Month: June 2020

How I fell and how I got back up on my feet, my journey with mental health

By Olivia Chavigny de Lachevrotiere, BA International Business Management

Going to study at the university is an absolute experience. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had moments here that I could never forget.

but…

It might not always be as jolly as I had imagined. I thought these years would be the absolute happiest, I thought that I would meet friends for life and become successful irrespective of what I do with my time. I even though I might find a future husband while at the university! That was my vision, and my plan.

But I felt it already within the first couple of weeks. Moving away from my home country where my friends and family live – to the UK – turned out to have a greater impact on me than I thought. I refused to give up and did all I could to be out there and get the experience. I joined the A Cappella and Beatbox Society, became a committee member for my national society, enrolled on a language course. I also participated in many study workshops at 301, and the Entrepreneurship Skills Autumn programme.  I applied for the Study Abroad programme at an overseas partner university. I refused to lose the experience, with an intent to use the time I had to the maximum.

But even then, I felt lonelier than ever. Never being fully able to express myself, but most of all not being able to find friends that I would feel fully comfortable with. I couldn’t get close with anyone. Every exam session, I started either locking myself down in my room and crying through the evenings, or putting myself out in the library to be able to focus at all. I put on weight, ended up in a bad relationship where I felt suppressed. I felt like I always needed to impress people to be able to fit in, but it only caused me to persistently fail to open up.

I went on my Year Abroad to Amsterdam, met more people, I thought it went away…
And then I got aggressively crushed.
In winter, during my Year Abroad, I got depressed.

 

All of that happened during my “happiest” time, when I should be going out and party, and be all out there with people. But all I could do is stay in bed and sleep through the days, unable to fully focus, constantly catching colds and unable to accept myself, feeling hurt and alone. I felt like I was falling behind socially even more, seeing the new exchange students in my student accommodation in February, after the new semester started, spending time together, or at least knowing each other’s names! I didn’t know their names for months. I coped by binge eating sweets and watching TV shows, to escape my thoughts and get the sugar rush, and keep going. There and then, I knew it’s too much, and I reached out. Here’s what I did, and what ultimately helped me:

  • First, I reached out to the Student Psychologist at my university abroad, then to a private counselling centre (covered by my insurance). Slowly but steadily, I started getting up on my feet;
  • I studied, but allowed myself to let some pressure go, I allowed myself to be me in this foreign environment. I stopped chasing acceptance, but instead, I focused on the people that were there and the goals that I actually wanted to pursue;
  • I allowed myself for a slow summer without working, to recover and actually enjoy my time for a change!
  • As soon as I came back to Sheffield, I went to a doctor and asked for medical evidence for a disability (mental health), in order to receive help from the Disability and Dyslexia Support Service (DDSS). At DDSS, I got a Learning Support Plan written up by a staff member, based on my symptoms and needs;
  • I registered for a triage appointment with the Student Access to Mental Health Support (SAMHS), which eventually allowed me to access online counselling services with the Big White Wall Live Therapy,
  • I focused on physical exercise and eating healthy food – not necessarily limiting myself, but finding strength in overcoming physical limitations at the gym.

Now, it was a long and a very personal battle. It prevented me from having the desired by all “time of my life” while studying abroad, and experiencing the student life in full.

But it also taught me how to cope when I start feeling worse, and how to take care of myself in this fast-paced world. I’m better now, and I am on track to graduating soon with good grades.

Many people will have experienced symptoms of a common mental health disorder in their life. It’s good to know that if you feel this way, you’re not alone. And you should reach out, because there are means to help you. You deserve to be happy, and to enjoy your time at the university. I fought and won the battle, and I’m positive that you can too.

Cultural lessons from my year abroad

By Rhiannon Thefaut, BA International Business Management

I went to Rennes, France for my year abroad. In weather, it is the same as the south of England. However, everything else about it is very much French. As my University had people from over 100 countries and 50 languages, I didn’t just learn about the French culture, I got to learn about many other cultures. This will be some of the most interesting things I experienced and learnt whilst abroad. Hopefully, if you go abroad or work abroad in the future, some of these facts will be helpful for you or just make you laugh.

Firstly, the French have baguette machines. The French value their bread over all else, so for when boulangeries are shut on a Sunday or at 1am after a night out, you can still get your bread. You go to the supermarkets, and they will have a bakery in, constantly with fresh bread. Honestly, the bread is amazing – it tastes so much better than baguettes in England and you can get so many different types of bread, that you never even knew existed. So, if you don’t like bread, maybe don’t go to France!

Not just to mention their love for bread, they also definitely love their cheese. On my first night out in Rennes, we pre’d at one of the French guys homes and he provided us with a baguette and cheese board. I can’t eat cheese but I definitely enjoyed having the bread! To make it better, on a different night out, whilst walking home (French buses stop running at midnight so we had to walk home over an hour most days), we found a slab of camembert cheese on the floor!

I didn’t just learn about the French culture, I learnt about other cultures too. I learnt the super interesting fact that prawn crackers are not Chinese and if you ask a Chinese person about them, they won’t have a clue what they are. Also, Chinese food made my Chinese people is so much better than Chinese from a takeaway in England. My best friend would bring me food to my lecture and it was great.

Thai people are honestly so polite and friendly – they will literally do anything for you. They’re happy people and honestly some of the best friends you can have, as they are so caring and so willing to help you if you have a problem. My Thai friends are constantly messaging me, a year on, asking me how I am and offering me their home to stay at when I come visit. I love them and miss their kind personalities a lot.

German’s value being on time, so if you walk late into class, they will glare at you profusely – which is made worse by the fact there was only around 20 people in my class! The German’s are also a British person’s best friend – honestly, if you’re sarcastic, they’ll match that sarcasm with a stoic face and sarcastic banter back. It’s brilliant and made for some hilarious conversations. However, do be warned that some countries aren’t sarcastic, so you need to be aware of this and gage who it’s okay to be sarcastic with before you bring out the British humour.

If you can, do a year abroad – the cultural lessons and the memories you get are so worth it. I would give anything back to do another year abroad and I’m very jealous of all of you who are about to embark on yours.