"Many Dutch people think that students are full of energy for life, are active and lead a carefree existence. But in reality, they struggle more than their working peers with stress, gloom and fatigue and hardly seek help for it", according to an article from 2010 by the University of Utrecht. There is currently a lot of attention for the mental health of students. The recent research by Trimbos has contributed greatly to this. However, this development has been going on for a while as outlined above. In 2010, the first initiatives were already taking place after a large-scale study by Amsterdam student doctors. They set up the initiative http://www.ik-student.nl and wrote a book "Students and silent pain | problems, but no help seeking". This was followed by a series of studies such as those by the National Student Union and news articles; NRC opened in 2016 "Students suffer from choice stress and performance pressure".

 

I have been working as a lecturer in higher education for 14 years. First at the Leisure & Event Management program. Currently at the Photography minor. I also work as a professional photographer. Halfway through my career (2016), I already saw an increase in the level of stress and study pressure that students experienced. Headaches, insomnia, (mild) depression, seemed ‘normal’. I had group discussions with these students to find out where this comes from today and what could help them. What I found most striking was that the students indicated that it already helped to have the conversation. They discovered that “they were not the only ones”. That already gave them support and confidence.

 

Together with a colleague, I started implementing workshops in the curriculum with the aim of teaching students to deal better with tension, so-called life skills. These were workshops in the field of yoga and breathing. Voluntary workshops that were always full and that the students were enthusiastic about. For planning technical reasons and dependence on us as teachers who gave them, the workshops unfortunately disappeared. In addition, I developed a TV format at the time in which students' storylines are elaborated in a real-live TV series: "Mooiste tijd van je leven" in 2016. Despite enthusiasm from various parties, this was not developed further.

 

I now work 1 day a week as a teacher, and I only see the problem increasing. It affects me, because I have been there too. I too have gone beyond my limits at a relatively young working age. From my profession as a photographer I would like to contribute to this. The outcome of "not being the only one" has mainly been input for a portrait series of students in which their story is shared.

 

Mijke Bos

Dokkum, May 2023