#1in4 (You’re Not Alone) is RUSU’s campaign to tackle the mental health crisis many students suffer from
whilst at university.
It can be a very difficult and confusing time when you’re struggling with your mental health, particularly
with the portrayal of mental health in the media, and we want all students at Reading to know that you’re
alone.
What does 'Mental Health' actually mean?
Often, people associate the term ‘mental health’ with having a mental illness. A mental health charity, Mind,
offer a really good explanation of what mental health means:
In many ways, mental health is just like physical health: everybody has it and we need to take care of it.
Good mental health means being generally able to think, feel and react in the ways that you need and want to
live your life. But if you go through a period of poor mental health you might find the ways you're
frequently thinking, feeling or reacting become difficult, or even impossible, to cope with. This can feel
just as bad as a physical illness, or even worse.
Mental health problems affect around one in four people in any given year. They range from common problems,
such as depression and anxiety, to rarer problems such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Your experiences
We have been collecting your experiences of mental health and the support services available and are working
to collate this to take it to the university.
Top tips
As part of the campaign we wanted to give you tools to have positive coping mechanisms for your mental health
alongside lobbying for improved mental health provisions at the university. We know that it can be hard to
find things that work for you when you’re trying to improve your mental health so we asked you for your top
tips, here are some ideas!