Karen, Craig, Nici, Sophie, Sam, Dan
This Web Site was programmed by Karen Miles, Welfare Committee Chair 1997-1998
Please email me with your feedback and comments, etc.
k_l_miles@yahoo.co.uk
EDITORAL
“I need to go to the doctors because my feelings got hurt”, she exclaimed, and turned around to stomp up the stairs. When I heard of Braydan’s exclamation, I was struck by how eternally wise this three-and-a-half-year old was in the midst of a confrontation with her mum. Not because I would recommend going to the doctors every time you have an argument (it would make the Health Centre the social venue at Warwick, wouldn’t it ?!), but because I felt that she touched on an issue that will concern all of us at one point or another in our lives: that we might need someone’s help to work through a personal problem, and that this is not a shame. That is what all of the Welfare services of the Union and the University are about, and this is what formed the ideological cradle for the concept behind Welfare Week.
With this event we are aiming to reduce your fear about seeking advice on any issue which matters to you. This year, we have focused on depression and stress, housing, and eating disorders and nutrition, because from the literature we could gather, these are the issues most important to you. That’s why we made this booklet. It contains fact and figures about each of the topics, as well as relevant contact numbers. More than that, a few incredibly courageous students have handed in articles to us about their experiences of depression, stress and eating disorders. All three of them moved us to tears, and all three brought us further in touch with our intentions for this week. We hope that the result of all this will do the same for you. Welcome to Welfare Week ‘98.
Loads of fluffy welfare love, Craig, Julia, Karen, Nici, Sophie, Suzie, Sam and Dan.
WHO AM I?
“Seroxat, Prozac, Focused Expressive Psychotherapy, Mental Health Resource Centre, Case File, Depression, Self-Harm, Suicide, Therapy.
Where do I start? If these words are frightening when they’re not part of your life, how would you feel if you had to eat, sleep and breathe these words? If you saw me in University my many masks would disguise who I am. Depression is not something you can see.
I’ll be the girl surrounded by a group of friends, making people laugh. I’ll be the girl with 60mg of anti-depressant drug surging through her veins to ensure I don’t burst into tears any second. I’ll be the student who enters the room confidently with a pained, squirming stomach, convinced you’re staring at how ugly and fat she is. I am the ‘pretty’ young woman cleverly avoiding all physical contact with you incase you see the deep pink scars which run from my wrist, crisis crossing my forearm.
What’s my excuse for missing last weeks lecture? I can not bring myself to admit it is because I had to see my psychologist. Why should I be granted an essay extension? It’s embarrassing to admit that I spent last night in Warwick hospital after a paracetamol overdose.
“Cheer up” you say to me, “Everything all right?” I smile and reassure you as I suppress the temptation to throw furniture across the room and scream, or sit in the corner and cry.
I am the girl who hates who she is and what she does to herself. The girl with no explanation as to why I feel so angry, so ugly, so frustrated, and so utterly hopeless. I am the person you see almost everyday, and am the last person you expect me to be.”
Stress
Before you ask - no, I don’t have any time. I don’t think I’ll ever have time again. There just is so much work to do. So sod off. IJUSTDONTHAVEANYTIME!” Sound familiar?
It’s time again to tackle the S-word. No, that’s not Sex. Stress. Now please don’t think “F*** this” (hey, hey, hey, not literally) and turn to the next page. We don’t want to play mum here by letting our maternal streaks devote a section of the week to this topic. It’s because most of us think that this is just THE most boring topic ever and continue the way we always have done. Fact is, however, that stress will affect all of us at some point, in some way. Too little of it will make you lethargic, too much of it can kill you. Seriously, this is an important issue which needs to be tackled by you. NOW!
There are 168 hours in a week. That makes 1680 hours per term. It is difficult to organise all the facets of student life into such an actually quite limited time frame. And the effects of such stress come in different “shapes and sizes”. Physically, constant fatigue or insomnia, twitches, headaches, cramps, nausea, heavy sweating, on-going digestion problems and even impotency can be signs that you are in need of some serious resting. Nail-biting and skin problems may also be symptoms. Stress has been proven to be the cause of heart attacks, and may well trigger cancer.
