HEALTH & WELLBEING
Health
All TiL students (full year and semester) have access to International SOS, who will help you to find a doctor, consultant or prescription. Download the InternationalSOS app and always carry your International SOS details with you, as they will provide emergency support anywhere in Europe.
Full-year students are eligible for NHS (National Health Service) treatment in the UK; semester students are not eligible for NHS treatment other than emergency services (if you are sent to A&E). If you have a medical problem and are not sure what to do you can contact the NHS by calling 111 or going online to 111.nhs.uk for advice. Pharmacists can also be helpful in suggesting what to take for minor illness.
Mental Wellbeing
We consider mental well-being to mean more than an absence of mental illness; it is about having the skills to foster happiness even when confronted with challenges.
Mental Health — and especially student mental health — is a common discussion in the UK and there is now virtually no stigma attached to discussing it openly, as you’ll find when you are here. There is a national charity, Student Minds, dedicated to student mental health, and each UK university has dedicated services and support.
Download our Wellbeing Basics sheet, which will help you plan how to maintain good mental health. It includes strategies such as connecting with others, thinking about your own triggers, and recognising warning signs and should serve as a starting point for your own reflection on what you need to be mentally well and what to look out for in your own feelings and behaviour.
London in a Hundred Words
London in a Hundred Words is a new project inspired by talking to previous students about their London journals. This series of three journaling workshops helps you start thinking about the cultural differences and changes you'll experience while you're studying abroad here in London. Regular reflective journaling is shown to help people adjust to new cultures, making it easier to feel at home. Keeping a journal is a great way to plan your time here, supports your mental wellbeing, and your completed journal will be an amazing souvenir of your study abroad experience. Get in touch to sign up!
Resources
As well as UK University resources, here's a small selection of the many apps and websites to help with mental health and wellbeing. The process of looking for techniques and strategies to help you is part of being proactive about your own mental wellbeing so don't rely on our recommendations alone — you’ll know best what works for you.
Websites
Student Minds https://www.studentminds.org.uk Website with resources, training, and 24h support
The Charlie Waller Foundation https://charliewaller.org info and strategies to support mental health
Apps
Three Good Things - a happiness journal
Headspace - meditation and mindfulness
Mindshift - free evidence-based anxiety relief
NHS Student Health App - get information about common health questions to alleviate health anxiety
ISOS
In addition to physical health resources, ISOS provides in person and phone counselling.
International SOS US +1 215 942 8478ISOS
Member number 11BCPS000093
