Just like the students who have helped develop this site you may be able to join together with other students to make a stand against depression on your own campus or beyond.
Take action together
Just like the students who have helped develop this site you may be able to join together with other students to make a stand against depression on your own campus or beyond.
This site was originally developed with the help of student consultants who had themselves been affected by low mood, depression or suicidal thoughts. As well as consulting on every aspect of the site’s design and content, they also contributed their own experiences and strategies for overcoming depression. Students have been heavily involved in the development of this re-launched site and, with the contribution of video content and peer review, will continue to drive the development of this site and ensure the student voice remains central to our work.
These contributions are the central and most important resource on this site. They show other site users that they are not alone and that the many different forms of depression can all be tackled effectively, with practical tips and strategies to help everyone find what will work for them.
All these students are therefore using their own painful experiences with depression and anxiety to build something constructive and worthwhile – with the potential for making a meaningful difference to others.
As you start to feel like you’re putting your own depression in its place, you too could take it a step further and start making connections with other students. There are many students who have been affected by depression and anxiety on your own campus and throughout the UK (and beyond). By connecting up with each other, you all stand a better chance of making an effective stand against depression. Here are some ideas of where to start
Join or start a support group on your campus
Ask at your campus counselling service about groups, or see if the students union offers anything. If not, why not get one started yourself? Speak to the students union welfare officer to see if you can get some help with advertising it and getting it started. You could start small by simply giving your name and contact details to the counselling service or SU welfare officer and saying you’d be happy to be contacted by other students affected by depression.
Contact Student Minds and they will be able to help you!
Use your experiences to help others
If you’ve been affected by depression then you’ve got a lot of expertise! Why not put it to good use in helping others? You could offer to be a mentor or peer support worker – many universities and colleges have peer support training schemes. Or you could run for office and become a welfare rep yourself. You could also consider becoming a Students Against Depression student consultant – drop us a DM @SADWebsite.
Get campaigning
Make the environment on your campus a less comfortable place for depression… Could you lobby for better services? At some universities, students affected by depression can get referrals for free or reduced fee sessions at the sports centre, for example. Or perhaps you could join or start a campaign against stigmatising of mental health issues on campus? The Mental Wealth project is a student-led campaign promoting mental wellbeing for all, with groups at many UK campuses, and your students’ union or the NUS.
Spread the word
Spread the word about this site and help more people take action against depression.
Students Against Depression aims to reach out to those who may not otherwise seek help for their depression. The site offers students and young people a way to find help for low mood and depression anonymously.
However, the site can only help those who find it. Because the student population is constantly changing we need to keep working on raising awareness and telling people about the site.
You can help! Many students and young people trust the advice of their friends and peers, so your voice is particularly important in recommending this site to others. Please check out the various ways in which you can use social media and other means to help us spread the word:
Facebook
Please ‘Like’ us on Facebook, and even better please share useful pages or stories by posting them on your Facebook wall.
Instagram
Check out our Instagram posts for key information about depression.
Twitter
You can follow us on Twitter and keep up to date with the latest blogs and news. If there’s a particularly useful post then please ‘Re-tweet’ it so that others hear about it too.
YouTube
Watch our videos and ‘Like’ these on YouTube too.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoYkuFOwLa8pdik3PB8oJ2Q
Distribute posters on your campus
If you are willing to help us spread the word on your campus then contact our charity office for free posters, palm cards and other publicity materials to put up in halls of residence and other places where fellow students will see them. You could also tell your SU welfare rep about this source of materials and resources.
