Starting university with long term pain or fatigue? 10 tips to help

If you are about to start or return to university or college this term, check out our 10 tips to help.

1. Know that you are not on your own

Research conducted by the University of Bristol (Collin and Cawley, 2016) shows that one in 50 16-year-olds have experienced significant, long term fatigue (more than 6 months).  Add to this the numbers of young people with other long term pain and medical conditions and we can see that the struggles of continuing education with a chronic illness are more common place than we might at first think.

Check out your uni’s policies about support for long term health conditions. Do they reference pain or fatigue conditions?

2. Be clear about your needs

Request accommodation close to where you'll be studying, this will conserve precious energy - especially when you have to get up for a 9am lecture.  Inform your university about your illness so they can advise you of the protocol for any extensions or extra help that you may need. If your course includes placements, some reasonable adjustments around working hours, rest breaks and travel can make all the difference.

Think about formal disclosure of your health issues to your university in order to unlock additional support and resources if your fatigue/pain significantly affects your ability to access learning. Long term pain/fatigue is considered a disability and is protected against discrimination by law. Check out your eligibility for Disabled Students Allowance .

Disability Rights UK offers further information and support through its student helpline, which you can email or call on 0800 328 5050 (Tuesday and Thursday 11am to 1pm).

3. Create your back up support system

Register with a GP local to your accommodation, if you think that this will be most convenient and best for you. Try to think about this before you actually need it. Do remember that you can always access GP services as a temporary resident when needed.

Can you also access other specialist NHS services locally for pain and/or fatigue including psychology, occupational therapy or physiotherapy? Can you ask your paediatric therapist at home to make this referral for you? Remember that Vitality360 services are also available wherever you are to supplement or fill in the gaps in NHS provision.

Explore what is offered by student services as soon as you can; ask for help and make the most of what is offered.

4. Know what to do if you feel homesick

Home sickness is natural, and usually improves after a few weeks as you start to feel more at home in your new university. Home sickness can actually make us feel unwell, so spot the signs in yourself and others quickly and take steps to feel better. Try to connect, and talk about how you are feeling. The student support and help team can usually offer confidential chat, online and in person.

5. Hone your study skills

Take advantage of study skills support available to you and ask for mentoring or skill building through learning services, inclusion/disability, welfare and library services.

Balancing work and study with CFS/ME provides useful links to online study skills resources as well as digital technology tools for study such as referencing apps and voice to text software

Set up your work station ergonomically for optimum working posture to conserve energy. I like this simple checklist.

6. Prioritise and conserve energy

Try to allow enough energy for a mix of activities including self care and leisure. Be prepared to cut corners…

Make use of energy savers such as online shopping.

Try to have a supply of easy to prepare, healthy food.

Allow family/friends to provide some help with housework, shopping and meal prep in the event of a flare up.

7. Have a flare up plan

Actually write down a plan of what you can do in the event of a flare up of your symptoms. Having a plan helps us to feel prepared and less likely to panic when we face a setback.

8. Curb FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)

FOMO is a real phenomenon, often fuelled by social media. Living with persistent pain or fatigue may necessitate some pacing in your day to day and may cause you to miss out on some activities. The perception that you are missing out on something important that others are experiencing can cause significant stress. Stress in turn is tiring and can amplify our pain response.

Being able to accept your illness, and some of the possible lifestyle changes or limitations (whether temporary or longer term; past or present) is a key step to developing a resilient attitude towards FOMO. To increase your skill at this – try confiding in others, counselling, make healthy choices about social media consumption.

Read this article for more on FOMO and CFS.  

9. Do you have any other needs?

It’s a good idea not to push everything under a single persistent pain or fatigue diagnosis. If you feel that you also have separate mental health or physical issues, do flag these to your GP for possible support and think about also communicating with your college inclusion/learning support service. I believe that we sometimes allow ourselves to be defined by one medical diagnosis and perhaps not allow for the fact that some of us may also have additional specific needs relating to autism, dyspraxia, dyslexia or a mental health condition.  Taking account of specific needs can help to stop the ‘snowball’ effect which can otherwise lead us to feel overwhelmed and misunderstood.

10. Get serious about rest breaks

Work out what works for you. Usually having timetabled/planned rest breaks is more restorative than unplanned rests taken only once your body ‘tells you’ that you need a break. Try taking regular 10-15 minute rests every couple of hours and see how you feel. Try to enhance your rest with music, breathing, and relaxation techniques.

So, whilst studying and engaging in university life is no doubt a challenge with a long term health condition, none the less, there are tools and strategies such as those listed in this article that can assist with taking care of yourself and getting the support needed with these additional needs.

Written by Denise Martin, Associate Clinician @Vitality360 Provider of specialist rehabilitation programmes for those with persistent fatigue or pain.