Depression Awareness Week: What you can do to help you

-Lottie Naughton and Grace Anderson

Students have spoken about what they have learnt about from their experiences of depression and what they have done to help themselves.

This week is Depression Awareness Week. Depression is a very real medical illness that impacts the brain and day to day functioning. Having depression can mean that everyday tasks some might consider simple can suddenly feel overwhelming and unreachable. Those with depression are more than simply 'feeling sad' and some symptoms are often misunderstood to be laziness, unwillingness and purposeful detachment from friends and loved ones. This is simply not the case. However, having depression is not a be-all-end-all diagnosis. There are lots of important lifestyle changes you can make that can really help make you feel comfortable, accept your illness and face each day with a confident and hopeful outlook. 

Of course, we understand that the suggestions we make here may not be the magic answer or cure! But giving each suggestion a try and working out what feels best for you might help you, so why not have a go?

Self Care 

Taking care of your well-being is important, but sometimes requires a lot of energy. If you're feeling low, think about how much you could achieve that day and plan a self care day around that. Here are some examples shared that may help you:

• Distracting myself by doing things I really enjoy 
• Taking up a new hobby
• Exercise when I can, sleep if I need it and a healthy diet 
• Switching off and watching a movie or a series
• Art therapy, colouring books, creative projects
• Playing with blue tac to distract myself 
• Listening to music 
• Having a long hot bath
• Painting my nails 
• Eating my favourtie dinner
• Taking a nap

Positive therapeutic tools

Sometimes it is worth investing some money or your time in an activity that can help to put your mind at ease and also help you stay focused on good things happening in your life. Here are some therapeutic suggestions:

• Writing down all the things I am grateful for in my life
• Keeping an up to date positive thought diary 
• Starting a blog about my experiences - sharing my good days and bad days with the world helps me understand my mental health and reflect on positive well being, rather than dwelling on the negative 
• Making a list of things I want to achieve helps me stay focused - ticking them off makes me feel great too! 
• Mindfulness

Acceptance and awareness

Coming to terms with having a mental illness can be hard, and whats harder is having bad days and not knowing how to respond to your symptoms. Here are some things that have worked for others facing the same challenge:

• Accepting that it is okay to be sad sometimes (allowing myself to know I'm feeling bad, stop fighting the feelings)
• Allowing myself to have fun and let go- not to feel guilty about being happy
• Avoiding spending time alone when I know it won't help me
• Working up the courage to go and see a doctor
• Realising that I am not alone
• Remembering it is an illness, and not my fault
• Accepting help when help is offered

Using support networks

Having friends and family around you that understand what you are going through is important; hey can be a lifeline to you when you feel at your lowest. Here is some advice from those that have taken advantage of friends and loved ones around them:

• Talking with others who also suffer or have previously suffered
• Opening up to friends and family - telling people how I was feeling
• Telling close friends that they make a difference to me and my well-being when they take the time to talk to me and include me
• Allowing myself to accept a shoulder to cry on when I need it, and not feeling ashamed of that

If you are struggling and finding it hard to come to terms with your illness, reach out and ask for help. You are not alone and there is a lot of support out there waiting for you. These tips are a starting point and will hopefully help you along your journey.


If you would like some more information about depression please visit here.

Giving yourself credit: University can be difficult sometimes

Sarah writes about her experience of depression and contribution to depression awareness week at her university.

- Sarah Redurp

Monday the 18th April marks the first day of Depression Awareness Week, and also the first day of a campaign I've been organising called Mind Your Head - a month long mental health awareness campaign at Bristol Students' Union.

The main message behind Mind Your Head is that whoever you are, whatever you're studying, we all have mental health and it is something that we need to be aware of and look after. Despite the fact that one in four Bristol University students have a previous diagnosis of a mental health difficulty, 10% of students are seeking support from the student counselling service and an estimated 78% of students nationally are experiencing mental distress, talking about how we're really feeling with others continues to be a difficulty.

May last year brought about one of the worst episodes of depression that I had ever had, and since then it hasn't really gone away. I had spent a whole fortnight hurriedly bashing out a string of essays while struggling to keep my head above all of the seminar work I had to catch up on. It wasn't until I emotionally exploded after I realised that my final essay was 1000 words under the word count after the deadline had passed that I realised something was really wrong with me. I convinced myself that things like showering, making hot meals, brushing my hair or even sleeping were a non-essential waste of my time. I would shut myself away in my room or go out for midnight to early morning sessions at the 24 hour library.

This probably sounds familiar to a lot of students. The fear of time slipping out of your fingers that comes around every time a deadline looms. The anxiety around being able to actually complete something; wondering the whole time if you're actually good enough to be at a Russell Group University or whether they let you in by mistake. The voice in your head telling you that if you're not working you're not doing enough, that other people are working harder than you, that you're not making the most of it. Frustratingly, struggling like this just seems to have been accepted by students and staff as part of university culture.

