Let's talk about supporting your mental health at university

Marketing MA student, Socheata, shares her experience of mental health at university, how she overcame common setbacks, where to look for support and how to support others. 

Hello! Can you introduce yourself?

Hi! My name’s Socheata and I study Marketing MA at London Metropolitan University. It's World Mental Health Awareness Week, so I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about common struggles at uni, the support that's available, and how I overcome them.

What sorts of things can affect a student's mental health?

At university there are a few factors that can affect your mental health. I mean, a lot of students, including myself, move far away from home and are in a completely new environment for the first time. So we end up struggling with certain things like budgeting or making sure we eat three proper meals a day, or even balancing our studies with part-time work. I found it especially hard to balance my work, my studies, and my social life. You think it would be easy, but no, it can quickly overwhelm you.

What's your number one tip for coping with stress at uni?

One of the best lessons I've learned so far, and this is what I try to consistently implement throughout my schedule, is to take things one at a time, especially if you know that you've got a lot on your plate, you're swamped, don't add anything else on and try to go through things at a good pace. Start early, take things one at a time, try to make sure you don't lose yourself in one project and just completely forget about the others.

Great! What other advice do you have for managing your mental health as a student?

Secondly, eating properly is something that I had to get used to all by myself. I didn't find it particularly hard to learn new recipes, as I think there are plenty of cooks out there on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok who show off a variety of easy recipes that can be followed. However, the hardest part was finding time to cook all of these meals every day. One of the best things I've learned is to learn how to meal prep, plan out your meals for the week, try and cook things that can be refrigerated, be frozen, and that you know you won't mind eating again and again throughout this week.

Uni is expensive - how do you recommend students manage their budgets?

What I've tried to learn how to consistently implement throughout the months that I've been living here is to allocate a certain amount for every single thing every month. So for this month, you're going to try to only spend this much and within this much for this subcategory, for that subcategory, you're only going to be spending this much and that much. Of course, I don't think it's possible for any person to stick to their budget in a concrete way. Of course, there are going to be times when you're going to go over, or even when you're going to go under and you're not able to hit that limit. Try and think, oh, what student discounts can I use, can I take advantage of? Oh, what can I remove from my shopping list? What can I do to make things cheaper and easier for myself?

Who can a uni student turn to for help if they're struggling?

It is very important to reach out to your friends, your family, or your university if you're struggling. You don't have to go through this alone. It's incredibly important to remember that. Sometimes I felt lonely. Sometimes I felt that I've had too much on my plate. I'm worrying and stressing out about everything, and one of the things that really helped me through it is knowing that I'm able to go to my friends, either here in London or back home, and just talk to them. They know how to comfort me. They know how to wait it out with me. Just to reassure me that I don't have to go through this alone.

What about if you find yourself in the opposite position? How do you help a friend who comes to you for help?

Sometimes it's the scenario where your friend is the one reaching out to you for help. It's really great when you're able to understand whether this friend just wants you to listen, whether they just need to rant and vent, or if they need some advice from you, or even if they require some time alone just by themselves to wait it out. As a friend, it's important to recognise what they're feeling, what they're needing, and to make sure that you're not going to be overwhelming them and adding to that stress. When you speak to uni friends, you'll end up realising that you're not alone in how you feel. It's completely normal to have bad days.

How do you and your friends relieve stress?

I know that sometimes my friends like to go to the gym. They like to work out to just relieve all that stress. For some bad days, I just really want to spend time with my friends. And it's not that I want to go on a huge adventure with them. Oh, we're going to this place and that place and whatever. But no, sometimes if I'm lucky, I get to just meet up with them impromptu style. And we, we go on a walk, hang out, we do nothing together. All this stress, all the negative feelings from that bad day, just. Just leaves me.

How can London Met help students who are struggling with their mental health?

At London Met, they have something called Student Services, which support students with a variety of things, including mental health advice and support, academic support, housing support, even counselling. They also host a range of activities throughout the year to encourage us to think about our mental health, and it is very important to think about it, to not neglect it, of course. It’s important to look after your mental health all year round. 

Our Small Steps, Big Difference campaign highlights the fantastic wellbeing resources and services available at London Met, and suggests the small steps you can take to improving your wellbeing and prioritising self-care. We also offer a wide range of services to help and support you throughout your university journey.