Mental health and suicides at uni.

[justasking111]

The report is of one uni. but is it their fault. We put two DCs through uni. from 1999 to 2003, one of their friends from school did have problems and came home. Is it the pressure of work, the pressure of money, or should some students not be expected to go to uni. would they be happier at a local day college??

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/uea-student-deaths-mental-health_uk_5c8a47dfe4b0fbd766213fbc?ncid=fcbklnkukhpmg00000001&fbclid=IwAR26GrADNgCTpO5t24QH4QxVkBClSsQ3JwGn1eqSQifxNMmG_w1K4Dyf0z4

I had a terrible time in my first year at Uni and didn't get much support. I was in horrible accommodation, with one window into an internal light well and sharing with someone I didn't know. It was a huge shock to move from home into this poky, dark, old-fashioned little room. I was incredibly unhappy and cried non-stop for about a fortnight. University were fairly sympathetic and allowed me to move back home and commute for hte rest of my first year. I was still not happy though, but managed to cope. I felt so much pressure, so mcuh expectation from my parents who just couldn't understand why I wasn't having a ball, so much guilt for not coping when everyone else was. It was a horrible, dark time and still makes me cry thinking about it.

After the first year lots changed. I think because of my poor mental health in the first year, the accommodation office gave me my first pick of flats in hte second year. I was much more settled in a modern, bright room which was my own private space.

I did find that there was very patchy support from the student counselling service, you had to really seek it out though and demand help. That was back in the 90s though so I'd hope things are better now.

I guess you have to take into account that student numbers at this uni. are above 15k, so statistically is that worse better than that age group outside uni. life?

We still do have a personal tutor for each student

My dd knows the name of her personal tutor but no idea who they are or what they look like. Of course she could go and see them but I do think they should be a bit proactive and make a point of speaking to their students every once in a while.

I agree, Sarah. This is why we need to fight back against attempts to close down professional services on our campuses, in solidarity with our students. It's a question of prioritisation of money. Professionals matter.

Just checked the national statistics. The highest group for suicide are the 40-49 age group.

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/2017registrations#suicide-patterns-by-age

Weetabixandshreddies Fri 15-Mar-19 14:45:53

My dd knows the name of her personal tutor but no idea who they are or what they look like. Of course she could go and see them but I do think they should be a bit proactive and make a point of speaking to their students every once in a while.

I send them an email and ask them to make an appointment. When they don't answer, I send them another email. And then a third. What else can I do? Run around campus with their photograph hoping to find them? Interrupt a colleague's lecture and insist on speaking to them?This much I do think young adults need to take responsibility for: if you get an invite you respond.

Fair point, cory, and perhaps I'm wrong to defend UEA on cuts. But I would want to know more about what exactly was cut before judging.

I am very unsure about the OP's idea that parents should decide what career is right for their dc's MH.

My DM never took up her dreams of a career matching her interests and undoubted ability, due to MH issues and the discouragement from her (very loving and protective) father: she was still resentful and stressed about it in her late 50s, and it certainly didn't do her MH any favours, far from it.

When dd showed signs of the same MH issues, I did not feel I had the right to decide what was the best way for her to handle it. She decided that taking the risk would be better for her MH: my job was to think about how I could best support her once, and teach her how to access external support, once she had made her decision.

This much I do think young adults need to take responsibility for: if you get an invite you respond.
Yes I understand. My dd has never had an invite, they've just been told to make contact if they need help
Fair enough, she will do.

However, if she were struggling she might not feel able to respond to an email or to go and find the appropriate person to talk to. She's in her 2nd year - 2 people have died by suicide on her campus since she started. It's awful.

That's really not good IMO. I think if your a personal tutor you need to invite your students to come and see you at least once - or what's the point? If you're than packed for time, invite them as a group, do a cheery five-minute 'hello, lovely to meet you, I'm the person you come to if a, b or c happens, and you're welcome to email any time'. FFS.

corythatwas Fri 15-Mar-19 14:55:27
I am very unsure about the OP's idea that parents should decide what career is right for their dc's MH.

My DM never took up her dreams of a career matching her interests and undoubted ability, due to MH issues and the discouragement from her (very loving and protective) father: she was still resentful and stressed about it in her late 50s, and it certainly didn't do her MH any favours, far from it.
........................................................................................

I am not saying do not take up your dreams, but if you cannot achieve them because of various issues, then do not feel a failure.

I was talking about this with a friend the other day. I think it's a bit strange that we just expect universities to meet an ever-increasing demand for mental health support.