Emotionally, the toll you have to take when being stressed can be even greater. Your feelings towards yourself may be heavily affected. If you are frequently crying, have lost your humour, lack interest in your normally favourite activities, feel neglected or panicked for no good reason at all, then there is a problem in the way you currently tackle the effects of your lifestyle. More than that, if you find it difficult to concentrate, show true feelings or face difficult situations, then you are probably bottling up your feelings - and that’s not good at all. You need to learn to accept certain situations and characteristics about your life and yourself . That doesn’t mean that you cannot take your time with this, but ultimately you will have to. If you are given the chance to express emotions, than please give way and do this. Not that you have to do a Johnny Depp and trash the furniture. Laughter, for instance, is a terrific way of relaxing. Please don’t isolate yourself - share your feelings with other people. Talk to your friends, your family, your colleagues, your lampshade, but please, please talk. The more you pent up, the worst it will get. Promise.
Therefore the extent to which you may feel stressed can be mainly determined by how you deal with your experiences rather than these experiences unto themselves. Healthy eating, sports, sleep and having some fun are basic ways of combating stress. Time management, training in assertiveness, or even therapy are further ways you can deal with it. Training courses are offered by the Student trainers of the Students Union every term, therapy or counselling can be yours from the Counselling service in the Humanities building. Both at no cost at all. If you don’t feel that any of this would apply to you than try a hot bath, a walk in the park, partying or seeing a film, basically any action which you enjoy. The bottom line is: take time to think things over and relax. That’s certainly what the Welfare Committee is going to do once this week is over.
Depression
Depression is another effect of life next to stress which you may experience. Most of will when someone we love dies. Or when being rejected by someone. This feeling can be a problem in these situations, but usually goes away in time. It’s when it doesn’t go away that worry should set in. Then we are talking about that huge, overwhelming, overpowering, helpless and incredibly threatening feeling of despair, clinically referred to depression.
The number of celebrities which have had to deal with this illness is amazing: Lady Di, Stephen Fry, John Clese and Spike Milligan have walked this trail of tears. (That’s not to say, though, that you’ll be in company when you experience emotions related to depression).
Generally, the physical symptoms of depression are similar to those of stress. Emotional signs include feeling tearful, hopeless, withdraw from social activities, engaging in too much work, or feeling burdened by everyday tasks to the extent that you don’t want to get out of bed in the morning. It can be a reaction to disease, bereavement, overwork, or strained relationship. It could hit you as a reaction to an amalgam of all these states and cause a life crisis, or it can hit you out of the blue.
Factors causing depression may stem from previous, long gone experiences or from recent ones. Please find the courage to tackle the source of the problem, not only the symptoms.
When it does whack you over, try avoid being alone for a long period of time. As with stress, please talk your feelings through with a friend. Anyone from the University and Union welfare services will be glad to help you. Or, if you have some money to spend, any services available outside of campus circumference are an option. Again, you are not alone. We know that depression is a very personal matter, and openness and trust to talk about it can be very difficult to find, but please don’t forget that it is a medically recognised condition for which there is a variety of treatment available, from aromatherapy-bathoils, over psychotherapy to anti-depressants. You don’t have to keep on lying in the shit just because it’s warm.
And please resist the temptation to drown your sorrows. Alcohol may temporarily give you the feeling that you are on top of the world again, but in the end it won’t do you any good. Besides ruining your finances and your liver, you may end up feeling even more miserable than before (and that won’t be due to the hangover alone!).
So, after all this, the message boils down to one thing: Don’t give up. On yourself, on your life, on other people, or on the world. There are some quotes by celebrities in this booklet that you will hopefully find encouraging. So, we are looking forward to hearing your story this time next year.
True Life Story - Overcoming My Anxiety
Eating Disorders Introduction
Anorexia
Bulimia
Treatment
Compulsive Eating
Nutrition
OVERCOMING MY ANXIETY
“I can remember waking up and wanting to die. I can remember waking up and feel sick to my stomach. When the only thing keeping me from suicide, was the hope of a letter from a NHS psychologist.
