How To Best Deal With Anxiety That Comes With Returning To University

Hundreds of thousands of students are enjoying the last days of Summer before preparing to return to university.

For those starting their first year at uni, it can be both an exciting and daunting time not just for the students, but also for the families of those about to kick-off a new chapter in their life.

Here, our resident wellbeing expert Lynn Crilly, a counsellor and the author of Hope With Anxiety shares her advice on how to be support students returning to uni.

Lynn says:

The move from school to university can be a difficult one to make. It can often involve leaving home for the first time, meeting new people, facing unknown experiences, and having to take control of your own finances – and own life – for the first time. It is no wonder that this can be a particularly challenging time for those with mental illness or those vulnerable to developing one.

While some students adjust with apparent ease to the transition, others may feel overwhelmed with the new responsibilities they face. Most expect university to be the best days of their life, and if it feels very differently, they may find themselves struggling.

All this can be made worse by the move away from home, and the seismic change that this brings to all areas of their life. Without the support circle of family and established friendships, it can be easy to feel very isolated. Furthermore, students are often drinking too much and may be experimenting with drugs. They are likely to be anxious about money and feeling pressure to justify the huge cost of this investment in their education, and they are also facing the weight of expectation that their time at university should be the best time of their life. All this can make a perfect recipe for anxiety and or depression.

It can also be very hard to find someone to trust and confide in, within the new and unfamiliar environment. Which can mean that those battling a mental illness can often find themselves suffering in silence, their anxiety or dark thoughts steadily gaining control often without anyone really noticing.

Universities have increasing awareness of their responsibilities towards students with mental illness, however, the nature of college and university life, where individuals can so easily slip under the radar, makes providing a safety net for the most vulnerable students more challenging.

I would urge parents or carers who have a niggling concern about their loved one not to ignore it, even – or maybe especially – if they no longer live at home. Make regular visits to your child, talk to them often, encourage them to share their worries or concerns, and follow your instinct if you feel that something is amiss.

Encourage them to take part in university life – to go to lectures, get involved in clubs, hang out in the library or coffee shop, where others are. Locking themselves in their small student room could only make things worse. Also remind them that there is life outside the university walls and urge them to find out what else the city where they are studying has to offer beyond that slightly unreal bubble of student life.

It is also helpful to remember that every university will have a counselling service which is usually free, and which is very used to listening to students facing some of these challenges. Encourage them to seek help or visit their GP to tackle their concerns before they escalate.

Finally, remind your student son or daughter that university life often does not live up to the hype, that it is not unusual to feel sad, lonely, homesick and or excluded. However, at the same time, do not write off those feelings as ‘normal’ in case that stops them from seeking help. Encourage them to keep talking to you about how they feel and give them the details of the university counselling service so that they know there is somewhere they can go to for help.


Lynn is the author of Hope with Anxiety: A self-help guide for those affected and their families, friends and carers. She is also currently producing a new film, A Day In The Life Of An Eating Disorder which will be out next year.