Taking an educated guess, I would assume that hardly anyone has survived this year completely unscathed. Whether you've been burned by the loss of loved ones, faced the lonely isolation of staying inside, or have battled coronavirus firsthand, we have all been changed by the events of this year in some way. Students are no exception.
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Without adding to the stereotype of students having parties every night and nursing your hangover in a stuffy lecture hall, the average student's life generally involves a lot of social interaction. Not only is socialising with friends an essential part of a young adult's life, but we also lost other things to the pandemic. Commuting to university, interacting with academic staff and other students, being able to freely move between home and university. Many students, like myself, had to abruptly pack their bags and travel home before this was no longer allowed. Personally, I really struggled to adjust to not having my own freedom and alone time and I felt like a teenager again! Sitting alone in my room, irritable and down.
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Recent studies from the first few months of the pandemic (Hamza et al, 2020) found that the link between depressive symptoms and students was significant and was attributed to aspects like social isolation and worry. Levels of suicidal thoughts and anxiety/depression related symptoms were higher in students than non-students of the same age range.
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Many of us will have been shocked at the increase of suicide in students throughout the pandemic and lockdown, myself included. I remember hearing about Finn Kitson, a University of Manchester student who died by suicide in his accommodation. The overwhelming feeling was immense sadness but I also realised that this unfortunately would be just one of many student suicides at this time in history. Only weeks later, UOM installed metal fencing around the same accommodation, preventing students from leaving freely. This was an attempt to 'control the virus' but in Finn's father's own words: “If you lock down young people because of COVID19 with little support, then you should expect that they suffer severe anxiety".
Finn Kitson is just one of the young people who have tragically died from suicide in the past months. The Tab released an article that shockingly reveals at least one student has died each week since the beginning of the academic year.
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Clearly, there is a lack of support for young people. The National Union of Students has began campaigning for better support for students, a movement inspired by the increase in student suicides. They are urgently campaigning for more funding in mental health services within universities and colleges. Last year, I had experienced trauma and was given an extremely long wait (8 months) for counselling on the NHS. In need of professional support, I signed up for counselling at uni, but was given only four sessions, a limit set by the university. While I was grateful for the support and my counsellor was fantastic, any mental health professional will tell you that four sessions is in no way enough to work through trauma - and this was pre-pandemic.
I can only imagine how many students are currently in need of mental health support due to anxiety and social isolation and how most of them are currently unable to access adequate help. We can do better. We must.
The National Union of Students has launched a survey surrounding student experiences throughout the pandemic. If you want to take part you can click this link to complete a 10 minute survey. Your results will contribute to a better understanding of mental health in students that can be presented to the government.
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"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on Earth should that mean it is not real?" - Albus Dumbledore
Excellent.
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