I’d been bad for quite a few months. My Dad ran off with some woman from work, plunging my mother into hysterical neurosis and my younger brother into very severe depression. I had to take control and I didn’t resent it. I’ve got so many memories – comforting my Mum as she stood screaming in her underwear, walking a mile in the rain at midnight to the hospital where my brother had taken an overdose, surreal phone conversations with my Dad that I hid from my Mum.
Naturally I became stressed, but couldn’t express this at home. I became very anxious about my work, began to vomit, stopped eating and lost my appetite. A few months passed – my Mum now had no time for me due to a new boyfriend, my brother who I’d become very close to was back with his girlfriend. I was probably awful to be around when I was stressed as all my “friends” just sneered at me, labelled me a nervous wreck, stopped asking me to parties. I felt so alone. I began to vomit more. It made me feel better. I was being sick every day. My Mum took no time to understand. I was having panic attacks – waves of sheer terror, pain, isolation, leaving me sweating, shaking, desperate, heart pounding. No one understood, I was in such a terrible state. People who I thought cared were distant and told me I was cracking up. I tried everything; hypnotherapy, aromatherapy, T’ai Chi – a thousand self help books. I decided I’d spent too many painful, desperate nights with my head down the toilet and secretly went to the doctors. The doctor didn’t care – why would he? “You’re only young – enjoy yourself” he said as I left his office, tears streaming down my face.
So there I was, waiting for my psychologist’s appointment. One beautiful day the letter came. I told him everything. He looked genuinely concerned, “Gosh” he said. That sound, that “Gosh”, that did it. Finally someone was taking me seriously. He put things in perspective and gave me what I needed to carry on – he convinced me I was OK. I only saw him another two times. From then on I was determined to win.
It was the worst time of my life, feeling so ill, scared, alone. But I was determined to beat it. So I ignored all the comments and sneers about me being a nervous wreck. I forced myself to eat meals everyday until I no longer had the energy to throw them back up. I expected panic attacks – no longer feared them, and so they began to lose their horrifying intensity. And little by little I got myself better.
Of course I had relapses. Wonderful panic free days would be ended by vomiting and sobbing and despair. But I accepted this was all part of getting better. I did it all alone, I had to. And in amongst all this I managed to pass my A-levels and get a place at Warwick. It was just what I needed.
No one in my flat knew anything about me, I could be who I wanted. And although I’ll never be Miss Relaxed, I’m calm, happy and in control of my life. So I just want to share this with anyone else who needs inspiration and proof that you can get over these things. Never be ashamed of your feelings, or to ask for mental help if you need it. But only you can do it. You have to fight. But if you’re still here, it means even a tiny bit of you thinks life is worth living. Remember its not the falling down that makes you weak, it’s the staying down.”
Eating Disorders Introduction
Lady Di had one. That Swedish princess has one. Polly Jean Harvey is rumoured to have suffered from one. An eating disorder.
We all have to eat because we need to and because it is enjoyable. But there are people who will go to extremes and harm themselves by eating too much or too little. It was only late last year that a girl died of anorexia following her sibling to the grave because they both felt they had to starve themselves in order to be attractive. Here are some facts about the two most well known eating disorders; anorexia and bulimia.
Anoerexia usually starts in the mid-teens and affects 1 fifteen-year-old girl in every 150.
Bulimia affects 3 out of every 100 women in their early to mid-twenties.
Anorexia
This clinical term describes the act of starving oneself. Reasons why a person would go this far can include a very low self-esteem and extremely high expectations. Anorexics are focused on controlling themselves in everything they do. They mistake this trait for a feeling of empowerment and control - of selfworth. Hence anorexics are overly concerned with their success and the way they are perceived by others.
