Hi, my name is Natasha Stenning. I am a 22-years-old and currently a
student at York St John University. However, I am not a normal English girl.
Whilst I have a British passport, I was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, and
spent a couple of years in China, Tanzania and the Philippians.
Anyway, people describe me as an energetic and bubbly girl who does not
stop talking and always wants cuddles. Overall, I am a friendly, kind, caring
person but I was not always this way. I had a very content childhood in Kenya.
I was confident, happy and had a good social, academic and sports life.
However, the trouble started when I joined university.
I moved to England in August 2017 to attend University of Brighton and
study a BSc in Physiotherapy. I quickly realised that I was not happy where I
was. I was far away from my family, had not managed to connect with anyone and
found that the UK was a foreign country to me even though I technically was
British. Things got worse I stopped going to sports, lectures and meeting with
friends. I was crying on the phone to my parents every night. By November I was
depressed and anxious. My dad flew over from Kenya and pulled me out of
university eight weeks into term.
December to March was a difficult time for me. Looking back, it was all
a blur. However, by the end of March, I had this amazing job in Switzerland for
the summer, working in a kid’s adventure camp for 10 weeks. Those 10 weeks
changed my life. I got my confidence and personality back. During this time, I
was accepted onto the BSc in physiotherapy at YSJ.
I returned to England in September. The first month was incredible. I
found an amazing group of friends, loved the city, joined societies and sport
teams, and loved my course. I was living the life every university student
wants to lead. However, October hit and bits of anxiety started to creep in. I
was starting to doubt that I wanted to study physiotherapy. I was struggling to
keep up. I started finding York too small and had convinced myself I had not
really made any friends. I contacted student health services and found they
didn’t really help. By November reading week, I went back home to Kenya. I came
back diagnosed with moderate clinical depression and anxiety and was put on
medication.
I was back in the same position as the previous year, frustrated and
scared cause I felt alone. I was so lost and felt I had no direction. Things
kept getting worse till it got to February 2019. At this point I felt I had no
one in the world. I had not been helped by the health services and had given
up. I locked myself in my room for 3 weeks, avoiding my family, friends and
lectures. My best friend messaged my sister. She and my sister came and
basically broke down my door. They saved my life. I went home to Kenya, changed
my medication and started therapy. I slowly started feeling better.
I came back to York in April to organize my life. I changed course to
study a BSc in Sports Therapy. I repaired my friendships and found the most
amazing boyfriend. The last few months in York had been of my best of my life.
Over the next year, I tried to keep up with my studies and friends, accept I
still felt something was off. After a few more ups and downs, in August 2020 I
was diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder. I was put on different medication and
my therapy changed to address the new diagnosis. Since then I have never been
more settled or happy both in my own skin and my situation in life. My
medication and therapy have kicked in.
I do not want this story to scare people off university. I am just
sharing my own experience. Now I love university and would not change any of my
experiences as I am a stronger person. However, this is why I re- started up
Student Minds at York St John University. I want to help people going through
anything similar. Know these feelings are completely normal. University
is a tough time and you can ask for help. That is what we are for! Combating
Mental Health one student at a time.
Lots of love, Tash x
Looking after your wellbeing: Read more about the small steps you can take to look after your wellbeing.
Hi, I’m Natasha, a sports therapy student applying for an Osteopathy masters. After experiencing mental health struggles at university, I am passionate about insuring the student voice is heard. I believe mental health is a vital issue that needs to be addressed and seen as an equal to physical health.
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