Student Stories

All sorts of things than can affect someone’s mental health and wellbeing, or trigger a problem

I don’t think completing a degree is easy for anybody – but for me it’s become the challenge of a lifetime

There is a quote that I like that says ‘Go as long as you can, and then take another step’. Every year that I spend at university is a step I never thought I would find the courage to make.

It’s not that us men don’t have emotions; we are taught to repress and deny them

I began to reflect on how phrases like “man up” and “big boys don’t cry” impact men’s mental health.

Students sometimes don’t know about the options they have available to them

All sorts of things than can affect someone’s mental health and wellbeing, or trigger a problem

Mind Your Mood shows what students can achieve when they work together

Student-led initiatives such as Mind Your Mood serve a huge purpose in addressing the stigma surrounding mental health

I realised that more secret than the ‘gay thing’ was that, I was - and have been - a secret to myself.

This has been a long journey, but as I embark on my law degree at Queen’s, I am coming at the experience with a newfound maturity and sense of self and of purpose.

Recovery is a lifelong process, there will be many storms to come, but you are stronger than you know.

I first started struggling with my mental health when I was about 12 years old.

I’d reached a point where I just didn’t really want to go on

That person is somebody else. I can hardly recognise her, I really have to look hard and remind myself that it’s really me.

Mental health conversations are improving, but it’s still a major taboo

I continued to feel like this for about 2 or 3 months of first year before seeking help.

Growing up as a black person in Ireland has allowed me to promote the positivity of the African-Irish community

Africans Soaring in the Éire was a chance for us to amplify the contribution we bring to the community

Since the pandemic outbreak, things got jumbled up all over again

Studying at Queen’s as an international student had always been a life-changing and challenging experience for myself. However, I think ever since the pandemic outbreak, things got jumbled up all over again – and the routine that took me nearly one year (or more!) to get used to, suddenly had to be changed.

Growth begins at the end of your comfort zone

I had struggled with ADHD in my youth and wasn’t formally diagnosed until I was an adult.

Getting a diagnosis was like having the lights turned on

I came to the conclusion that I was somehow 'wrong' or ‘broken’, but I wasn't

As a person with autism, finding my confidence took time - but I got there

Well, my story is that I have autism. As a child I didn't really have any friends outside of my family. But I gradually worked on this over time.

It’s a constant battle and the pressure mounts up. It can really get to you

Being an international student is never easy.

The last year has been one which has had fewer highlights than most

In many senses, I can happily count myself as one of the lucky ones over the course of the lockdown thus far.

When success is what you know, Failure’s hard to accept

It came as a shock. It really did. A bolt out of the blue.

I found a culture of acceptance here. It was very positive and encouraging

When I was first looking at universities to apply to after A Levels, I did want to find out if there was an awareness of and support there for mental health issues.

If mental health issues were more visible, general attitudes would be different

‘You’d never know.’ The number of times I’ve heard that. I know it’s well meant, I get that. But it’s still an insensitive response, isn’t it?

Getting to university was a goal I set myself

I struggled with mental health issues from a young age and received a lot of specialist treatment

Talking releases pressure, but it doesn’t stop the tank filling

I’d lived with issues for a long time. Years. They came and went. I was sort of used to it.

I know there’ll be relapses, but I also know I can make it out the other side

Therapy has been and will stay a big part of helping me understand my mental health, and how to deal with issues that arise.

Student Stories

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