Impact of Anxiety Amongst Pharmacy Students
As an Association, we believe that the mental health of pharmacists, pre-registration trainees, and students is of the utmost importance. We are therefore asking our members to share their stories around mental health in the hope that we can encourage us all to speak out, support each other and lobby the government to invest more in the mental wellbeing of pharmacists and pharmacy students.
Please follow this link to share your story with us anonymously.
This publication will focus on some responses we have received thus far regarding the impact of anxiety on pharmacy students' mental health as well as tips, which we are sharing to shed a light on the challenges faced by pharmacy students today, and highlight what support is out there for us.
There are three stories shared within this publication:
1. Learning to manage social anxiety
2. Balancing anxiety and academics
3. Anxiety and isolation
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1: Learning to manage social anxiety
I tend to have episodes of social anxiety, which started when I was a small kid. Some simple tasks, such as calling somebody on the phone or having to converse with shop assistants, can make me feel like I'm suffocating. I also feel like I can't express all my emotions, or I'd rather keep them to myself to look 'stronger', as I tend to use my rationality more than my emotional side (as I've been taught to be self-reflecting, always composed, and logical). Usually, it's quite useful in nerve-wracking situations, but some days it feels heavy, like the emotions are building up in me and up to a year ago I was getting panic attacks randomly, even when nothing bad was going on in the moment. Don't get me wrong, I do like speaking to people (and would consider myself a chatterbox) and being as open as I can, but some days I feel like this switch in me has been turned off and overthinking has been turned on. It makes me so overwhelmed that my whole body feels drained out of energy.
The social aspect of our course/work was an issue in the beginning, but I feel like I learned to control my anxiety by taking things step by step (some days I push myself to be more socially active, other days I give myself a break). It still proves to be a struggle some days when I feel heavy inside, but I manage to get through it (perhaps even without people noticing). I guess knowing your weaknesses and strengths can help you manage them.
TIPS: I try to control it mentally if I can, and I have a friend I can always speak to about it (she has been experiencing the same for years) as sharing it can make it feel less heavy; she reminds me not to be too harsh with myself and take it easy when I am going through
such a period. I also have a mild-calming medication that I can take whenever I experience an 'episode' during high-stress times because of workload or something going on in my life.
2: Balancing anxiety and academics
During A-Levels, I struggled with anxiety and low mood. I found that this was mainly due to the pressure of succeeding and getting into University, as well as the added pressure of a competitive school environment. I found it hard to talk to friends as I was constantly overthinking, which often resulted in me saying nothing at all. I worked hard and yet my grades only seemed to get worse. I asked teachers for help, but they tended to spend more time helping students who were already excelling, and I was left feeling like there was no point in trying anymore and sleeping to escape from feeling down and worried. I spoke to my doctor who referred me for counselling and prescribed propranolol to help with my anxiety. My doctor thought it would be best to refrain from using antidepressants as I was close to my exams and they can often cause symptoms to worsen upon initiation. During counselling, I felt as though my counsellor was not paying enough attention to my concerns and was pushing me to say what she wanted me to hear in order to progress the programme along.
I find that when there is lots of work that takes longer to understand, it can often feel very overwhelming and almost like I am never going to be able to finish my degree.
TIPS: I would recommend writing down things you are worried about as this can often feel less overwhelming and puts things into perspective. Also, don’t be afraid to stop doing something which is making you unhappy. If you really don’t feel like doing work one day then don’t work. You will probably feel better another day and be more productive, so it is better to give yourself a break than doing something which is making you unhappy. Academic achievements mean nothing if it costs you your happiness.
3: Anxiety and isolation
As a 1st year student, I was expecting to go into my course with a positive mindset and secure support system, but this hasn't been the case. I have felt that being secluded during this pandemic has made it extremely difficult to concentrate, as well as find motivation to fully participate in online lectures. It's been especially difficult to balance my mental health with my studies as being indoors more has exacerbated my social anxiety. If this lockdown doesn't end anytime soon, I know I will become more distant with friends and ultimately set myself for further isolation.
Furthermore, I have had to deal with a number of nervous breakdowns whilst coping with uni work and facing the stress and anger of the pandemic. I'm trying to find that balance between work and social life, but the more I'm inside, the more detrimental it has been and has therefore placed a heavy mental toll on me.
The impact of this has reflected in many aspects of my life; lack of motivation, lack of concentration, not wanting to socialise, nervous breakdowns, frustration, anger, and stress.
TIPS: I would suggest to distract yourself from the media and spend time to enjoy your own company because we will not ever get this amount of time to ourselves again, so we should all try to use it well.
