I talk with Charlotte about her experience dealing with anxiety and the pressures of university. Here is her story.

Anxiety. It is a feeling of being worried or nervous about something. As students we know the feeling all too well. We get nervous for exams, stay up all night studying or writing last-minute essays that are due in the next day. But for many students, anxiety doesn’t stop there.

Mental health cases in universities are rising every year, and as more students come into university and develop difficulties, there becomes limited resources available to help those students in need.

However, this does not always have to be the case.

Talking is always a great start to either helping yourself or helping a friend. So to kickstart this, I am having a conversation over dinner with Charlotte Nixon, an English masters student at Newcastle University, who has been dealing with anxiety since the beginning of her university career four years ago.

Charlotte’s anxiety developed during her time at St Mary’s University, after being a young carer for her step-dad during her A level studies.

“I had a lot of time on my hands to stop and think… and it hit me all at once.”

Charlotte Nixon

Charlotte was constantly busy, doing A levels and never stopped to think at all. When she went to uni, she only had class one day a week and had time to think about what had happened with her step-father.

Charlotte ended up dropping out of University and coming home for 9 months, where she spoke to a psychologist which helped her get through the worst parts of her anxiety.

“I know I will always have anxiety and it’s always going to be there… But as long as I look after it, it doesn’t bother me day to day.”

Charlotte Nixon

Charlotte is in a much better place than where she was four years ago, thanks to a lot of self-care (yes, it’s cliché but sometimes you need to put a face mask on and chill out). Charlotte’s self-care does not go towards any goal of any sort, but she describes it as a “little treat” for herself such as having a hot water bottle, seeing a friend one-on-one and cooking herself a really good and healthy meal. Although this doesn’t mean that you have to restrict yourself from all chocolate.

She also writes all her worries down and finds that talking to people makes a huge difference in how she is feeling

More importantly, she stressed that having meals with friends is an important part of keeping her anxiety down.

“It’s nice to sit and chat to people and not feel worried about money because cooking is so cheap.”

If you would like to cook the meal that Charlotte made, click here.

If you are having feelings of anxiety or are dealing with mental health issues, or if you are someone who is worried about a friend please talk to your GP.

*Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you’re feeling, or if you’re worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org.

If you are a student at Newcastle University, you can get help by going to these websites:

• Mental Health Team
• Wellbeing Consultancy Service
• Newcastle University Counselling
• Student Union Advice Centre
• Student and Staff Urgent Help

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