Podcast #14: Alcohol and substance use

It will probably come as no surprise that drinking and drug culture is a huge problem for students. Leaving home and gaining independence is a very exciting time for any student but this can come with its own problems and struggles, one of the main ones being the pressure to drink and use substances. This is considered to be a big part of the ‘university experience’ and can have many damaging effects on students’ mental health. A survey that involved undergraduates from seven universities in the UK found that 41% were classified as hazardous drinkers and one in five were likely to have a diagnosable alcohol use disorder (1). Drug use is also very prevalent with 2 in 5 students being drug users- the most common substances used include cannabis, ecstasy, nitrous oxide and cocaine (2). In this podcast, the MindMate Ambassador team and Jen from Forward Leeds discuss the impact of this on young people’s mental health and also touch on the legalisation of substances debate. Forwards Leeds is an organisation that supports young people with their alcohol and substance issues by providing a number of different treatments such as one-to-one support, group therapy, health and wellbeing checks, etc. To find out more, you can go to www.forwardleeds.co.uk/

Useful resources:
www.decidethenight.com/
www.talktofrank.com/
www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/alcohol
www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-b…ction-getting-help/

For more information and support in Leeds for young people go to MindMate / drugs and alcohol