The Student Room Group

Applying for DSA but unsure about eligibility?

I've had depression for a few years now, and for the most part it's been manageable with counselling, and because it didn't affect my ability to function on a constant basis, I didn't think it would be worth notifying to DSA or my university.

This is partly because one of my best friends suffered quite severely with depression among a few other medical issues, and in comparison, I didn't feel that my own condition was 'bad enough' to need to apply for DSA?

The thing is, in the past few months, things have gone very much downhill and a few days ago I visited my doctor and was prescribed fluoxetine.

Since it has only recently become much worse, I'm not 100% sure what would be the best course of action right now. Would it complicate matters to apply/ask about DSA?
I would apply and see what they say.
If your university has a mental health advisory service (like mine does), notify them first, or just student support services in general and they'll give you advice on what to do next. This is what I did in my third year (last year) after coming close to a breakdown due to anxiety and depression in my second year, and I was given an appointment with a mental health advisor who went through all of the support I could access at university (including extra time in exams, and a student support agreement so they'll be more sympathetic if I have to request an extension for a piece of work) and helped me to apply for DSA. I didn't think I was anywhere near bad enough, but it's currently funding a study skills mentor for me who helps a lot in terms of proofreading my work. You'll need a letter from your GP as medical evidence at some point but the mental health/student support service will tell you when.

You won't have access to as much support as you do when you're at university for a long time, so make the most of it. Even if you don't need to access it all, it takes the pressure off you to know it's there in case things do start getting bad.

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