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CW/TW: ED, Anorexia, MH, suicide
Final hand in day of second year versus final hand in of final year.
Your girl got a degree but she also got her mind and body back. And my recovery is the proudest achievement of my life. I didn’t think I’d live to see this.
Final hand in day of second year versus final hand in of final year.
Your girl got a degree but she also got her mind and body back. And my recovery is the proudest achievement of my life. I didn’t think I’d live to see this.
I'm so proud of myself for putting two fingers up to every doctor, welfare tutor & Karen who told me to drop out of uni bc “higher education isn’t for people like me”.
Whilst I’m absolutely gassed, I’m furious for being one of the exceptions. Education shouldn’t be a place that “some people just aren’t cut out for”. It should be inclusive, accessible and without fees.
This isn’t a humblebrag, I’m writing it because it was the graduation tweets of other disabled ppl who had also struggle-bussed their way through institutional bullshittery that kept me going every time I was on the verge of giving up. If this is you rn, keep going, you got this.
So here’s some advice for anyone with Mental Health conditions or struggles entering or currently in Higher Education:
1) REGISTER AT A UNI GP PRACTICE. Speak to your GP. Your GP is shit? Ask for a new one. Don’t let a doctor you’ve spent ten mins with invalidate your lived experience. Lots of GPs have minimal or outdated MH training. You know how you’re feeling, find someone who will listen
2) Register as Disabled. Mental Health conditions are a disability. This is your right. Do not feel guilty or like a fraud. You are disabled and have access requirements that you are LEGALLY entitled to.
3) ENGAGE WITH WELFARE. First day of term. Go see your Welfare Team. Feeling fine? Still go see your welfare team. Fix the roof while the sun is shining. If you’re on their radar already it will make accessing them easier should you find yourself in a pickle later down the line.
4) Engage with welfare, no really. If they are also shit, ask a tutor or other disabled person you trust if there is anyone else you can speak to. Pls just engage with welfare.
5) Register for DSA info on how to do this is here: https://twitter.com/ElspethOakley/status/1268940024474742788?s=20
6)Need to take a break? Take a Leave of Absence or consider going part-time. It is not a race. If you have to dip out for a bit and recharge, get treatment, reset. Do it. There is no prize for fastest degree completed. Give the world the best of you not what’s left of you
7) Struggling to fit in with Uni students? Then don’t. Some of my best uni friends didn’t actually go to uni. Get involved in groups/community stuff outside of the uni bubble, get a job - make work friends. Consider moving out of Uni bubble and commuting. Online pals are good too
8)Booze/Dr*gs. Hey man, aint gonna police you here but check in on yourself. Are you self medicating? Are you having fun or just taking shit just not to feel sad? If you need to cut off toxic and enabling people, do it. There’s lots of great AA groups out there - go to yours.
9)Struggling to access MH services? Get a MH advocate. They will chase services and referrals by writing letters and setting up meetings with service managers. They can also come to appointments with you to take notes and ensure you’re getting adequate care.
10)You can also access support that isn’t NHS or uni mental health services. I used to attend an ED recovery group & it was great! Find a support group/service here: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/peer-support-directory/
11) Samaritans. Call them. If someone who isn’t helping you answers the call, hang up and call again. Samaritans are all volunteers and not everyone is a good fit for you (that’s okay). You can call them as little or as much as you like. Confidential, free, zero judgement.
12) Know you’re not fucking up. You’re doing your best. Remember to check yourself and your progress. Look how far you’ve come. Don’t let peers, tutors and lecturers who don’t know you, get in your head. Eyes on the prize baby, not on the bellends
13) Lean on the disabled community but don’t sponge other people’s problems. The disabled community are great BUT you’re not anyone’s therapist. Don’t try and fix other people bc you think you’re undeserving of fixing yourself. Focus on you.
14) Have fun. Learning is great. Once you have your access requirements, let yourself fall in love with learning. Read & write about what interests you. Use your experiences, disabled perspective & passions to shape your learning. Create knowledge that will make the world better.
We need more disabled academics. Disabled voices are missing because “we’re not meant to get this far”. Knowledge and research is poorer for it. We need you to learn and stay in higher education to fight this.
Don’t let your institution push you out. We’re going to change things so disabled students in the future don’t have to go through the struggle we do but in the meantime keep fighting. You deserve to be there. You’ve earned it.
Recovery is possible, I know, I know, I didn't believe it either. But it just is. I promise you, things can be better.
Yikes thanks for the love. Was not expecting.
Good practice needs to be recognised so I wanna big up my lecturers who went above and beyond to help me reach my potential when I had VERY limited social skills, including Skyping office hours bc & using TWs, forever grateful.
Good practice needs to be recognised so I wanna big up my lecturers who went above and beyond to help me reach my potential when I had VERY limited social skills, including Skyping office hours bc & using TWs, forever grateful.
Sometimes they were the only people who would ask me if I was okay and safe because I had cut myself off from the world. They showed me that there’s more interesting things to preoccupy my mind with than Anorexia.
So support your teaching staff and their unions.
So support your teaching staff and their unions.
Also recovery is graft. I would relapse every three days for 13 months and I still have to check myself. You don’t wake up one day better. It’s an active and hourly choice to fight against the voices in your head and temptation. It’s the hardest but best thing you’ll ever do.
@BeatEDSupport are genuine lifesavers with loads of support
@HopeVirgo is doing incredible things to get the NHS to yeet BMI from their diagnostic criteria for eating disorders
@HopeVirgo is doing incredible things to get the NHS to yeet BMI from their diagnostic criteria for eating disorders
Last thing: Black lives matter
Trans women are women
Register to fucking vote: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
Trans women are women
Register to fucking vote: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
