The Student Lifestyle: Drinking Culture

Callum shares his experience with drinking culture at university and student financial hardship

Callum - Centre for Mental Health

As a student, like many students before me, I have been known to drink. Heavily.

At universities, there is a pervasive drink and drug culture. To many students, drinking feels like an essential activity. In my own experience, alcohol consumption was tagged onto nearly every enterprise. I couldn’t play mini golf, go to the cinema, or even attend lectures, without alcohol somehow featuring. I would drink on a weeknight, and then skip my morning lectures. I would fend off my hangover, and miss most of the day, before repeating the process that night.

Drinking did more than hurt me physically. When drinking heavily, I would lose all connection with the people around me. I would only see my friends when drinking. I couldn’t talk to them; catch up with them; share my life with them. I became a caricature of myself, just as they were of themselves. It was incredibly isolating.

This is combined with the toxic ‘student bubble’: a bidirectional exclusionary relationship, between students and the wider city. It results in the segregation of students – however unintentional - from the broader community. Exacerbated by the extreme drinking culture of student life, the student bubble can be impenetrable to the community at-large.

Problem drinking is not the fault of students – at least, not in its entirety. Alcohol is highly available, and is a lot easier to access than mental health support. Disordered alcohol consumption is linked to trauma and mental ill health. Often, people use alcohol to self-medicate.

Alcohol licensing laws are fairly lax in England, and this is especially true for off-license stores. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we see a relative abundance of these stores in the most deprived areas of the country – areas where many students are living. To resolve these issues, in my opinion, stricter regulation of alcohol should be implemented. One method to achieve this is to implement a minimum unit pricing, whereby alcohol cost cannot sink below a certain price per unit. Another is to enforce stricter licensing laws across England, and to tax alcohol sales more highly. By out-pricing high-strength alcohol, I believe drinkers will be left with safer choices.

Moreover, community groups should be supported and incentivised to include students in their programmes. This could also be true for societies affiliated with the student’s union. In my experience, this community cohesion could do much to reduce the relative isolation and harms associated with the student bubble. This may also help to reduce drinking in student populations.

I realise that, in recent years, things have gotten much worse. As a PhD student, I now receive a stipend and have a meagre safety net beneath me. Despite this, I still find myself in financial hardship on a semi-regular basis. It makes me wonder what life must be like for some undergraduate students. In a housing market akin to the one I lived in - just more extreme and unfair - their loans must be grossly insufficient. Combined with sky-high electrical costs, and an ever-more expensive grocery shop, there must be immense pressure on today’s students.

It isn’t acceptable. Under these conditions, people will feel trapped by their circumstances, and experience mental ill health. It doesn’t have to be this way. We should promote a fairer, more equitable housing system. We must compel employers to pay the real living wage, and to provide safe working conditions. We must hold landlords to account for the health and safety of their tenants, and be more flexible with contracts in cases where tenants face harm.

Overall, we must advocate for a mentally healthier nation. One for students. One for everyone.

Find out how you can get involved with the Student Minds Blog.

I am enthusiastic neuroscience student (PhD) and policy intern for Center for Mental Health, passionate about using research to change people's lives for the better.  

I am determined to work with researchers to change the mental health conversation, and advocate for fairer and more equitable health policies in the UK.

Getting over self-doubt

Despite a difficult start in the UK, Thu took positive steps by focussing on what mattered to her most to improve her self-doubt and mental health issues. She hopes that this blog can help you to deal with self-doubt, especially from financial and working environment issues.

- Thu Anh Tran

Let me share with you my initial 2-year journey whilst studying abroad in the UK. In September 2017, I travelled 17 hours on a plane from Vietnam to the UK. This was the first time I had travelled abroad; the first time I had left my family and the first time I would be able to make my own decisions in life. I was extremely excited. Unlike many other students, I had to pay my own living fees and a part of my school fee. This financial commitment was also a promise I made to my family before travelling to the UK. This commitment was to motivate me to be independent, but it was also an enormous pressure. Therefore, my first thoughts once in the UK were to look for a job. 

In my case, this financial commitment was where my self-doubt started. After 3 months of living in the UK, I ran out of money. As a result, my family had to get involved, souring the relationship between me and my family. This led me to feeling guilty, irresponsible, and useless. It was the first time in my life I heard my mum cry on the phone, the first time since moving I felt desperate and the first time, I knew… how useless I am? Another 3 months went by, and I was continuing to stress about money. This led me to accept the first job I could get as a means of paying my living fees - manageable but not ideal.

Whilst some of the financial pressure was off, I was neither satisfied nor enjoying my job. Whilst my job was benefitting me financially, I worked in a toxic environment that affected my physical and mental health, deepening self-doubt. Working for 20 hours every single week during term-time, and 10 to 12 hours every day during holidays affected my mental and physical health. My self-doubt intensified to the point that I would be affected by any negative words, which was discouraging. The feeling of uselessness and self-doubt affected my sleep as I thought about the work environment that I hated. After transferring to a new work location, work certainly picked up, but my mental health still did not improve. 

