Becoming a student, whatever your age or background, involves the psychological and practical challenges posed by some or all of the following transitions:
It is well known that any such transition or change, however positive, entails a certain amount of stress. Indeed, for some students – especially international students – these changes can add up to what is known as 'culture shock'. This means the disorienting effect of suddenly having to negotiate the world without many of the familiar cues, symbols, customs, values or even language. This can be exciting, but also profoundly stressful and anxiety-provoking.
Particular stress points occur at the beginnings and ends of academic years, especially starting first year and finishing final year. These times of increased stress can represent a tipping point when coping resources can become overwhelmed - a recent study* found that student suicides more commonly occur at these times.
The pages in this section look at some of the common issues and challenges in student life. Stresses arising from any or several of these issues may contribute to the establishment of a depression habit spiral. Student counselling services have a lot of experience helping students deal with these issues – tips for ways forward are provided via links to info sheets produced by a variety of student counselling services:
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