Students encouraged to ‘mind their heads’

Students encouraged to ‘mind their heads’

As thousands of students across Northern Ireland start the new term at college or university, the Public Health Agency (PHA) is using the opportunity to raise awareness of student mental health.

To coincide with local Freshers’ Weeks this month, the agency is launching its revamped booklet ‘Mind Your Head: A student guide to mental health’.

The booklet is full of practical tips and information on managing stress and achieving and maintaining positive mental health and emotional wellbeing. It also contains a comprehensive list of helpful local organisations and websites. The booklet targets first year students at university and further and higher education colleges as the transition from school to further education can be a very stressful time.

Madeline Heaney, the PHA’s lead on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, said:
“Starting university or college is an exciting time, sometimes meaning a move away from home and taking on new responsibilities. Settling into a new place, making new friends and going out are all good fun but they can also add to feelings of stress. For some students, finding time to earn an income to help support their studies can also be an added pressure. A certain amount of stress is normal but it is really important that students look after their mental health.”

Matthew Carroll, NUS-USI Welfare Officer, who helped the PHA launch the new booklet, said: “Starting college or university is great fun, but it can also be quite daunting and overwhelming. NUS-USI wants all new students to pick up their copy of this excellent guide and to learn about protecting their mental health.

“Our institutions need to ensure not just that services are in place to support mental wellbeing, but that they proactively create a culture of openness where students feel able to talk about their mental health and are aware of the support that’s available.

“Opening up to friends and family can help those feeling stressed or anxious. This handy guide is great as it signposts students in the direction of support that they may not be aware exists.”

‘Mind Your Head: A student guide to mental health’ is available from Student Unions across Northern Ireland. It is also available at: http://bit.ly/phastudentguide  

More information on looking after your mental health and the support which is available across Northern Ireland can be found at www.mindingyourhead.info