Studying abroad was not a ‘rosy’ journey. I was lost and suffered with self-doubt for 2 years. That was until an important opportunity came my way - I got offered an internship at an international training company. Though I considered it a risk at the time, having to give up my stable job, I knew this could help me achieve my ambitions and accepted the internship. This was the turning point in my journey. On my first working day, I immediately realised why I was struggling for the past 2 years. It was not just about money; it was and continues to be about how those around me recognised my hard work and the support people gave me. It was not just about the job’s duties, but about my passion for what I was doing. Money is important but it is not everything. It felt great to do something I enjoyed and was good at it, allowing me to be the best version of myself. The internship helped me to improve my mental health and I become more confident – finally I started tackling my self-doubt demons! 

After starting my internship, I decided to change my living environment. I move to a new accommodation, to live in a place I always wished I could have. For the first time throughout my journey in the UK I was smiling in front of the mirror, I had peace in my heart and was able to tell myself that it’s good that I came to the UK.

For about 1 and a half years I pursued money and did a job that I was not passionate about nor good at. I realised that money did not help with my confidence, improve my mental health nor did it cure my self-doubt. I also realised that I struggled to engage with anything that did not interest me and found myself under-performing. My mental health was shattered for the first 2 years of my journey to the UK. Therefore, from my experience, here is my advice for international students to ease financial pressure and make the move more enjoyable. If you’re concerned about money, look for scholarships from the government, businesses, or the university. Work hard and save up money before you move. It is much easier to earn money in the environment you know, like your home country rather than in a new environment you may not know that well and may have a language barrier deal with. If you want to gain an accomplishment and have a great study abroad journey, plan your finance now before buying your flight ticket and think… everything will be ok.  

Strive for job satisfaction and to be happy. Whilst money is important, it is not everything. Speak with the people you trust most, including those at the university, representatives, your family, and friends. They might provide a different perspective! 

For the international students who have already started your journey, good luck!  For all of you starting soon… give it all your determination and energy, as your efforts will be worth it! 

Looking back at this difficult time, my experience crafted the version of me writing to you today – and considering how happy I am now… I know it was all worth it!

Find out more about what you can do to improve your wellbeing on Student Space.

I am Thu Tran. Graduate Business (Marketing) student at Birmingham City University. I just thought that this is a meaningful activity to share my story and encourage the other students who are on their way, going through these challenges.

New year, same me?

Jessica shares her experience of the pressures of New Year's resolutions but also how to realistically maintain them.

- Jessica Flora

New Year's resolutions are often highly talked about during this time of year. Although they can be great in helping people re-focus their life and build towards a goal, a downfall is that individuals often feel immense pressure to maintain goals and compare themselves with others. By all means, it's a good thing for someone to reach for a goal - but if that goal seems unattainable or unrealistic to an individual, it's easy to become disheartened and fall vulnerable to feelings of stress. Here are some tips for setting realistic and flexible New Year's resolutions that have helped me focus throughout the year:

1. Don't feel that you have to wait for next year to reset your goals

 

A few months into the year you may feel that the January goals you set are not going quite how you wanted them to, and that you may need to re-adjust your goals (due to something like a pandemic!). Don't give up and wait until next year - just re-adjust them! Each day gives you the chance to do something new, so why not change your goal in the here and now? Fine-tuning your goals and goal plans according to your situation makes you more likely to achieve them. So, by next year you can happily tick it off your list, or even keep it going if it's a long-term goal. Remember: some progress is better than none!

2. Setting monetary goals

You may want to set a high target when it comes to money, but try setting smaller targets throughout the year. For example, you could aim to save £30 by the end of January, then £60 overall by the end of February, and so on. Try not to spend money on things you can easily save on; for example, limit the number of takeaways you eat every week, and set the money you would have spent aside, in your savings account. Over time these things will mount up, and can be used for future purposes like putting a deposit down on a house, buying a car, etc. Just remember, don't become disheartened if you cannot afford to put extra money aside for that month - always do what you feel is best.

3. Setting health goals

Exercising is a common goal for most people; however, it can be a challenging thing to maintain and if individuals don't see improvements, they may lose interest. An important tip for keeping an exercise goal is tracking your progress and researching the "Do's and Do not's" of fitness. Remember that some things may not work for you, and that's okay! Keep researching new forms of exercise to try until you find something that works for you. It is important to remember that things take time, so don't expect to see results immediately, and always work out safely.

4. Grades

Wanting to better your grades is not a bad thing at all. However, you may endlessly tire yourself out with overworking and overstressing, losing yourself in the process. Instead of trying to deal with this on your own, email the teachers/lecturers that mark your work and ask them specifically how you can improve. Look into intervention classes for your specific subject/area, as they may be able to provide you with help and guidance. Remember: it may take time for your grades to improve, but don't stop trying!

5. New skills/hobbies

Wanting to learn a new skill or take up a new hobby can be intimidating and challenging, especially during the current pandemic. My advice is to try as many different skills and hobbies before committing to anything, to see what you do and don't like. You may surprise yourself with what you find. If you find yourself feeling disheartened at something difficult, remember that practice makes perfect, so keep on trying no matter what. 

 

My overall message is this: anything is possible if you have the motivation to work for it, and baby steps are key when trying to reach a big goal.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, check out our previous blog, "Taking things one day at a time" by Adam. You can also learn more about improving your mental wellbeing on Student Space.

Hi, I'm Jessica and I study an undergraduate Psychology degree. I feel there is an immense societal pressure and expectation on students to be high achievers. Mental health should not be stigmatised, but should be seen as an important and serious issue that needs addressing.