There is something to be said for acknowledging that sometimes, we need a little extra help.

About three years ago, I was diagnosed with a mental health condition- SCARY STUFF. It doesn’t mean I turn into a monster (that can happen anyway). It doesn’t mean that I can’t function. It doesn’t mean I can’t have meaningful and wonderful relationships. It does mean that I sometimes really struggle with learning, taking in information and concentrating. It does mean that sometimes I have so much or so little energy that I have no idea what do with myself. It does mean that my confidence around learning has been-and still often is- quite low.

When I started at City last September, I walked into the Student Counselling and Mental Health service and the conversation went something like this:

Lovely Receptionist: Hello, how can I help you?

Me: Um, well…I, er, think I might need to come here…and, er, I get other help….I’m alright at the moment….err…

LR: ….

Me (extremely fast and now getting a little panicked): It’s just kind-of in case and I don’t really know what I’m doing and I just thought I might need some help and I don’t really know what’s on offer….errrr….

R: No problem, have a seat…can I get you some water?

It thus transpired that I was eligible for support from the mental health team – I have mentoring once a week or once a fortnight, depending on how I’m doing, and found out I was also eligible for a Disabled Students’ Allowance. In short, this means I get paper and ink funded for printing, speech-to-text and text-to-speech software for days when I can’t get my fingers to type or I can’t get my eyes to read, and even subsidised taxi journeys to uni for the days when I can’t physically get on the tube to get myself there. This all comes from government funding (outside of the university), but the help doesn’t stop there. For exams, I get to go to a smaller room, with invigilators who are really hot at checking to see if everyone’s OK, and I get to take rest breaks. Perhaps this sounds a little unfair, and if you’d asked me a few years ago, I might have said the same thing. But that was when I had no idea what it was like to have your brain battle against you.

Then I also have Kur. He comes round to my place and shows me how to use all my tech- and then sits there and repeats it when I have forgotten it five minutes later. He has the patience of a saint and knows his stuff (and gets as excited about mind maps as I do). He is a lifesaver.

It has taken a lot of determination, and so much hard work from an amazing team of professionals/my family and friends to get me here, and staying here has been really, really hard at points. There are also times, kind of like right now, when I feel really normal and really able (just found out I got 80% in my phonetics VIVA, the star of last month’s vlog).

There can be loads of reasons we need support whilst we’re studying. If you think you might too, don’t wait to find out what’s available. Take charge, get organised and ask about services that are available. There is no shame in getting help-and why would you not give yourself the best chance of doing well?

Photo credit: Caroline Joanisse