Statistics show that such excessive dieting is mostly found among adolescent girls. The Senior Tutor and Counselling Service at Warwick recite eating disorders within the top ten reasons for students seeing them. It is very important that if you feel that a friend of yours might have this problem you get in touch with someone who can help. The same goes for Bulimia.
| Broken sleep | DEATH |
| Feeling the cold | Depression |
| Brittle bones | Constipation |
Bulimia
Someone who first overeats, then forces her or himself to throw up is bulimic. This behaviour of bingeing and than ridding oneself of food evolves into an obsessive cycle which fills one with guilt and shame. But to a bulimic, this circle seems impossible to break.
Reasons for becoming bulimic are similar to those of anorexia. Low self-esteem, especially the feeling of being excluded from social groups, linked with unrealistic expectations to induce an oppressive fear of not being able to handle the ups and downs of life. Therefore, bulimics very often want to be part of the crowd, but feel that they will not be accepted. Hence, they keep their behaviour hidden from others, i.e. eat and throw up at times and in places where it is unlikely that other people will be around. And because they do not lose weight in such a way as that an outsider could suspect a problem, it absolutely vital that you contact a professional if you fear that a friend may be in danger. Bulimia, as opposed to Anorexia, rarely leads to death, but will cause serious permanent health damage. So please don’t ignore it and its causes:
| Muscle weakness | Irregular heartbeats |
| Epileptic fits | Kidney damage |
| Persistent tummy pain | Swollen fingers |
Treatment
There is no one way of offering help to sufferers of eating disorders. In order for anorexics to recover they must first of all come to accept and begin to like themselves. They must learn gradually to accept their failures and weaknesses and perceive them, along with their strengths, as being the necessary balance for a happy life. Under extreme circumstances the individual may be admitted to hospital, though this alone does not solve the problem. Forcing an anorexic to eat and gain weight may temporarily meet the person’s physical needs but will not form the basis of a long term recovery. Only by treating the underlying problems can the anorexic be helped; emphasis on weight alone will only result in a relapse.
Unlike anorexics, most bulimics recognise their eating disorder and desperately want help. However, their conflicting desires about allowing themselves to take in anything good can make it difficult to receive help. Self-help programmes combined with counselling support may prove successful. “Normal-eating” may also need to be relearned.
“I was brought up in a fairly strict Christian family. I was nine when I decided that I wanted to be a Christian too. When I was fourteen, my eighteen-year-old sister became pregnant. My parents wouldn’t let me tell anyone about the pregnancy. I was told that it wasn’t my problem and I should work for my GCSEs and not think about it. Dad didn’t talk to me about it and Mum would stop me talking if I started to cry, telling me to go and wash my face and come back when I’d stopped crying.
It was round this time that I started using food to comfort me. It wasn’t a conscious decision. But food, especially chocolate, is all-accepting, all-loving, all-caring in a way that people aren’t. It’s always there for you when people aren’t.
My Mum noticed how much chocolate and cakes I was having and began to have a go at me about it. She kept telling me I’d get fat. She even told other people when I was around that I ate too much and I’d end up really fat. I became paranoid and was terrified of being overweight. I started to starve myself and got upset if I weighed eight stone or more. When I felt in control of my life I’d go without food. When things seemed out of control there didn’t seem much point in keeping my weight down and I’d binge on as much food, sugar, chocolate, cakes and biscuits as I could. To avoid discovery I became quite deceptive about how much I ate and would eat a little from each packet so no one noticed. The more my Mum told me off for eating junk, the more deceptive I became. By the time I finished A-levels I knew I had a huge problem.
For my year out I worked with a Christian group in London. The commuting to and from central London was a huge strain, and I found myself exhausted and isolated. Even worse, the working materials were chauvinistic and homophobic. I took this all out on myself. It was my fault for being a girl and my fault for not being able to cope. I hated myself and punished myself through abusive eating. I’d force myself to eat all the sweet and fattening food I could find until I was bent double with stomach-ache and feeling like I’d throw up. Then I’d feel guilty for eating so much junk and starve myself for a day or two. The more I went without eating, the more inner strength and power I felt. I got an adrenaline rush from the hunger pangs.
One day I found a book on eating disorders containing a testimony by a girl who had compulsive eating. For the first time I realised there was someone else with the same problem. I found out that I’d had a similar upbringing to other sufferers; strict parents, dominant mother, fear of sexuality (because of my sister), etc. But instead of helping me, this caused me to blame my family for the disorder.
