Staying healthy on campus: the University Health Service

I was recently taking a stroll around campus after picking up my dissertation script and came across the University Health Services building (Building 48). I personally have never been in the surgery before as I have always been registered elsewhere but I have wondered about what it offered students. It turns out that having this little building within minutes away from the general student body is incredibly useful!

The practice is part of the NHS but its location means it has also become an integral part of the student environment. You don’t need to be a student, although you do need to be living within its catchment area before you are able to register yourself. It certainly is convenient for students, staff and locals alike.

Based on the Highfield Campus, you will be able to find it just in between the Murray building (Building 58) and the Physics building (Building 46).

The surgery on campus

Services and support available

The Travel Clinic

As summer is approaching many of us may be travelling to distant and tropical areas of the world. If you need travel advice and vaccination, the practice is able to give you some help. It is worth noting, however, that some vaccines are not provided by the NHS so be wary of the extra costs that may come up. Simply go to their website, fill in a travel clinic form and drop it off at reception. Alternatively, you may be able to pick up a form on reception itself.

Anxiety, Depression, Stress or Worries

Although the practice does not have specific services for counselling or therapy, they are able to give you some advice on who you may be able to chat to within the University and around Southampton city. In addition, as well as being able to chat to the nurses in the surgery itself, students can speak to trained staff from the University’s counselling service. Just contact Enabling Services to arrange an appointment or you can drop in during the week. They also have plenty of information about mental health and wellbeing.

Sexual Health Service and Advice

The practice encourages safe sex so they are able to offer advice if you need it. They may provide you with some methods of contraception for free.

Minor Surgery

Have you ever been worried about that mole that’s mysteriously changed shape recently? The practice’s doctors can have a look and, if need be, are able to surgically remove or treat by cryotherapy a variety of skin lesions, such as warts, verrucae, moles, skin tags, abscesses, ingrown toenails, and cysts. Just take a leaflet from reception first and read up on the operation so you have more understanding of what will be involved.

Special consideration reports and sick notes

The University Health Service may be able to provide you a sick note, letter or a medical report if you meet their specific criteria.



It is fantastic to know that these services are on campus and is just minutes away when you need them. What’s more, rather than simply going to accident and emergency options like the health service on campus may relieve busy hospitals. Not only may they be able to provide the service themselves but they can refer you to someone who may be in a better position to help you out.

It is not just the University Health Service that provides physical and mental well-being support for students and staff. The Student Services Centre (Building 37) also provide a wide range of help and support too.

A-Level results come out in August, so if you are going to be a student starting in September at the University of Southampton, make sure that registering yourself at your local GP is one of the first things that you do.

Stay healthy!

Rylyn

A healthy mind - Wellbeing Week 2015

Wellbeing. It sounds like an HR buzzword doesn’t it?

Actually, no – when you really try to understand it, the word is so much more than unsubstantiated jargon. The definition of wellbeing is essentially a healthy state of mind and physical form. With all the talk about stress management with work piling up, I decided to write about what the University of Southampton itself is actively doing to promote happiness amongst its students and staff.

From the 12th until the 26th of November is the University’s Wellbeing Event for 2015. This fortnight-long event offers workshops, performances and talks for all staff and students for free.

The University is known for its state-of-the-art facilities for ground-breaking research. I went to find out about a project scientists here have been working on…

Have you had a busy day? Your smartphone can help!

One of the talks introduced us to something Southampton health experts have been working on: an app called “HealthyMind.” It is a FREE android app that has been designed using cognitive behaviour therapy techniques and mindfulness theory.

You can get it from the Healthy Mind website or buy it from the android app store.

But don’t I spend too much time on my phone already?

Actually, the app has been designed to integrate to a hectic lifestyle. I do find that I often deal with stress by not even acknowledging that I feel that way. Instead of talking about it to friends or family, I ignore the issue and vent my frustrations in unhealthy forms. This can be through over-eating, drinking, or even losing sleep by staying up till 4 in the morning trawling through social media.

The screenshots below show how the app helps with these problems by encouraging calmness and lifting your mood. It promotes being mindful of your mental state and being able to talk about it as opposed to masking it.

Screenshots of the app. It’s okay to take a moment to take in what’s going on. 

