Putting Your Mental Health First

Starting university is an exciting time but for some people it can feel quite overwhelming: being away from home, meeting new people, starting a new course are all things that can be very stressful. For some people, this can trigger a decline in their mental health or exacerbate an existing condition.

If you feel that you are struggling with your mental health but you are not in crisis and have never had any issues with it before, you can:

• Contact the University Health Service (UHS) for an appointment to discuss with a GP, as it is always best to seek medical help first - https://students.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/contacts/uhs

• Refer yourself to Student Access to Mental Health Support (SAMHS) for support - https://students.sheffield.ac.uk/mental-health

• Find more wellbeing support information via https://students.sheffield.ac.uk/wellbeing



If you are in crisis:

• Call University Security on their emergency number, 0114 222 4444, or 999 to explain the situation and request that an ambulance is arranged

• You can access emergency physical and mental health care at Sheffield’s Accident and Emergency Department (A&E) by visiting Northern General Hospital, Herries Road, Sheffield, S5 7AU. Northern General Hospital is a large site and difficult to navigate but a taxi should take you to the A&E entrance.

• Please refer to the University’s ‘Emergency or crisis support’ pages via https://students.sheffield.ac.uk/mental-health/crisis-support for more information about some other services that may be useful to you

If you have a pre-existing condition, you can find more information about help available from the University here:  https://students.sheffield.ac.uk/mental-health/self-help/diagnosis.

There are also many external services available to people in Sheffield and nationwide that provide support in relation to mental health concerns:

• Mind - https://www.mind.org.uk/

• Nightline - https://students.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/contacts/nightline

• Samaritans - https://www.samaritans.org/

• Sheffield IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) - https://iaptsheffield.shsc.nhs.uk/

• Sheffield Mental Health Guide - https://www.sheffieldmentalhealth.co.uk/

• Togetherall - https://students.sheffield.ac.uk/mental-health/online-support

Remember, you can always arrange to speak to your Residence Life Mentor or attend the Residence Life Mentor Drop-in.

You can also arrange to speak to a Student Support and Wellbeing Officer at Residence Life via email at residentsupport@sheffield.ac.uk.

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash