future jobs and housing situations seem to be significant. And who can blame them for that? They've been handed a crock of shit, and they know it.

But also I honestly believe that teenage years should be about experimentation, about taking risks and learning to fail, and learning resilience as a result. I think we've stripped out a lot of opportunities for young people to learn some absolutely vital life lessons about their own ability to cope and find a way - their way, not someone else's. It's partly about extracurricular time being filled with too many worthy activities and too little fun, partly about educational time being al about teaching to the test, rather than encouraging pupils to be creative and that is very sad indeed. I wonder if it even makes sense to talk about the 'teenager' any more - it seems to me that what we have is 15 year olds going on 50. Where's the fashion, the punkiness, the loathing of parents as impossibly square and the desire to drink too much and go to festivals? Where did all the goths go?

I hear parents on here saying "I tell my kids to work really hard and do well and then they will be OK" and I wonder if that very well-meaning advice is helping to cement the problem that presents when a young adult is sobbing in my office because they've been asked to do something that goes beyond regurgitating a list of bullet points and they have literally no idea how to handle it.

"I think we've stripped out a lot of opportunities for young people to learn some absolutely vital life lessons about their own ability to cope and find a way"

I'm not sure about this. I think life has, genuinely, got a hell of a lot harder to navigate. My own DD is far more savvy and far better educated in the ways of the world than I was at her age (12) but I don't know whether she will find life easier to navigate than I did.

GetAHaircutCarl - interestingly, some young people with MH issues get much better once they leave home and move on to university. MH issues sadly do often derive from poor family dynamics.

but there were 5 this year and more last year - where are you getting these figures from?

AND

As someone has already posted...how does this compare to other HEIs and people of the same age in general?

AND

As someone has already posted....the media have quite irresponsibily latched on to reporting suicides at Bristol Uni, what's the bigger picture?

Where's the fashion, the punkiness, the loathing of parents as impossibly square and the desire to drink too much and go to festivals? Where did all the goths go?

My dd and her friends have exhibited plenty of desire to drink too much and go to festivals. I have even seen them doing it.

Punks and goths are things of the past. Young people now have their own fashions.

aginghippy - I'm glad about the festivals! What I mean is that the vast majority of students now look exactly like their parents. They're really middle aged in their dress. (In fact, at open days, I've seen identikit mum and daughter!!) I wonder if this connects to the financial worries I mentioned above.

The way the situation at Bristol has been reported has actually counted some deaths multiple times.
For example those for the calendar year 2016 (Jan to Dec), those for the Autumn term 2016 (Sept to Dec) and for the academic year (Sept 2016 to date) so the numbers may not be as high as some people think they are...

Really interesting to hear a different perspective shovetheholly

What I mean is that the vast majority of students now look exactly like their parents. They're really middle aged in their dress.

I wish!

DSS2 got back from university last week with a mountain of laundry. He holds onto every single t-shirt he can still fit into as he doesn't like to do the laundry very often. The state of them is quite something and I surreptiously boil wash them with Vanish and extra Dr Beckmann spray...

As this young lady was living at home, I do wonder what the full picture was. She was at home but should have been on her Year abroad. Until we know all the facts it is difficult to speculate on the background is to this. However she would not have actually been attending the university. I do know that finding accommodation in Year 4 with fewer friends around because some have already graduated can be difficult to navigate but this does not apply if you are living at home. Getting a job can be something to worry about but if you live at home you are cushioned from housing problems to some extent.

Suicides in young people are not confined to bright people at university. I believe suicides in Young Offender units is sky high and many of these young people have learning difficulties. It is certainly not just university stress that is a problem.

I think the fact young people have to take on so much debt in order to go to university these days adds to the burden of expectation. If they find they don't like it then there's the guilt about letting parents down and also the financial sacrifice many parents make to help them. Also they would be liable for any fees/ loans incurred.

I was surprised how many fairly basic admin type jobs now often specifies a degree as an essential criteria adding to the sense that unless you have a degree no one will employ you. I know a few people from university who decided university wasn't for them and dropped out, all have gone on to worthwhile jobs which didn't need degrees 30 years ago but nowadays they would need a degree to even apply for those jobs

I hear parents on here saying "I tell my kids to work really hard and do well and then they will be OK" and I wonder if that very well-meaning advice is helping to cement the problem that presents when a young adult is sobbing in my office because they've been asked to do something that goes beyond regurgitating a list of bullet points and they have literally no idea how to handle it.

I don't think it is being told to work hard or indeed working hard that is the issue. Previous generations have worked much harder often through necessity just it was n't in such high proportions for academic studies. IMO there is a mismatching of skills and ability needed to pass school exams to those required for degrees (although these being much more hand held as well) and that contributes to feelings of inadequacy.
There is also the sense for many of our DCs' generation that to have a good chance of comfortable, fulfilling lives there is no breathing room for mistakes or experimenting for any length of time in young adulthood. They continually have to plan e.g. for the right job in the holidays, even for the right group of friends and house before they even have a chance to settle properly to university life.

As PPs have said it is much harder to reproduce the lives we had with margins for periods of 'free-wheeling' allowed by more flexible career structures and less global competition.