Mental Health Over Summer: Rachael's Experience

Rachael shares her experience of how best to work and rest during the summer.

- Rachael Johnston

What do you do to help with your mental health over the summer?

I try and keep myself as occupied as possible.  To keep focused, it�s really important for me to plan ahead and have things set in my diary to look forward to. My previous job as a teaching assistant meant I had the whole summer off; however, I�m now a support worker supporting children with additional needs, which makes this summer a bit different.

What do you like to do during the summer?

I have my birthday over the summer, so there is usually the build up to that. I took two weeks annual leave to be able to have some time with my family and friends to celebrate.  I have had a short weekend away with my mum, which was nice, and I braved a massage. I�ve never had a massage, so I�ve decided I want to try and keep up to see if it helps me unwind a bit more.

What do you find hardest in the summer?

When we do get the sun, it usually means shorts and strappy tops. Currently my weight isn�t great, so I�m very body conscious. I also have scarring from self-harm. This summer, I�ve been a bit braver, and on really hot days I�ve just thought �sod it�! Then there are the big events and get-togethers! Usually it�s a time when everyone seems to go out and there is never a reasonable excuse not to go, so I try and tell myself to give it a go. If things do get too overwhelming, I can always go, so I find myself driving to places and ditching the alcohol in favour of a quick exit if I need it.

What differences have you found in your mental health over the summer compared to when you�re at university?

I�ve never been a fan of the summer holiday, even when I was in school.  I like being busy and having something to do. So I do notice that when my brain isn�t occupied, I start to feel low. However, when I�ve not been in university for a while, I start to become anxious about going back.  I check and recheck my personalised plan so I can reassure myself that any new tutors know what additional steps need to be taken. I suppose that�s the thing with mental health: no matter what I do, that little voice never seems to be satisfied.

Do you have any advice for other students who struggle with their mental health in the summer?

I�d say plan ahead. If you�re struggling, don�t bottle it in.  If you�re not up to do something which you have planned, be honest and don�t just cancel, my friends have either been able to talk me round into going out for a little while, or they�re happy to find a good film and stay in.
If you have appointments through the summer, stick to them, get to them even if you�d rather be sitting in. Sometimes it helps your therapists to see you in person when you�re really down, to get a fuller understanding of your situation.
To avoid staying stuck in a cycle of wearing the same clothes for days, I also try and set an alarm to have a fixed time when I have to have a shower and change.


Are you interested in getting involved in the �Mental Health over the Summer� blog series? Please do not hesitate to email us at blog@studentminds.org.

Hi, I�m Rachael. I�ve been blogging on and off for a few years now around my experience of living with Anorexia and Borderline Personality Disorder. Although I�m meant to be on a break from university this summer I requested an extension for my last assignment due to a dip in my mental health, so I�ve been able to keep myself occupied with this summer with uni work and my job as a support worker.

https://thejourneyback2life.wordpress.com/2017/07/14/to-the-bone/

Education: mental health�s preventative medicine

How a lack of education delayed my diagnosis of bipolar disorder

- Edward Huntly

In February, I was diagnosed with Rapid Cycling Bipolar Affective Disorder, a condition which causes me to cycle between the extremities of mood. It was news I didn�t fully understand, and in the four months since, I�ve been forced to educate myself on an illness which will be with me for life.

In my own way, I�d learnt to understand the rhythms of my mental health from an early age, experiencing my first bout of depression aged fifteen. For years, these heavy, suffocating states made regular appearances; they would occur three or four times a year, for weeks or months at a time.

At this point, I don�t think I�d even come across the word �bipolar� yet, and I had a very narrow understanding of depression. I was convinced that the term wasn�t applicable to my circumstances, because the lows always went away. Instead, I decided I was weak, unique and abnormal, which led me to suffer in silence.

By the time I arrived at university, several years later, these depressions had become darker, more dangerous, and much more volatile. Within days, I could abruptly shift from a �low� to a state of high energy, confidence and character, completely detached from the mood that preceded it.

Now, when the depressions lifted, I faced new challenges: periods of rapid and obsessive thoughts which would immobilise me as much as the lows. The complete lack of control was, and still is, terrifying. Finally, I sought help.

I was referred to a psychiatrist, and was told with conviction that these symptoms were all typical of bipolar. The diagnosis was an unwelcome surprise, but also a liberating one; I had finally been given a framework within which to understand, and a clinical vocabulary with which to express, the experiences of the previous six years.

Together, we explored the developments of my mental health since adolescence: the changing form of my depressions, the significance of its cycling nature, and the neglected symptoms of �highs�. Hypomanic episodes, the other �pole� of the condition, tend to be characterized by euphoria, unchallenged ambition, disinhibition, high energy, and the rapid thoughts I�d become well acquainted with.

We discussed my unpredictable spending sprees: the unused accordion, the �1,000 pursuit to learn three languages at once, and the vast array of old boxes I�d considered essential at the time of purchase. Then came the erratic behaviour. Just weeks earlier, dressed in chequered shirts, I invested hundreds in wood-whittling kits and, to a background of country music, I planned a trip to remote Alaska, believing that my destiny lay with the land.

Despite my symptoms being relatively pronounced, I knew little about bipolar�s lesser known characteristics, and had subsequently been unable to connect the complexities of my mental health to it. As a result, the medication that aims to halt the progression of bipolar disorder came into my life much later than was ideal.

I lacked an education on the details, experiences and realities of mental health; instead, I drew on the popular misconceptions which mental health stigma creates. I formed a deeply entrenched belief that my mental health was a self-inflicted weakness, and became determined that I didn�t deserve help.

A comprehensive education to explore the origins of my mental health would have challenged this philosophy, and would have given me reliable information on which I could base an understanding of my experiences.

Education should be seen as mental health�s preventative medicine. It confronts the stigma, stands up to ignorance, and strengthens solidarity. It�s reassurance to those who suffer that they are not alone, and that they are not to blame for the ill health that befalls them.

Hi, I'm Ed! Earlier this year, I was diagnosed with Bipolar Affective Disorder. Ever since, I have been trying to understand my condition. This is the first time I�ve spoken publicly about my experience, and in doing so, I hope to help break down the barriers for those around me which prevent us from openly discussing our mental health.