Arts SU recognises the stigma and misinformation that can exist around conversations about Mental Health. We want all our members to feel supported and empowered to talk about their well-being and feel able to seek support or advice if needed during their time at UAL. Therefore it is so important we open conversations about Mental Health, highlight the amazing services that exist for students and highlight ways we can prioritise our wellbeing every day.
Arts SU recognises the stigma and misinformation that exists in the conversations around Mental Health, which impacts our members at UAL who are at a pinnacle point in their professional careers. We want all our members to feel supported and empowered to talk about their well-being and feel able to seek support or advice if needed during their time at UAL. It is so important we open conversations about Mental Health, highlight the services that exist for young people and promote ways people can prioritise their wellbeing every day.
Supporting the well-being of our members is a key priority for the Students' Union and the various services/activities we provide. This includes:
Seeking out professional support or advice for your mental health can be very difficult and often can be overwhelming to know who to go to or what to do. Across the UK and locally in London, there are various charities that run national 24-hour helplines, provide resources and have trained staff who can signpost you to professional services. Some of these charities include:
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https://www.themix.org.uk/
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Text SHOUT to 85258 when struggling or suicidal, a trained crisis volunteer will text back
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Mind 03001233393
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Calm 08000684141
Mental health impacts everyone uniquely and sometimes differently. There are charities across the UK that have tailored support for those who identity as LGBTQ+, BAME, Disabled, Trans, Women & Men. Some of these charities include:
There is a lot of literature you can find about mental health & wellbeing from peoples own accounts of their experiences, self-help books and medical journals. A few books we would like to highlight include:
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‘Anxiety is Really Strange’ by Steve Haines
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‘Trauma is Really Strange’ by Steve Haines
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‘The Body Keeps the Score’ by Bessel Van der Kolk
Support with your wellbeing or mental health can be found through your personal network or local services you are already familiar with. This could include:
1 in 4 of us at some point in our lives will experience a mental health difficulty. Often mental health is not something that people are not vocal about or always recognise in themselves as something they may be struggling with. In your life, whether it is family, friends or work colleagues there are signs you can look out for when people are struggling with their mental health and start a conversation with "are you ok" can be the first steps to talking about it. Signs of people struggling with their mental health can include but are not limited to:
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socially withdrawn
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reckless behaviour or acting out of character
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often speak bleakly of the future
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emotionally distant or break down over 'little things'
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less interested in things they are passionate about
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obsessive over details or events
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a change in the way they talk, either a lot more mellow or much more erratic