Mental Health
- Application, Canada, Erasmus, Global Guidance Ambassador, Mental Health, North America, Uncategorized, University of Toronto, Year Abroad Travel
Rainy Days and Dealing with FOMO: The Art of Solo Dates
By Isabelle Henaghan, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada Choosing to do a year abroad can be daunting for many reasons. You might end up reeling pros and cons lists on your notes app on the 142 as you reach closer to the acceptance or referral deadline with My Placement. But whether you had premeditated the concern of feeling alone or not, I am confident that it is a feeling that almost everyone experiences during the exchange. Doing a year abroad is one of the best decisions I have made for myself. I have absolutely loved meeting so many new people from all over the world, and I have found the…
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Study Abroad Application Advice/Help/Guide
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Dealing With Loneliness
By Georgia Reid, Università Bocconi, Italy Studying abroad can be a very exciting time and, for many, a time that they will reminisce on for the rest of their lives. But for some, it will be a very isolating time – not knowing anyone, being far away from home, and in a different time zone from family and friends. So, I have made a list of things to help navigate feelings of loneliness.
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Reflecting on my year in Bergen
August 1st 2022. It’s exactly a year to the day since I moved to Norway, or the quarantine hotel in Bergen, at least. And what an incredible 10 months it was. I threw myself into Norwegian life, making the most of the ample opportunities on offer. You can read about some of these incredible experiences in my previous blog posts! However, if I could offer one piece of advice to myself one year ago today, and to anyone about to embark on a year abroad themselves, it would be that it’s ok to go home during your year abroad… Indeed, throughout the year, I felt that there was an immense…
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Dealing with emergencies in Toulouse
By: Eva Kristinova (Sciences Po Toulouse, France) By this point you surely realize how incredibly fun it can be to study abroad. But let’s be real, it might not always be. All the same, know that if you ever find yourself in a less welcoming, stressful, or (God forbid) emergency medical situation, there are places you can go and seek help from. Here are some insights for what to do if you find yourself in need in Toulouse. Physical and mental health support and advice The best place to look for support and advice related to anything to do with health is the University Medical Centre. All you need to…
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How to feel at home in a feeling of dislocation
Written on 6th September 2021 Homesickness is a natural and common thing most people will experience when moving to a new country to study or work. The best way I found to tackle a feeling of dislocation and feel more grounded was rooted in bringing slices of home with me on my adventure. Here are some top tips I found helped: Bringing home comforts with you – some of my flatmates had a blanket they always slept with, their favourite perfume or their favourite snacks from home. I had my childhood teddy bear. These simple items make you feel more comfortable in a space in which you are not familiar…
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‘It’ll be lonely this Christmas’? Reflections on a Christmas away from home and family.
Ever since I can remember, my Christmas Day has involved being at my own house or that of a close relative, with lots of my family squeezed around a table, or a couple of different shape and height tables, sat on emergency chairs, stools or even the garden bench, with food filling every possible space and bits of cracker debris in your gravy, dogs barking, everyone talking at once and reading out the joke already heard twice so far, and it being my favourite day of the year. So, it may have sounded like a very privileged problem to have, to feel deflated that I would be spending Christmas day…
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For those away from home, studying online, or not studying at all :)
Whether you are studying abroad at a different university or on placement/ interning in a different city or country, being away from your comfort zone and in a new environment will sometimes come with its own difficulties. The effect of moving away on mental health is often not spoken about before departure, and this can potentially end up completely overshadowing what should be a year of making new friends, improving language skills and learning a new way of life. So it is important to recognise that these transitions can be challenging, and anticipating being away from home and familiar support networks can sometimes lead to worry, anxiety and stress. These…
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Homesickness when you thought you were sick of home
‘Cause sometimes it takes moving to the other side of planet Earth to really appreciate what you have.
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Homesickness
Moving to a different country to study and live abroad is an incredible experience. From meeting new people, trying new foods, visiting new places, new experiences and discovering the local culture but sometimes it’s not always sunshine and rainbows and THAT’S OK! A few weeks into my exchange I began to miss home as well as all my family/friends but do not worry it is completely natural and all part of the process of studying abroad. So here are some tips if you are ever feeling homesick on any point of your exchange. Stay in regular contact with friends/familyStaying in regular contact with your friends/family is the best way to…
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On the importance (and unimportance) of grades (for me) (in hindsight)
So, I tend to overthink things. A lot. Before coming to Canada, I was worried about how study abroad fit into my university career. Would I be behind when I got to Canada? Would I be behind when I got back? What if I dropped marks? I have the whole of the rest of my life to travel, so maybe I should wait? Let me take a moment to walk you through a few reasons why I shouldn’t have been too caught up in how study abroad would affect my academics, and why you might not need to worry too much either: Unsurprisingly, like a good number of other students,…
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Coping With Anxiety Abroad… And From Home
By George Davies – The University of Calgary, Canada The topic of mental health is commonly discussed in the realm of studying overseas. So whilst I may not be contributing anything new to this topic, I wanted to share my experiences with anxiety during my year away. As well as the coping mechanisms I tried to deploy and useful links available during your time away.
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Doing everything vs. staying sane
By Nooa Karlo, (University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) There’s a common and stereotypical image of exchange students as these endlessly spirited and energetic creatures that will take every and any chance to find new experiences and opportunities. They’re people who are always smiling, going out, organising and participating in activities, partying, exploring and experiencing. Sometimes this also includes studying hard, sometimes not. In any case, it has been clear to me from the beginning that I did not fit well into this image.
