Earlier this year The Guardian announced that 78 per cent of students who completed their survey reported having experienced a mental health problem, diagnosed or undiagnosed, within the past year. YouGov conducted a similar survey, finding that one in four students has a mental illness, with this rising to one in three for females and up to 45 per cent for LGBT students.
In Oxford, where neglecting mental health in favour of high achievement is normalised, many of us do not need statistics to tell us this. There is the expectation of a mid-term crash represented by ‘fifth week blues’, the all-nighter as a standard occurrence necessitated by workload, the pressure to work 6–8 hour days. I was shocked to hear of a friend who was warned by a tutor that they should expect “to drown” under their workload.
Whilst there is more to be done to offer adequate levels of support to students experiencing mental illnesses, a wide range of valuable student-led initiatives exist as part of a collaborative effort to combat the crisis. From the volunteers at Nightline to the JCR and MCR Welfare Reps and networks of peer supporters, we all know someone involved in student mental health.
Unfortunately, the stereotype of the professional social worker that many people seem to have is of someone who turns up, has a cup of tea and a reassuring chat with their service user, and promptly leaves. The reality is very different; mental health social workers offer vital support to people experiencing mental illnesses. They do this by building meaningful relationships and representing the needs of their service users by working with medical professionals for the most suitable outcome.
This is exactly the kind of holistic approach that is valued as a way of addressing student mental health. Why is it so overlooked as a meaningful and worthwhile career outside of the university bubble? Eating disorders, depression, anxiety, OCD, bipolar, schizophrenia, and a whole range of other mental health illnesses do not cease to exist once we are no longer students.
Think Ahead is a new two-year graduate scheme aiming to get top graduates involved in mental health social work. Their tagline is, “Most people know someone who’s had mental health problems. But not everyone knows someone who can make a difference. Could you?” Many have the potential to make a positive difference to the national mental health crisis that the UK is experiencing, but many ignore the opportunity to pursue this as a career, confining our efforts to our years in Oxford but not beyond. Top graduates need to apply the remarkable work they’re doing for the student mental health crisis to the national mental health crisis too.