My destructive eating got worse. I hated myself for the way I was abusing my body, and punished myself by even more abusive eating. Eventually I had gone through enough and decided to commit suicide. I wrote a letter to my best friend telling her why I was going to kill myself. Then I got out all the tablets I could find. All the time I felt incredibly close to God. I believed Jesus died to take all the punishment for all the wrong I’d done. How could I hate myself if it was really true that God loved me? I was so confused. I sat and cried for what seemed like a lifetime. Eventually I put the tablets away and went to bed.
I quit my job the next day. I couldn’t stand Christians anymore - I left church and youth group. I began searching for an identity – using clothes, friendship groups, meditation, anything really. I didn’t have a clue who I was anymore. My whole life revolved around food and starvation. I finally got the courage to tell my Mum that I had an eating disorder. She told me that she didn’t believe me. I was devastated by this when I desperately needed her help. I didn’t tell anyone else and the pain built up inside me. Sometimes the emotional pain was so strong that it physically hurt. I wanted to slash myself to let the pain escape out of me. The pressure, combined with lack of food, left my body so numbed that I sometimes wondered if I was still alive.
One night I binged so badly that I tried to make myself sick afterwards. But I couldn’t throw up. I went through so much emotional turmoil that night. Kneeling down by the toilet, locked in the room, coughing and crying, I was so ashamed of myself. I can’t put into words how awful, how humiliated, and how low you feel as you stare at your reflection down the toilet, thinking of the vomit you’re trying to bring up. I was totally aware of what I was doing and hated myself for it. I didn’t dare tell anyone afterwards.
I started work as a volunteer for a charity. I spent time with a bloke I fancied there and I realised that the feelings were mutual. I was ecstatic and began to like myself more because he liked me. But he couldn’t understand why I prayed or wanted to know God. I realised that I couldn’t go out with him and grow close to God. I decided to stick with God – I’d been through so much with God that I couldn’t abandon Him.
I went back to church to get some moral support over my decision. I told a friend from church about the disorder. She persuaded me to go to my doctor, and came with me to the surgery. By now I was fed up of the disorder, but I still wanted it. It gave me an identity and made me feel different and special. The doctor told me I’d probably screwed up my blood sugar and insulin levels through how I’d been eating. I was sent for a blood test.
That week I got so scared waiting for the results. I couldn’t believe that I could really have done that much long-term damage. I had nightmares about insulin injections. The next week I saw a specialist who had my results. To her amazement my blood-sugar levels were perfect. Talking with the specialist, I realised that the problem wasn’t so much the food as the reasons behind it – the pressure from parents, rejection by my sister, and a huge self-esteem problem. The breakthrough came when my Mum believed me and let me cry in front of her. She was really shocked when she found out I’d nearly killed myself and she told me how much she loved me and needed me. I felt ready to come to terms with how I’d treated myself.
There’s this unspoken rule in the world that you can do whatever you want in life as long as you don’t hurt anyone else. That’s a lie. Hurting yourself is something you know is wrong but you can’t explain why.
Things have got so much better now. There are times when I lapse into compulsive eating, but they are only lapses. I’ve found a wonderful boyfriend who’s put up with a lot from me. I’ve had hang-ups from my sister’s relationship which I’ve taken out on him. But I’m glad I didn’t meet him until the worst of my disorder was over. I want to move on in life and never go back.”
Nutrition
For most students, life here at Uni is so absorbing that it’s difficult to find time to cook. Yes, we know, you’ve heard it all before, especially from your mum, but the truth nevertheless is that no matter how much you love and cherish your new-found freedom, a good diet is important.
It will ultimately make you more successful in dealing with all the stresses and joys of your time here. Good food will refuel your energy, concentration, strength, and attractiveness.
