Mental Health Difficulties Factsheet
Student Service
Mental Health Difficulties Factsheet
What mental health difficulties?
Mental health difficulties can affect emotional, psychological, and social well-being which can include conditions such as Anxiety, Depression, Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Bi-polar disorders, Schizophrenia, eating disorders and Personality Disorders.
Most people recover fully from their mental health difficulties through a variety of interventions such as medication, therapy and exercise for example. There are, however, times when mental health difficulties can have a major impact upon a person’s ability to learn, feel, express and manage a range of positive and negative emotions, form and maintain good relationships, and the ability to cope with change and uncertainty.
Mental health difficulties can co-exist with other Specific Learning Difficulties like Dyslexia and conditions such as ADHD/ADD and Autistic Spectrum Disorders.
What are the common difficulties associated with mental health conditions?
Whilst mental health difficulties are unique to each individual there are some common difficulties that can be experienced:
- Mood swings and irritability
- Anxiety
- Low mood
- Sleeping problems
- Difficulty concentrating,
- Stress and feeling unable to cope - long term having a substantial impact on day to day work.
How may this impact on academic engagement?
The following are some of the characteristic effects of mental health difficulties on the learning process.
- Difficulties in concentrating and memorising
- Tiredness
- Problems communicating
- Difficulty meeting deadlines
- Increased mood swings/symptoms of mental health difficulties.
- Side-effects from medication impacting upon ability to study.
- Changes in attendance or timekeeping
- Becoming withdrawn
- Taking longer to complete tasks such as reading and coursework than other students
- Difficulties in organising work and other aspects of life
- Particular susceptibility to stress which may be associated with deadlines or examinations
- Lack of confidence
Possible support strategies
The Disability Advisory Service offers advice on individual basis to students regarding support that might be available to them. The information below gives an overview of some areas of support.
- One to one and group study skills support
- Marking consideration for coursework and examinations
- Personalised examination provisions such as extra time
- Extended loans on library books
- Access to Assistive software and training
- Permission to audio record lectures
- Access to lecture notes and reading lists in advance
Assistance with application process for the Disabled Students' Allowance – funding for specialist equipment, non-medical helper support, and general consumables
How to access support?
Before we can put any arrangements in place, the Disability Advisory Service will need to have suitable evidence of your diagnosis to ensure we are advising appropriately. Evidence of your mental health condition should be in the form of a letter from your GP, specialist or psychiatrist.
If you think you have any of these difficulties and would like to discuss support options or investigate if you are experiencing from a mental health condition, please contact or telephone 0207 848 7018 to request an appointment with the Mental Health Coordinator for further advice.