Mental health and money: where to find support

9 March 2023

Close-up of a someone's hand pressing a button on a cash machine with screen visible

From groceries to utility bills, the cost of everyday living has risen steeply over the past year. Many students are understandably feeling concerned about money.

This Uni Mental Health Day, we’re sharing some advice from Togetherall - the confidential online mental health and wellbeing community that all Oxford Brookes students can access for free - on how to look after your mental health when you’re worried about money.

We’ve also signposted the resources Brookes makes available to help support students.

How can we look after our mental health when we’re worried about money?

In its recent blog post on money and mental health, the Togetherall team explores how money worries can impact other areas of our lives, including sleep, physical health and self-esteem, and offers advice on what to do if you’re experiencing this.

Togetherall recommends seeking help where you can - from other people, expert organisations or via self-help resources - and making time to prioritise your physical and mental health.

“Be kind to yourself and make self-care a priority. Even if it involves taking five minutes to take a walk and temporarily remove yourself from the situation, doing something that is going to positively impact your mental health can help break the cycle of negativity caused by financial worries.”

Togetherall

You can discover some free activities to improve your wellbeing in our Student News article.

Join the hundreds of Brookes students who have already registered with their Brookes email address on Togetherall for free-to-access mental health support. Togetherall can help if you’re worried about your finances, or anything else to do with university life, and you can receive advice from people in the Togetherall community who have been through the same things.

More information

Emotional and wellbeing support

Student Support Services

If money worries are affecting your mood, concentration or any other aspect of your mental health and wellbeing at university, then our Student Support Services are the best point of contact in the first instance. They can help you find the right place to receive support based on your specific needs and circumstances.

You may be directed to the Student Welfare and Support Advice Team, which offers short-term emotional and practical support (including signposting to other services) to students going through a particularly difficult time. The aim is to enable you to find ways of managing the situation and moving forward.

The Brookes Counselling Service, meanwhile, offers a wide range of free support such as workshops, individual counselling and a host of mental health resources (including self-help resources). Increased capacity and improved processes mean that average waiting times are short: the vast majority of low-risk students are able to access the Counselling Service via a triage telephone call within a week of returning assessment forms.

Across Brookes, a network of Student Support Coordinators (known as SSCs) are here to support you and can help with any problem or issue you may face during your time at university. Everyone can feel a little overwhelmed at times, but there is lots of support available and SSCs can help you find it.

Other sources of support

Members of the Multifaith Chaplaincy team offer all Brookes students a safe space to talk, in confidence, about anything that might be troubling them. Chaplaincy staff are always happy to lend an ear and can direct students to other sources of support.

Brookes Union Advice is a free, confidential service that is independent of the University and open to all Brookes students. Its team of trained advisors can help with a range of issues, including student finance.

Make sure to ask for help from one of the resources listed above if you’re worried about money and it’s affecting your mental health or wellbeing.

Practical support

University Financial Aid

The main purpose of University Financial Aid is to relieve financial difficulties that might affect a student’s participation at Brookes and to help them remain at the University. Find out more on the Financial Aid webpages or join the team’s Zoom room from 1.00-2.00pm on Wednesdays to speak to an adviser.

Managing your money

If you’re looking for practical advice on how to manage your finances, our support and wellbeing webpages include lots of handy tips on how to make your money go further - from lists of offers and discounts to recommendations of budgeting apps.

General advice

The Student Central Advice Team can help with a wide range of queries about your course or programme, as well as providing information on everything from council tax exemptions to award verification.