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Starting university with mental illness(es)

I'm due to start University in less than a month and I'm super excited- I've already got talking with my new housemates and I've bought everything ready for my new flat... but I'm also kind of terrified. Since August 2015 I've been diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder, mild social anxiety, and depression and while I am a naturally confident person that has a lot of control over these issues, I'm still terrified at the prospect of all this change and how it will affect me. I'm hoping I'll get on really well with my housemates but what about if I have a really bad head day and can't do anything/without crying????? I just want to do uni normally but I'm so scared that I won't cope and it'll be ruined. Does anyone have any advice or experience with this??
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Original post by charlotteee23
I'm due to start University in less than a month and I'm super excited- I've already got talking with my new housemates and I've bought everything ready for my new flat... but I'm also kind of terrified. Since August 2015 I've been diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder, mild social anxiety, and depression and while I am a naturally confident person that has a lot of control over these issues, I'm still terrified at the prospect of all this change and how it will affect me. I'm hoping I'll get on really well with my housemates but what about if I have a really bad head day and can't do anything/without crying????? I just want to do uni normally but I'm so scared that I won't cope and it'll be ruined. Does anyone have any advice or experience with this??


Have you been in contact with your university's student support? If not, this might be beneficial - they're usually able to liaise with your department on any potential difficulties (e,g. poor attendance or late submission of coursework, or any individual exam arrangements you may need to complete exams). Additionally, have you applied for Disabled Students' Allowances? With DSA's you might be able to get a specialist mental health mentor or equipment to help with your studies (such as mind-mapping software).

I attended university with different mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, an eating disorder and PTSD), and the support from my department, disability adviser and specialist mental health mentor (and other things from DSA) was really important to my being able to finish my degree.

I also made sure to keep in contact with friends back home who knew what was going on already, and on my really bad days they were able to visit me (one of my best friends was at a university very near by).

If you want to talk to someone about your worries, feel free to PM me! Good luck and congratulations on getting into university.

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