Fat, sugar and alcohol are not exactly three categories unto themselves, so don’t even try to quiet your guilty conscience by thinking that that bag of crisps or the entire bottle of wine are ok because crisps are made of potatoes and wine’s made of grapes. That wont do! It can’t be that hard to buy an apple instead of a chocolate bar when you track down to Londis (it’s cheaper, too!).
If you are really sporty (and that’s not as in Spice), your nutritional demands differ from those of us who generally only exercise their arm muscles and liver (oh - never mind Wednesday nights then?!). Seriously, sport places a much heavier demand on your energy than you might think. Firstly, you need food which provides and replenishes your body with all the energy you have lost. Best sources of this are complex carbohydrates. Eating something less than an hour before exercise can lead to stomach cramps. Dehydration is a danger too. You must drink LOTS during and after exercise - we mean water (oh, God, Wednesday nights really are a curse here) or one of the many ‘isotonic drinks’ on the market. These speedy-gonzaleses of replenishment provide you with a two-in-one instead of three-course meal of fluids and carbohydrates after you have done lots of sports because their sugar concentration is similar to that of your blood sugar. And don’t wait until you’re thirsty, that only means that you are already dehydrated to an unhealthy degree. Happy exercising, and do check out the National Coaching Foundation Study Book at our stalls and next week’s Sports Week!
True Life Story
Housing Introduction
Where Can You Live?
Campus Accommodation
PLU Houses
Private Sector Accommodation
Housing Introduction
This section is for all students who will be looking for somewhere to live next year. It contains the answers to questions like: “Where? How much? When? and How?”
On Wednesday of week 2 there will be a meeting in the Staff Club Quiet Room (opposite the Panoma Room) 18:00-19:00 with speakers from Advice and Welfare and the Accommodation Office, providing the opportunity to ask questions and have contand have contsehuracts checked. Similar events will be held at the same location 14:00-16:00 on Wednesday of weeks 1 and 3.
The Accommodation Office in Senate House and Advice and Welfare Services in the Union can provide you with further information to help you find a suitable place to live. The Advice and Welfare Guide To Househunting is useful because it provides maps and contact addresses which are not included here and another angle on the information that is here. At Advice and Welfare you can also make an appointment to talk to a friendly expert!
Where Can You Live?
Current first years will have to live off campus next year (except those who have medical grounds for exemption). Their choice is between renting a house through the private sector, or entering the university’s property leasing unit (PLU) ballot.
Current second years have these options as well as a chance of returning to halls on campus (also decided by a ballot).
Current third years are guaranteed a place on campus in their final (fourth) year, but they must still apply. This right does not prevent application to the PLU ballot. International students and those returning from a year abroad are also guaranteed places on campus if they apply.
Returning postgraduates can take advantage of the University’s flat-share scheme to help them find off-campus housing. Application forms are available from the Accommodation Office and should be returned by the end of June. Postgraduates may also enter the PLU ballot if they wish.
It is worth noting that the results of the ballot for campus accommodation are announced before the deadline for applications to the PLU ballot, so it is possible to enter both.
Campus Accommodation
The application forms to live on campus are available from the beginning of the Spring term from the Accommodation Office (Senate House). These must be returned by Friday 16 January 1998 and the ballot results will be announced Wednesday 21 January 1998 on the Arts Centre notice board.
The limited number of rooms on campus means that at the beginning of the year, some people (primarily third years) have to double up (only if they express their willingness to do so) at Westwood until further rooms become available (which can include individual rooms on Westwood). The incentive to temporarily double up is priority in the ballot. For instance, last year there were approximately 280 places available through the ballot. Approximately 1,500 of people applied. Of these, 190 expressed a willingness to share, all of them were offered rooms, but in fact only 60 were required to share.
Third year campus accommodation is arranged into flats of 5, 6 or 12. You can apply individually or in a group smaller than or equal to the maximum for the particular accommodation you are interested in.
PLU Houses
Application forms are available from the Accommodation Office in Senate House. These must be returned by Friday 30 January 1998 and the ballot results will be announced Tuesday 3 February 1998 on the Arts Centre notice board. You may apply even if you were unsuccessful in the campus ballot.
