University Mental Health Day 2024

They have exalted notions because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations…

It’s a long and not very noble tradition stretching back at least to Aristotle that judges the young- condemning them for their expectations and behaviours. Yet to contradict Aristotle, generation Z has most certainly been humbled by life.

Imagine you’d had a film crew documenting your teenage years recording every misdemeanour for social media and posterity. Imagine that same social media feed dominated by news of a global climate emergency and proliferating conflict.

At school when it wasn’t closed due to a global pandemic there is no escape as you are subject to increasingly high expectations. These are perversely fuelled as your school struggles to maintain its inspection rating.

Your parents can’t afford to bankroll your higher education. With rents increasing by an average of 8%- far outstripping the average maintenance loan in many cities- your debt aged 21 soars to £50,000.

Small wonder that 1 in 4 young under-graduates have a diagnosable mental health condition or that 30% say their mental health has declined since starting university. That’s why we all need to show support for #UniMentalHealthDay

@StudentMindsOrg

@UMHANUK