What is loneliness? It is a personal feeling, so loneliness varies from person to person. It is where out need for social contact and relationships is not met. You can be surrounded by people and be lonely. You can be alone and not feel lonely.

Loneliness is very common in new students at universities, particularly international students.

How to get better?

Take it slow when trying to meet new people or open up. Theres no need to rush and you should go at a pace you feel comfortable with.

Sometimes, you can feel less lonely by making new connections, eg by joining a club, a sports team or volunteering.

Opening up to those you are close to you can help.

Don’t compare yourself to others! People who seem all confident may be struggling with their own issues. Eg on social media we only see what people want to show us, so its not a real representation of their lives.

Look after yourself! Loneliness can lead to mental health issues, and can have a large impact on your general wellbeing. Get enough sleep, eat well, exercise, spend time outdoors; all of these can help maintain your wellbeing.

Many people feel homesick. It is most common at university around fresher’s week, but it can hit at any time, no matter what year you are in or if you have been fine up to now.

Don’t give yourself a hard time! It isn’t a weakness or something to beat yourself up about. Most students are affected, whether you’re from just down the road or halfway around the world.

Don’t spend too much time in your room; isolating yourself makes homesickness more intense, and will only make you feel worse. Study at the library rather than in your room, or organise day trips for example.

Explore your surroundings! Becoming familiar with your surroundings makes you feel more at home, so will reduce the homesickness pangs.

Keep in touch with home – but not too much! A phone call here and there can help make the distance between feel less large, but calling all the time will only highlight the distance between you more.

Spend time with your friends! They will likely be going through or have gone through the same thing. You don’t need to talk to them about your feelings, but spending time with other people will help to distract you.

Our wellbeing can change from day to day, and it is both mental and physical.

We all have times when we have low mental wellbeing. This can be caused by thing such as loneliness, but it can also have no apparent cause.

We can improve our mental wellbeing by building positive relationships. Making time for the people we love helps strengthen our relationships. Joining a group helps us to do the things that we like to do, and meeting others with a shared interest increases our confidence.

Look after our mental health! Talk to people who can help, such as your JCR Welfare Officers. Talk to your friends, and take time for yourself to look after yourself. Relaxation helps maintain our mental health, and we can relax through a variety of ways, such as through listening to music, exercising and mindfulness.

Look after our physical heath! We can do this by sleeping well, eating a balanced diet and exercising, ideally outdoors. Avoid drugs and excessive alcohol abuse.

Self-esteem is how we value and see ourselves.

We can have low self-esteem through a number of causes, such as being bullied, stress and other mental health problems.

Low self-esteem can make us feel worthless, and make us blame ourselves unfairly. It can lead to, and be caused by other mental health issues.

How can we improve our self-esteem?

Be kind to ourselves, allow ourselves to have feelings.

Look after ourselves, and improve our general wellbeing.

Notice the good things! Accept compliments, ask people what they like about you, celebrate successes. Don’t focus only on negatives!

Learn to be assertive. Practice saying no. Don’t expect results overnight, take your time.

Don’t take on too many responsibilities, as overstretching can drain your energy and make you feel like you have failed.

Don’t compare yourself to others! People who seem all confident may be struggling with their own issues. Eg on social media we only see what people want to show us, so it’s not a real representation of their lives.