There are separate ballots for all groups of 2,3,4,5 and 6. When you apply you give the names of the students with whom you wish to share and select one person as group leader. Last year there was limited accommodation available for single applicants - note that this was not in the form of self-contained units, but shared accommodation. Unusually, there were also two houses for groups of 8.
The most vacancies are for groups of 4, with houses for 3 and 5 people being the next most common. As you can see from the table, people actually apply in larger groups than would be preferable when the sizes of the houses available are considered.
| Size of house | No. of houses available | Number of groups applying |
|---|---|---|
| (no. of people) | (5/11/97) | (last ballot) |
| 2 | 42 | 48 |
| 3 | 61 | 80 |
| 4 | 186 | 167 |
| 5 | 55 | 141 |
| 6 | 28 | 58 |
If you are successful in the ballot you will be invited to Senate House to look at the details of the remaining houses for your group size. You then choose one to look at, arrange with the current occupants when to view it, and let the Accommodation Office know within 24 hours if you would like to take it.
Unfortunately, if you decide not to take the house, or were unsuccessful in the ballot, you must wait until the “free for all” starts on Monday 16 February 1998. This involves a first come first served procedure for allocating the remaining houses and any newly acquired ones. Please note that new houses are constantly added to the list - so keep checking!
Prices range from £32 - £39 per week (plus bills), with most being in the middle of the range. There is no summer retainer.
Private Sector Accommodation
There are also nice houses to be found in the private sector, so don’t despair if you miss out in the PLU ballot or prefer to go it alone. However, every year a significant number of students feel pressured into signing contracts for “less desirable” accommodation. This needn’t be the case as houses are always becoming available, right up to the start of term however some landlords may tell you otherwise to panic you into having a poor house. Don’t take their word for it, shop around until you find a house you are happy with.
Two advantages of looking privately for housing are that there aren’t many PLU houses in Leamington (due to the Accommodation Office facing greater competition from private landlords than in Coventry), and South Leamington in particular has a number of houses for large groups which are not well catered for in the PLU ballot (but note that many large houses are in poor condition due to their age).
Prices range from £35 - £45 per week (plus bills) and you will probably have to pay an extra months’ rent as a retainer over the summer.
HELP
All helplines are completely confidential,
MENTAL HEALTH
Depression Alliance
MIND
HOUSING
Carbon Monoxide & Gas Safety Society
Health & Safety Executive's Gas Safety Advice Line
EATING DISORDERS
Anorexia & Bulimia Anonymous
Eating Disorders Association
Anorexia and bulimia nervosa are both potentially life-threatening illnesses with profound psychological and medical implications. People with eating disorders become trapped in a cycle of behaviour which uses food as a way of controlling their lives and expressing their despair. They become obsessed with food and weight control; ashamed to tell their family and friends; anxious, lonely, depressed, and often suicidal. The Eating Disorders Association provides help and support for all those concerned through telephone helplines, a youth helpline, information, membership, a self-help programme for women with bulimia nervosa, a network of self-help groups, service specifications for treatment of anorexia and bulimia nervosa, training for school nurses and research.
National Anorexia Helpline
Overeaters Anonymous
OTHER
Advice and Welfare
Nightline
Samaritans
University Counsellors
they'll listen to you and can suggest other ways of getting help if you want it.
0171 6330557
01203 552847
0345 660163
01372 466135
0800 300363
0181 7483994
First Floor, Wensum House, 103 Prince of Wales Road, Norwich, NR1 1DW
Admin: 01603 619090 Helpline: 01603 621414 Recorded Message: 0891 615466
Calls cost 50p per minute
Fax : 01603-664-915
Registered Charity No : 801343
0181 5586102
0161 4985505
Students' Union
01203 417220 Ext 173
P Block, Rootes
01203 417668 (internal 22199)
0345 909090
Humanities Building Room 021
01203 523761
...and everyone else who has been involved.
Karen, Craig, Nici, Sophie, Sam, Dan
This Web Site was programmed by Karen Miles, Welfare Committee Chair 1997-1998
Please email me with your feedback and comments, etc.
k_l_miles@yahoo.co.uk