3 minute read
Post uni depression
The dark truth of post university depression
By Harry McCormack
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“It was a strange phase, I felt like I left part of my life behind me, I felt lost for months.” Said Alan Sharif, who graduated last summer said “It’s scary how quickly everything changes, one minute you’re graduating and sharing the occasion with the friends you’ve made over the years, to suddenly finding yourself in a world where you’re under pressure to get a job, financially struggling and feel like you don’t have a social life anymore.”
A study done by the City Mental Health Alliance (CMHA) announced that 49% of students admitted that their mental health wellbeing had decreased since leaving university. The studies have shown that postuniversity depressions needs to be taken more seriously. The CMHA has also stated there are more students opening up about how their life has been affected since graduating.
University is a time where students are allowed the freedom to live as they please. There are no parents watching their every move, it’s a time where you can go out three times a week and it’s socially acceptable. It’s a place where eating pasta every day becomes the norm, you don’t like doing it, but you just accept it.
Liam Hough, York St John graduate said: “I spent a year feeling lost, I was so proud of myself for graduating. I had a routine, attending my lectures, going home to the best group of lads I’ve ever met. We’d have football every Wednesday, it didn’t matter if we won or lost, we just loved being together. So I decided to go back and do a masters degree. Honestly, do I want to do a masters? No. But I miss the lifestyle, so I’ve had to do it.”
Furthermore, it’s not just the lifestyle that gives students the ‘graduate blues’. You spend three years working to get that degree, but the average student is £50,000 in debt. Which has been known to cause serious mental health issues, leading to personal and physical health strained.
Student Minds is a charity that has been set up for students that are suffering from their mental wellbeing. They partnered up with CMHA and spoke to over 300 recent graduates, and say 49% of those surveyed said their mental well-being declined after leaving university, while 44% felt their friends were doing better than them and 40% felt socially isolated.
Furthermore, we are living in a time where social media has become one of the most used platforms in the world. The rise of Instagram has become a place where people want to show off their latest clothes, holidays, cars and so on. Many graduates will find themselves comparing their life to people of the same age. It’s easy to fall into the trap and wonder why you can’t afford the latest designer clothes, but your friend who doesn’t have a degree can.
But how do graduates combat this? Psychiatrist, Melissa McCormack has recommended a few things to look out for before deciding whether to seek professional advice:
Do you feel like you get enough sleep every night?
Do you feel like you have a loss of an appetite the majority of the time?
Do you constantly feel lethargic?
“It’s also important to talk to people that may be experiencing the same thing, are the people you spent the last of university living with feeling down too? Bottling up emotions is the last thing anybody should do”, she added.
University of Falmouth graduate, Milo McCormack agreed with this advice. “I had to keep in contact with the friends I made, we often arranged to meet up at least once a month, it was hard having to travel up and down the country, but that’s what weekends are for right?” He went on to add “If anything, I made sure I was constantly busy, whether that be looking at new things I could experience, or even just planning to meet my friends. The more active my brain was, the happier I was. I learned I had a lot more freedom than I did at university. I managed to get a job working in an office - the money wasn’t the best but it was more than what I had at university. I’m looking to find my own place, maybe even somewhere close to where all my friends are. It’s tough, but you realise it only gets better”.
One thing you must remember is that you’re not alone, people become depressed over many things, whether that be from heartbreak, losing a family member and so on, there is no shame about being depressed from leaving your university lifestyle, everyone has their own personal battles and it helps to talk to people to clear your mind. There are charities like Student Minds that are there to support you, so make sure you use what’s available.
Milo also added: “I look back and think how much I miss being at university, but that shows me how much I loved it and how happy I am that I managed to get the opportunity to meet friends for life and experience iving in a whole new city, I know some people drop out straight away because they don’t enjoy it - so I’m happy to be able to say those three years were by far the best time of my life so far, but I have the rest of my life to look forward to”.
Leaving university can be the biggest, yet worst transition of your life. People have suffered from it and will continue to. Make sure you don’t fight this battle by yourself. Talk to people. Seek help.