They're educational facilities, filled with a lot of academics who got there by being obsessed by their subjects, and aren't necessarily people you'd want to entrust your mental health to.

They're not healthcare providers. They're geared up to teach and train young adults who are expected to be fairly self-sufficient. They don't have unlimited budgets to fix society's problems.

So how can they actually change things in a meaningful, non-tokenistic way for all the young adults studying there? What are they supposed to do?

Suicides in the age 20-24 age group are half of that in the 40-49 age group.

Sheimp, schools are having to meet a need for increased mental health support, so I expect it is expected to roll over into university, then employment.

Yes, but how should it be done?

Universities are already (and have been for a long time) expected to increase provision of mental health support. But often, the people providing that support aren't very well placed to do it, and there is a real difficulty (IME) that, when you do provide trained professionals, students are often reluctant to go to them and prefer to talk to untrained tutors or lecturers they already feel they know.

Trying to access mental health support via NHS where I live is as rare as hen's teeth( and this is a problem in whole of N Wales) ....in general there has been massive underinvestment in Mental health and now educational establishments as well as employers are having to fill that gap - whether they like it or not
My dd did a mental health first aid course during her placement year and this is now the basis of her undergraduate dissertation
Social media does play a part in some students experiences and expectations plus the perceived/real need to have a degree for any kind of meaningful employment these days....there just aren't sufficient alternatives for school leavers

I do think there needs to be some support in place for students. It isn't just a place of education is it? It's where students are living, away from their normal support systems.

I think universities should be much clearer about what support they do offer though. If it is none then they should admit it.

What's the threshold for checking on a student if they don't go to lectures? It's very hard for parents to know what's happening, and be aware of any problems, if the student is hundreds of mikes away and maybe doesn't have the awareness to seek help.

The threshold will differ, because the requirements vary. In some places, lectures are not mandatory, and so no, no one would necessarily check. In others, you're allowed a certain percentage of absences. And in others, it's compulsory, and a register is taken, and people would check much more quickly.

It is a real problem. If you've a student studying something lab-based or with lots of contact hours, it may very quickly become clear that things are not right and they're not showing up. OTOH if a student only has perhaps two fixed things they must attend each week - or if it's their dissertation term and they have even fewer, or if it's reading week - it can be much easier for things to go unnoticed.

The problem is, too, that if you're in charge of a year group of 100 students, in any given week perhaps 20-40 of them will miss things. Almost always, all of them will have mundane reasons for not turning up - they've caught flu, they slept late, they didn't write the essay so they decided not to show, etc. etc. It wouldn't be sensible or fair to chase every single time (because you're trying to teach them to be responsible adults, not school children).

(And, I don't think there will be any university in the country that offers no support at all. They all do. It's just it may not be enough, and it may not be the right kind of support, and - tragically - it may be that there is no support that would have made a difference.)

SarahAndQuack

It's really hard though isn't it? As parents you are removed from the situation and the people that are with the students leave them to get on with it.

If they were at home there are very few parents who would leave them to sit alone in their room day in day out and never check that they are ok.

Oh, I think it is so hard. My DD is only 2, and I can't imagine how difficult it must be.

If I knew a student were sitting alone in their room day in day out, of course, I would check (and more). But finding out that that is the case is not easy.

Yy @SarahAndQuack. It's not the equivalent of childcare. Maybe it needs to be made clearer that it's not necessarily a safe, supervised, happy, care-free experience? Which is how it often seems to be marketed.

Also, depressed people can hate intrusion, or can seem completely happy and fine and coping until it happens.

I'm not trying to be snarky here, I just cannot think what universities should do, or if more funding would remotely help.

If I knew a student were sitting alone in their room day in day out, of course, I would check (and more). But finding out that that is the case is not easy.
Exactly. Everyone would do the same hopefully but I suppose if there is no mechanism in place to alert people then it won't happen.

Unless they are fortunate to have good flatmates who look out for each other I can easily see how someone could become very isolated and slip through the cracks.

Their flatmates must be in shock as well. There is a ripple effect with these tragedies.

It's also that it's very hard to put a mechanism in place, though. You can't treat students as if you're policing them - it wouldn't be fair. If there were a way to monitor where students were during the day and night, I would have really huge concerns about using it. It's their privacy.

sheimp - YY, agree 100%. I think it's especially cruel the way university is so often presented as 'the best days of your life!' or 'so much fun!' Given that mental health issues often emerge at this age, it can be anything but that.