The student lifestyle is fast paced, chasing deadline after deadline. If, like myself, you find yourself easily overwhelmed – as if no matter what task you accomplish for the day it still is never enough – having an app like HealthyMind is your buddy.

Using modern technology to beat the pressures of modern life 

A few years ago, the norm was to give ourselves an hour or so on the computer every day. Today we are connected to mobile internet 24/7. Instead of allocating non-disrupted time surfing the web, we now use it regularly in incredibly short bursts. The app has been designed to work with this cultural change. In fact, instead of making your hectic lifestyle worse, it takes you away from it.

However, one challenge the University’s experts have tried to overcome is preventing its users from finding the app obsolete and deleting it after a few days. Apps are often free nowadays and are thus incredibly disposable. So, the clever developers at Southampton and the US have been working closely with focus groups to make sure the service keeps itself non-intrusive. Instead of sending countless annoying notifications, the app senses when it’s the most appropriate time for you to use its service. This app is just an example of one of the cutting edge researches being conducted by experts here.

What else is going on?

Don’t forget that there are more wellbeing events coming up in the next few days. There’s the theatre performance of ‘Groomed’ which is a contemporary drama that explores the ever pertinent issue of sexual experiences. It is written and performed by Patrick Sandford who was Artistic Director of the Nuffield Theatre on Highfield Campus for 24 years. There will also be a ‘Letting Go of Stress’ course at Southampton General Hospital.

Happy stress-busting!

Rylyn

Let's talk about mental health

This is something that I’ve wanted to write about since I started writing for Life at Southampton, but I have always managed to think of something else to write about…perhaps to avoid talking about mental health.

At the end of second year I suffered a series of panic attacks and was subsequently diagnosed with anxiety and depression. I hadn’t wanted to admit that I was struggling; even day-to-day tasks were becoming difficult and even just talking to people or leaving the house to go anywhere other than the library was becoming impossible. I convinced myself that I was just focusing on work, I was just busy and under a lot of pressure – that how I was feeling was normal. It wasn’t until I hit a crisis point that I went to the GP and admitted something was wrong. Since then things have gotten better, and I wish I had spoken to someone sooner, before I let it get as far as it did – but it’s still hard to talk about.

My experience, it turns out, is similar to the experiences of so many students, not just at Southampton but all over the UK. The transition to University is one of the most dramatic transitions that young people today face. Countless studies have shown that the prevalence of mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders are significantly higher amongst student populations – yet somehow, unbelievably, mental health isn’t something that’s commonly discussed before you move to University. For some reason, we still have this concept of mental health disorders as something you can ‘just get over’.

So, the first message that I want to get across is: if you notice that you aren’t coping well, that your habits have changed, you’re becoming withdrawn, or eating differently – talk to someone.

 The first point of contact could be a friend, your GP (the GPs at the University Health Service were extremely knowledgeable and helpful), or Enabling Services within the University (who run drop in sessions from 1pm to 3pm Monday to Friday during term time).

Also Masters students, PhD’s and Postdoc’s, listen up! Those studying a PhD are the most at risk of developing a mental health disorder, so all of this applies to you as well.

If you speak to your GP, they might recommend that you seek out some form of counselling, either through Enabling Services (which is free) or through NHS Steps2Wellbeing (also free), which offers counselling and treatments such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for various illnesses.

Something that has frustrated me immensely is the cliché that an eating disorder is only anorexia or bulimia, and that it only affects women. This is not true! Men and women are equally at risk of developing an eating disorder, which can manifest in any number of different ways. What’s important is that you recognise that you know you best. If you notice that your eating habits have changed, or that you feel differently about food, that’s when you need to talk to someone. Eating disorders are best cured right at the start, before they have time to take hold and do irreparable damage.

The key thing to know is that you are so not alone, and that in Southampton there is so much help available.

For instance, the University has launched a new counselling service where students have been trained to act as ‘buddies’ for people who are finding it hard to adjust. They are trained in confidential listening techniques and have loads of advice for students who don’t know what to do next.

Charities such as 'Student Minds - Southampton' offer support groups, events and training, and runs campaigns aimed at raising awareness. Visit their Facebook page for more information.

The University offers a number of specialised treatments and outreach services so that there is ALWAYS someone for you to talk to, at any time, in Southampton.

Emma