Self care strategies for law students

By Abigail Wonga.

Reading time: four minutes

Ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week 2024 (13-19 May), The Student Lawyer’s D&I team have written a series of articles to educate and raise awareness about mental health.

“The only person who can pull me down is myself, and I’m not going to let myself pull me down anymore.” C. JoyBell

The aim of this article is to offer self-care strategies tailored for law students, although these strategies are applicable to individuals at various stages, both students and non-students alike.

In the legal sector, there has been an uprising of concerns regarding mental health. According to The Global Legal Post, Vanessa Ford, 47 years of age at the time of her death, was a Pinsent Masons partner who worked for 18 hours a day on a high-profile detail. Having cited in her notes a feeling of helplessness, Ford was suffering from an acute mental health crisis. Regarding Pinsent Masons’ stance, ‘’Pinsent Masons’ managing partner has pledged to seek “positive and lasting change.’’  Evidently, there needs to be greater conversations on mental health in the legal space and what can be done to help support workers in times of crisis.

From the perspective of an undergraduate student, studying a degree as rigorous as law is very overwhelming. From preliminary readings, lectures, seminars and the outside hours which are used to studying, it can feel as though there is no time for you to have by yourself. During my time at university so far, I have felt that constant feeling of having things to do. Productivity may be a great thing, however, it is not always helpful to feel the need to do something all the time.

Taking care of your mental well-being is crucial. It is understanding that you are more than just your degree, your job and anything else you deem definitive to who you are. Additionally, for any person reading who wants to seek professional help regarding their mental health, I suggest that you click on the following links:

1. NHS – Mental health services – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
2. Betterhelp UK – BetterHelp – Get Started & Sign-Up Today
3. Samaritans – Samaritans | Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy | Here to listen

Tips and techniques for managing stress

Managing stress as a student can be very difficult when you feel that you have a lot on your plate. When faced with difficult situations, it is best to leave what is causing you stress, for another day. Then consider reflecting on why you feel what you feel and how to mitigate it.

1. Meditation and prayer usually help reduce your stress levels. I suggest mobile apps such as Calmand Headspace.
2. Doing something that makes you happy – this can look like cooking, baking, ordering a takeout meal after a long day, reading or calling a friend to tell them about how you are doing.
3. If the situation continues to become more stressful, speak to someone about it, informally or formally.

Maintaining work-life balance

As someone who works part-time whilst balancing her studies, it is safe to say it can be challenging. The term work-life balance to me is all about working to live, instead of living to work. But when you feel there is not enough balance between your work and your life, what can you do?

1. Set boundaries – you are more than just your job. There will be times when you are expected to work over the time work is over, but make sure that it is not a constant thing.
2. Prioritising your health over your work – to me, this looks like reading a book on the train, going out often for walks, spending time with friends and family and myself.
3. Reducing your screen time – after work, there is a tendency to look at the internet. Unwinding consists of constant downtime for yourself, without the need to go on the internet.

Prioritising mental well-being as a student

Finally, being a student and balancing a law degree is not easy. There is a requirement for maximum effort and the need to be on top. However, it’s important to remember that you deserve to be on top, without the expense of your mental health being down. You deserve to see better days, without the expense of your mental well-being not being taken care of. You deserve to be at peace, without the expense of your anxiety taking over you and telling you otherwise.

I wish you all the best and happy Mental Health Awareness Month.