How Volunteering helped me with my Mental Health

Charlotte shares her experiences of Volunteering with local Mental Health charities.

- Charlotte Morley

Before coming to University, I struggled with a 5-year long battle with my mental health. I spent years of my adolescence receiving treatment from a psychiatrist and a therapist for my Depression, Eating Disorder and issues with Self Harm. Now, as a 3rd year and soon to be graduate with a BSc degree in Psychology, I want to reflect on how my mental health affected my experiences at University.

Being a self-confessed perfectionist, when the prospect of attending University was on the horizon, I threw every ounce of my energy into attaining the best grades possible to study the subject that I love, Psychology, at the University of East Anglia (UEA) where I felt at ease as soon as I visited. When results day arrived and I saw the confirmation of my acceptance into the university, I was bursting with excitement for my new journey in a chapter of my life where I could leave my mental health problems behind me.

However, amidst all of the excitement for my ''new start'' and my new-found independence in a life away from the comforts of my own home, I didn't really consider how such a massive transition could make me vulnerable to slipping back into my illnesses and leave me questioning whether I really should've deferred from a year.

Moving into halls was both an exciting and incredibly frightening experience. Although I've never necessarily struggled to make friends, I'm a family-oriented person and being away from them for months at a time felt quite daunting. My family were a big source of support for my mental health and suddenly there were going to be two and half hours away from me. Luckily, my first couple of weeks as a fresher was quite typical: nights out, the dreaded fresher's flu, coupled with the chorus of coughing in 9am lectures that you dragged yourself to, reluctantly. However, as the month progressed, I soon revelled in the fact that I had complete control and independence, and this was massively detrimental to my mental health. I became increasingly withdrawn and I started reverting to my previous eating disorder behaviours and relapsed into depression again. I was a signature away from dropping out altogether and going back home for good. Luckily, the fear of failure and disappointment, as well as the thought of losing my new friends, made me persevere and I made it through until Christmas break. However, I returned home for Christmas having lost a significant and dramatic amount of weight.

Panic soon set in and I just knew that when I returned to University in January, I had to do something to prevent this from spiralling back to the way I used to be. When I came back to University in January, having increased my weight slightly, I sought out help through the university to get things back on track. I began to notice changes. I also made a decision that has contributed significantly to achieving stability. To help tackle my feelings of isolation, I started volunteering with charities that were close to my heart.

Volunteering gave me a tremendous sense of hope and purpose, which helped me to establish my sense of identity. I volunteered regularly as a Peer Support Volunteer with MIND and Rethink Mental Illness, where I encountered some incredibly brave individuals suffering from debilitating and enduring forms of mental illness. The lovely people who attended these support groups knew me by name and looked forward to seeing me every week and confiding in me about their struggles. It gave structure to my week, which is SO important when you're struggling with your mental health and increased my levels of social support. Research has consistently shown that volunteering has favourable effects on mental health and I would advise anyone, whether suffering with their mental health at University or not, to engage in volunteering in their community, and especially within causes that are meaningful to you. I truly believe that I wouldn't still be at university without it.

Hi, I'm Charlotte. I'm a 3rd year Psychology student at UEA with a compelling enthusiasm for talking about all things mental health. I'm an avid volunteer and am passionate about contributing to my local community by partaking in a range of charity work. The transition to University can pose a huge strain on your mental health and I wanted to write for Student Minds to share my personal experiences with my mental health, raise awareness, and talk about the strategies I have implemented to look after myself whilst studying.