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Myth-Busting Mondays: How many people disclose a mental illness to their university?

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Reply 20
Being classed as disabled through mental illness helped me to disclose. I wasn't sure there was any point before because I didn't know what help I could be given. Turns out there's quite a lot of help that can be given so I'm glad I took a chance and declared it.
Reply 21
Original post by gro
I've never heard of anyone with the illness I have. Its OCD where I pick my skin. I have so many scars from it and it makes me hate myself. Literally if I could find a way to get rid of them my confidence would improve so much. I just bought my prom dress and even my mum noticed I was looking at dresses that covered my neck because I have picked so much there. It gets worse and worse. I see photos of myself with a normal clear neck and good skin and I feel like an absolute idiot. I wish I could turn back time but then again I cant control myself. I can't tell anyone, Its very rare and embarrassing.


It's actually fairly common but often assigned to self harm rather than under OCD. Which it is for the individual really depends on their compulsion and their rituals.

More info here: http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/support-info/related-disorders/compulsive-skin-picking
Reply 22
Original post by ~Tara~
It's actually fairly common but often assigned to self harm rather than under OCD. Which it is for the individual really depends on their compulsion and their rituals.

More info here: http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/support-info/related-disorders/compulsive-skin-picking


Thanks for directing me there, I wouldnt say Im self harming because I don't do it intentionally to hurt myself. I dont notice I'm doing it sometimes and do it to put me at ease about the scar.
Reply 23
Original post by gro
Thanks for directing me there, I wouldnt say Im self harming because I don't do it intentionally to hurt myself. I dont notice I'm doing it sometimes and do it to put me at ease about the scar.


You're welcome :smile: have you spoken to a mental health professional? The treatment plans are similar whatever the root of the behaviour but it would be useful for you to understand the origins and get specialised help.
Reply 24
Self harm is pretty complex and can be a self-soothing behaviour too. There are some distinctive criterion for self harm vs OCD which a professional would be able to dicipher and explain to you
Reply 25
Are you asking
1) of all university students how many have disclosed a mental illness? or
2) of university students with a mental illness how many have disclosed it?

as the 2nd is almost impossible to find out i'm assuming that you are asking the first. But the 2nd would be more interesting..

I don't really want to say my story of what I did and did not disclose and when, partly because it's complicated by my other medical conditions and disabilities but also because I don't really have a clue what is happening at the moment about my mental health so it's hard to think about it all too much without struggling.
I don't understand the third question, how is it possible for stigma to exist when a student achieves a certain number of grades when applying to universities, and they wouldn't know at all unless you tell them. Also stigma surrounding mental illness exists (sadly) pretty much everywhere, I don't think it's going to be significant enough a factor to prevent someone from applying to pursue higher education. I picked 1 in 50 just because most people when they've aged they realise they need to seek support actively in order to do well with their degree, but the other half may still not be willing because they are so afraid. As far as I'm concerned nothing is done at universities to encourage people to open up about themselves.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 27
Just to update the thread :smile:

The original question was about how many students disclose a mental illness to their university - with this relating to the number of people who experience a mental health difficulty in their lifetime. You might be surprised to hear that the figure is as low as 1 in 150 students who disclose mental illnesses to their higher education institute. So congratulations if you chose this answer! :tongue:

I also created a thread on university mental health day and the poll I put up with that showed that around 30% of students were also unaware that their university provided mental health support too.

Both of these are shocking figures and both suggest more needs to be done to lower stigma surrounding mental illnesses - so more people feel as though they're able to disclose this to their university, with the hope this leads to support being put in place and that universities need to be more vocal about the types of support available at their respective institutions.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Deyesy
Just to update the thread :smile:

The original question was about how many students disclose a mental illness to their university - with this relating to the number of people who experience a mental health difficulty in their lifetime. You might be surprised to hear that the figure is as low as 1 in 150 students who disclose mental illnesses to their higher education institute. So congratulations if you chose this answer! :tongue:

I also created a thread on university mental health day and the poll I put up with that showed that around 30% of students were also unaware that their university provided mental health support too.

Both of these are shocking figures and both suggest more needs to be done to lower stigma surrounding mental illnesses - so more people feel as though they're able to disclose to their university, with the hope this leads to support being put in place and that universities need to be more focal about the types of support available at their respective institutions.


Very saddening statistics :frown:

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