I don't think we give ourselves enough credit for actually how difficult and emotionally exhausted undertaking a degree can be. It's very likely that we've moved away from home for the first time, away from all of our support structures, our friends and family.  Then we're chucked into a situation where the pressure of performing academically is matched with the pressure of making the most of the best time of our lives. Suddenly we're not just worrying about how much work we're doing but we're also worrying about how much fun we're having, how many societies we're trying out, how many things we can do to improve our CVs. Adding to this, we're having to manage our health and finances for the first time and it is really hard.

I look back on my three years at Bristol and realise that I didn't prioritize what the really important thing was, myself. I stopped taking time to do my hobbies, I stopped looking after my body and my mind and I didn't take time to think about what was happening to me because I was too busy worrying about performing. You are not your grades. To struggle at University doesn't make you weak and it certainly doesn't mean that you're not good enough, it means that you're just like everyone else and that's okay! You're allowed to struggle and you're allowed to find it hard, because it is! So cut yourself some slack and take time to do something nice just for you. You deserve it.

Depression Awareness Week: How friends and family can help

Students have shared what they have learnt about their expression with depression and what others have done to help them. 

-Lottie Naughton and Grace Anderson

This week is Depression Awareness Week. We want to share with you some advice from those who have been there and what their friends and family have done to help them through their darkest times. Supporting someone with depression can be very difficult, and it can be hard to watch someone you love so much spiral into a very dark place. You might not know what to say or how to act, so hearing from others what helped them could help you in supporting someone close to you. This week, take the time to ask a friend how they're doing, if they need some support or if they simply need a shoulder to cry on; you could really be making a huge difference to someones life.

Interaction and inclusion

When someone you know is hiding themselves away from the world, not participating in everyday life, it can be tough to reach out and get them involved. Small and thoughtful interactions with a person can really make their day, making them feel important and loved. Here are some everyday things friends and family have done for that really made a difference to them:

• Spending time with me
• Texts and phone calls to see how I am doing are always the best
• Unexpected texts, phone calls, cards, gifts - a little reminder that someone is thinking of you goes a long way 
• Taking me for a drive 
• Going on a walk with me
• Dancing around and being silly - always making me laugh 
• Invited me to places even though I didn't always attend or it was hard to include me
• Sometimes they don't have to address the depression, but not giving up on me is important
• Making me a cup of tea when I need one

Kind and thoughtful surprises 

A little gift or small act of kindness shows a person they are in your thoughts and that they mean a lot to you. Sending someone a card, or planning a special day out might not seem like much to you, but for someone struggling it can make a world of difference. Here are some thoughtful surprises that have really helped:

• Buddy Boxes 
• Sending me surprise gifts in the post
• Writing me meaningful cards
• Driven a long way to come and see me when I needed them
• Planned fun things

Unconditional and emotional support

Feeling lonely and fighting a constant battle with yourself is emotionally draining and isolating. Having someone you know you can rely on to talk to and tell you that they love you can be the light shining in on a dark gloomy day for some. Here are some examples of emotional and unconditional support received:

• Reminding me always that they love me 
• Telling me that I am not alone and I don't have to face it on my own - "We are here for you"
• Unconditional support, no matter what is going on
• Not judging me or making me feel as though I am bringing them down
• Never being disappointed in me if I have a set back or a bad day
• Listened to me - this is the best thing that anyone can do
• Simply been there with me when I was in crisis
• Telling me how proud they are of me 

Educated and thoughtful support

Being educated on depression and how it can affect individuals in different ways is an important way of showing you care. This can also help you to understand what your loved one is really going through. Here are some examples of times when a loved one has offered a thoughtful and educated response, which have been found to really help those experiencing depression:

• Never leaving me alone when I should not have been on my own 
• Encouraged me to try new things and to meet new people to boost my confidence
• Patiently listening to me talking about how I felt even if I constantly repeat the same things over and over again
• Made me talk, when I needed to but really didn't know how
• Watching out for the signs, so they could approach me if they thought I was relapsing
• Never felt the need to hide my illness from other friends and family due to possible embarrassment of me suffering with a mental illness
• Knowing when to give me some time alone but not letting me isolate myself from the world
• When I was at my lowest point, a nurse said to me - "there's only one way to go from rock bottom"

Supporting someone with depression is hard, but it can be so powerful and worthwhile. It's important to remember that although it might feel stressful for you, what they are going through will always be worse. Offering a helping hand in a time of need is a loving and encouraging act that can really make the difference to someones life.

In the words of Stephen Fry: