Britain's most anxious university cities
Generation Z are often derided as snowflakes, lazy and unsuited for the workforce. Too concerned about their mental health, unable or unwilling to put the hard yards in, doing 'Mickey Mouse' degrees.
But there is an undeniable mental health crisis among the young which is driving higher benefits claims, especially in university cities.
There has been a huge jump in the number of young people claiming benefits for mental health. More than one in 20 people aged 16 to 30 are claiming disability benefits for mental health issues, according to Telegraph analysis of Department for Work and Pensions data.
This is particularly the case in Liverpool, Nottingham, Bristol and Leeds – all cities with big university populations.
Almost a fifth of students reported a mental health difficulty in 2024, according to research by King's College London and TASO – the equivalent of 300,000 nationwide. The rate has tripled in the last seven years.
Why has there been such a jump in young people claiming mental health benefits, especially in student cities?
Claiming Pips at university
Anyone over the age of 16 can claim personal independence payments (Pips) – regardless of their employment status – if they have a long-term condition which negatively affects their everyday life. This includes students.
The constituencies where anxiety and depression claims are proportionally largest typically have large student populations. The 50 places with the highest proportion of claims for anxiety and depression have a student population of 10.1pc. This is compared to a national average of 6.3pc.
In two constituencies in Liverpool, which is home to three universities and 60,000 students, claims for anxiety and depression make up more than 16.3pc of claims.
In Nottingham East, which has a student population of more than 21pc, mental health makes up 17.2pc of Pip claims – the second highest proportion of any English constituency.
In Bristol, which has a 27pc student population in its centre, joint anxiety and depression claims make up 16.3pc of total claims. And in Leeds Central and Headingley, which has a student population of nearly 40pc, the proportion of anxiety and depression claims is 16pc.
This is part of a larger trend of young people claiming benefits for mental health.
Three quarters of the 576,000 claims for disability living allowance and Pips for those aged between 16 and 30 are for psychological disorders, including anxiety, learning disabilities and ADHD. This figure is equivalent to 4.4pc of the population in England, up from 2.5pc in 2019 and just 1.1pc two decades ago.
Overall, 5.8pc of young adults are entitled to claim disability benefits – a figure that has risen more than threefold since the early-2000s.
Nicola Frampton, of mental health charity Student Minds, says: 'If students are increasingly claiming Pips for mental health reasons, it is likely a reflection of the growing numbers of students experiencing mental ill-health at university, which is commonly compounded by the impacts of financial hardship and the cost of living crisis.'
Increasing dependence on technology may be making the problem worse. Around two million young Britons have self-diagnosed their mental health conditions, according to a report from insurer AXA Health, with many relying on medical advice from social media sites such as TikTok.
The university bottleneck
One of the reasons for these high rates of mental health disability claimants is because a lack of support in childhood puts more pressure on in-house university mental health services.
Mental health services for children are notoriously patchy. In March 2024, there were 270,000 children on mental health waiting lists, according to the Children's Commissioner.
The difficulty in accessing formal support for children means that for many students, university is the first time they can easily get help.
Elaine Hughes, a disability inclusion expert, says: 'I do think societal pressure, social media and the lack of mental health support access at a younger age to address these issues causes it to become more apparent and thus leads to a breakdown at university and contribution to a rise in claims.
'Then they mask to get to university and become overwhelmed and burnt out, which leads to a mental health diagnosis, usually after hospitalisation. Then, they claim Pips as a result.'
Signposting benefits
Some universities, including Bristol, advise students online that they could be eligible to claim, saying: 'Pips can help with extra living costs', if you have a long-term condition and struggle day-to-day.
Anglia Ruskin University, in Cambridge, has published a comprehensive document outlining how students struggling with disabilities, including poor mental health, can claim various benefits including Pips.
Other institutions offer financial support to students seeking diagnoses. Students at the University of Liverpool can apply for a one-off payment of £350 to help cover the testing costs.
Young people also turn to social media for information and support, where they are bombarded with mental health 'influencers' who advise them of the benefits they could be eligible to claim.
Yasmin Shaheen-Zaffar, a therapist who trained at the University of Bradford between 2019 and 2020, says that students came to see her mainly about anxiety, depression and money troubles.
'Mostly it's anxiety, depression, and worry around finance,' she says.
Alcohol and drug cultures of individual universities could also be contributing to poor mental health, she adds.
'It's almost like no one wants to talk about it or no one wants to admit it. Weed has got stronger, with whatever they're mixing, and there's lots of new drugs as well.'
University counselling is often only for four or six sessions, so therapists are encouraged to make onward referrals for students who needed more support. But Shaheen-Zaffar says she was never in a position to recommend that students apply for disability benefits, including Pip.
While many students value the university services, some say that they had bad experiences – and were therefore more likely to seek alternative help.
Young people are still reeling from the pandemic
Much of the increase in reported mental health problems can be attributed to the Covid pandemic. Even though five years have passed, the nation's youth are scarred by successive lockdowns – with students hit particularly hard.
A University of Oxford study found that those who lived through the pandemic were more likely to suffer from 'increased depression, social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and worsening general mental well-being'.
Some 74pc of students reported that the pandemic had a negative impact on their mental health and wellbeing at university, according to StudentMinds, with two thirds of respondents saying they have 'often felt isolated or lonely since March 2020'.
Many of those pupils – who saw their social development derailed over the course of two years – will now be at university.
'The pandemic had a really big impact in lots of ways,' says Hannah Salton, who was a career adviser at Imperial College.
'It impacted students' learning as well as the social element. Those complications have been reflected in mental health challenges.'
The lockdowns 'really impacted people's social lives', she adds, leaving graduates without the social skills to connect with others.
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Daily Mail
8 hours ago
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Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
My ADHD diagnosis at 34 was ‘clear as hell' – here's how I've silenced the caffeinated squirrels rioting in my brain
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I'VE always known, deep down, that I was different. This began during my school days, when I'd copy my classmates' mannerisms and tone of voice just to fit in. I altered who I was to appear likeable to others, because I didn't understand who I was. This carried on into secondary school where, as a fellow student so sensitively put it, I 'could have been one of the cool kids if I wasn't so weird'. I have vivid memories from this period of when teachers would ask me questions that I didn't know the answer to, and the stress would lead to full-blown anxiety attacks. My palms would get all sweaty, my face would go bright red and my heart rate would shoot right up. In a panic, I would rush out of the classroom. I remember one day I found someone in the corridor and told them to call an ambulance because I thought I was having a heart attack. At the time, aged 15, I was misdiagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder (excessive, uncontrollable worry about everyday situations). 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My anxiety had, temporarily, disappeared. 6 Alex describes his ADHD as like having '10 highly-caffeinated squirrels running about' in his brain Credit: Andrew Mason 6 He is the host of the podcast ADHD Chatter and author of the book Now It All Makes Sense Credit: Luke Hamlin For various reasons, such as rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) – an extreme emotional reaction I feel to real or perceived rejection - that accompanies my ADHD, I've always been terrified of confrontation. So much so, that my coping mechanism for effectively having my life's work snatched from me was not to confront those responsible, but rather to bury my head in the sand and drink myself to sleep every night. After my mum found 23 empty bottles of wine concealed under my bed, we finally arranged to speak to a lawyer, who told me: 'You will win this case over ownership of the company if you choose to fight it in court. You will, however, have to give evidence in the witness box.' My mind immediately flashed to the opposing lawyer saying: 'Alex, do you know the answer to this question?' And I panicked, remembering the little version of me sitting in the classroom all those years ago. I abruptly stood up and left the lawyer's office, bought a bottle of vodka, and woke up in hospital 12 hours later with a nurse looking over me, saying the sobering words you see above. Much of the next year was characterised by the court battle, which was an unbelievably stressful time. During the trial, I was cross-examined in the witness box for five days, during which I had to excuse myself several times to 'use the loo' – when in reality, I was doing breathing exercises to divert a panic attack. A further three months passed before my lawyer phoned me. He said: 'Alex, are you on your own?' 'Yes,' I said. There was a pause. 'You've won everything.' I broke down crying – one of the biggest legal, and mental health, or battles of my life, and I'd come through it. 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For many, a diagnosis can be a relief, but also unravel mixed emotions and feelings of 'being different'. ADHD UK has information on considering diagnostic pathways and can offer support. UNILAD went into administration in 2018, then was bought by the same company that had earlier bought LADBible for an undisclosed amount. Reports suggest the brand was valued at up to £40million. My celebrations included a trip to Las Vegas, a new tattoo (that I had no memory of getting in the first place) becoming infected, and another hospital visit. But in 2018, I managed to kick the alcohol habit for good. I attended my first Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting where I said the most important sentence I'd ever uttered. 'My name is Alex and I'm an alcoholic.' I've been sober ever since, which is among the best decisions I've ever made. I'm now 36, living in Brighton, and I can confidently say that quitting booze has enabled me to take back control of my ADHD, suffocate the negatives - and allow the positives to thrive. Alex Partridge is the founder of LADbible and UNILAD and the host of the ADHD Chatter podcast. His book Now It All Makes Sense: How An ADHD Diagnosis Brought Clarity To My Life (Sheldon Press, £16.99) is out now.
Metro
a day ago
- Metro
I didn't realise my food addiction was a symptom of ADHD
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I could munch my way through a large pizza, curly fries, then chase that with eight pancakes and chocolate sauce. I knew I needed to do something drastic to take control over my obsessive thoughts about food, so in May 2023, I flew to Turkey for gastric sleeve surgery. I hoped it would create a physical barrier to stop me overeating, because my mind had no barrier. On the day of my operation, I weighed 23st 6lbs and was a dress size 26-28. The sleeve removed 85% of my stomach, so there just wasn't enough room to eat the volume of food I'd been used to. I soon learned that if I overate, I was sick. Over the following year, I lost an incredible 12st. Most people would have been over the moon to slide into a pair of size 10 jeans, but I realised I wasn't any happier. Without the constant distraction of planning my next meal 24/7, other worries crowded in. As I turned down the volume on food noise, all my other thoughts were amplified. I was flooded by anxieties and obsessions. I was thinking a thousand things at once, from my plans in the next few days to work, family, and chores. Even the simplest household tasks, like hanging the washing out, became overwhelming. I had brain fog, was forgetful, and felt exhausted because my mind was never quiet. I struggled to pay attention to Dan, missed appointments, overslept, and found decision-making impossible. I was constantly online shopping too; anything to occupy my thoughts. I knew I needed help addressing this, so in November 2023, I saw my GP, and after an initial assessment, I was referred to a psychologist, who diagnosed me with ADHD in May 2024. I discovered that in some cases, ADHD can be linked to dopamine deficiency, meaning that people with the condition can obsess over things that give them a short-term high. For me, that had always been the buzz when I ate – until the gastric sleeve killed my appetite. Receiving the diagnosis gave me a massive sense of relief. I stopped criticising myself because I finally had a reason for why I am the way I am. I was started on a type of medication called Atomoxetine, which works by increasing a brain chemical called noradrenaline, which helps improve concentration and controls impulsive thoughts. My erratic mind calmed within a few days, and I was able to be more present for Esmae and Dan. I work night shifts as a healthcare support worker in an NHS hospital, and before my diagnosis, I couldn't get through a shift without 10 cups of coffee. At home, a basketful of washing could literally send me into meltdown, hyperventilating and unable to start the task without Dan's help. Now when I step out of my front door, I don't feel overwhelmed by all the thoughts crashing around inside my head. I feel like I'm seeing life through different eyes. I only have four cups of coffee per shift at the hospital, and I can tackle my laundry without feeling overwhelmed. I know there have been a lot of mixed opinions expressed on the number of adults receiving an ADHD diagnosis – but for me, it's been life-changing. Weight loss surgery was just the beginning of my journey of self-discovery. Now my mental, physical, and emotional health have all changed for the better. Looking back, I can see that a lifetime of undiagnosed ADHD led to my emotional eating spiral. Once you can no longer self-medicate with food, you have to look at what's going on up in that brain. More Trending Overweight people are often stigmatised 'for just being fat and lazy', but there are all kinds of different reasons why people develop negative relationships with food. I feel like life would have been a lot brighter if I'd been diagnosed at a younger age. I would have been kinder to myself and more accepting. Now I feel like I'm able to move forward to my next chapter at peace with myself. View More » As told to Jade Beecroft Do you have a story you'd like to share? 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