163. Mental Health Stigma in Students ft. The Priory

Mental Health, and my relationship with it, is something that I've discussed on the blog before and I got a wonderful response from you, my readers; some of whom had been through similar things and could empathise and relate to what I'd written. It was a lovely feeling to know that the post had made at least one person feel better, or less alone and ostracized.

I was recently contacted by The Priory, regarding a new campaign they are running to raise awareness of mental health conditions in students. As this is a subject so close to home for me, I really wanted to share some of their information and resources with you. 

According to a new study, over 60% of students have struggled to believe when a friend or acquaintance has told them they're suffering from a mental health condition. It's no secret that many people struggle to believe in mental health problems; as they're easy to hide, they often affect the people you would least expect, and they are mental and emotional, compared to a physical issue which you would be able to see.

Further research also found that a quarter of students feel uncomfortable when talking to their peers about mental health, and that a shocking 50% of them have received negative backlash as a result of speaking out about mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. Although I'm not a student, I am still within the student age range and many of my friends are currently studying; I felt exactly the same about discussing my anxiety and only opened up to a few close friends before I decided to share my story on here, mainly for the fear (as echoed in the above statistics) that people would not believe me, or would think I was exaggerating. It's awful that this stigma is still attached to mental health. 

Dr Ian Drever, Consultant Psychiatrist at the Priory Hospital Woking explained:

“Going to university is a time of real life change for young people, what with them leaving home, having very different looking days and a whole set of new stresses and social surroundings. Whenever change happens in people’s lives it’s a sort of pinch point when anxiety or indeed any form of mental illness, is more likely to arise. If students are also being subjected to isolation and stigma, this can heighten illness and make it more likely to arise in the first place.”

He recommended that: “Students need to keep an eye out for the signs they may be developing a mental health condition, including problems sleeping, concentrating, and being sociable. Although it’s easier said than done I think it’s important that students share how they feel with a close friend or a healthcare professional. They need to acknowledge to themselves that they are not well, or not happy, and that it’s time to get help.”

University, college and school are all environments that can easily become stressful and associated with negative feelings, so it's easy to understand why students are so prone to mental health issues. My main advice would be the same as The Priory's: speak to someone. Whether it's a friend, a teacher, a family member or a healthcare professional - it helps just to get it out in the open and lift that weight from your shoulders. 

Rather than letting depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, eating disorders, agoraphobia, anger issues or any other mental health problem affect your quality of life please, please do something about it.

The Priory have rehabilitation centres and specialist consultants nationwide - you can view their website here. 

*** I received no reimbursement in any shape or form, financial or otherwise, for this blog post. Diagrams are taken from this source, and the statistics were provided for me by The Priory ***

162. Chilli Cheese Scone Recipe

Hello lovelies.

Today I'm sharing a failsafe, super simple recipe for cheese scones - with a (spicy) twist. I've made these scones several times and I've adapted the recipe slightly each time, and I think I've finally nailed it, so here is my recipe for Chilli Cheese Scones.

Ingredients

225g plain flour

50g room temperature cubed butter

3tsp baking powder

140ml milk

150g grated cheese (preferably mature cheddar)

Pinch of salt & pepper

1tsp chilli powder or chopped chilli's (Very Lazy Chilli works well)

Jalapeños to top

Cheese to top

Method 

1. Preheat your oven to 220c or Gas Mark 6

2. Mix together the flour, baking powder and butter with your finger tips to create a breadcrumb effect

3. Add the milk and cheese and quickly mix together

4. Add your seasoning (as much or as little as you want)

5. On a lightly floured surface, mould the mixture into scone shapes (I made 8)

6. Place the scones on a greased tray (I used Chilli FryLight to add some extra spice) with a decent space between each one, as they will expand during baking

7. Sprinkle the top of the scones with some cheese and add a jalapeno

8. Bake in the middle of the pre-heated oven for around 20 minutes but make sure to check on them as they can so easily burn

9. Serve with lashings of butter, or with pickle if you fancy!

161. The Mud Crab, Sheffield

Hello lovelies.

On Monday, I headed down to Sheffield with my family to visit my sister, Fi, who is studying at university down there. I mentioned in my previous post that I baked some delicious carrot cake cupcakes as part of my sisters present, so you can find that recipe here. 

Whilst we were in Sheffield we, of course, had to get some food. Nowadays I can't go anywhere without having to stop for a bite to eat, and Fi had picked up out a restaurant for us to try. Mud Crab, situated on Ecclesall Road, is a modern, casual, American style restaurant.

The interior is great, with booths, large tables and comfy, retro seats, and plenty of quirky decoration such as a rusty, old bike propped up outside the entrance, which caught my brothers eye.

The menu is substantial without being overwhelming and there are a range of meat and fish dishes, pizzas and burgers, as well as starters, sharing platters, sides, desserts and even breakfasts (the pancakes sounded delicious!)

I opted for the Pulled Pork Potato Skin Sliders (£4.50) as my starter and I wasn't disappointed. About ten minutes after ordering, I received a generous portion, piled high with tender pulled pork and barbecue sauce. The flavours were absolutely spot on and the size was perfect for a starter. My two sisters went for the Seasonal Soup from the Two Course Lunch (a special offer, giving you two courses for just £11.95!) and said it was really tasty. My brother chose the Paprika Fried Calamari (£6) which came served with hot sauce and looked incredible, whilst Dad went for the classic Special Fried Chicken (£6) with barbecue dip. 

Whilst my two sisters chose from the Two Course Lunch menu, I settled on the Devil Chicken Breast Bun which was a mammoth burger of chicken breast, pickled watermelon salad, chipotle mayo, hot sauce and a giant portion of fries. The fries, first of all, were gorgeous and tasted just like one of my guilty pleasures: McDonald's fries. The chicken was tender and well seasoned and the sauces and salad complimented each other perfectly. My sisters went for a gorgeous (but small portion of) Chorizo, Spring Onion & Saffron Risotto and one of Mud Crab's signature UFO Pizza's, respectively. My dad chose the 2nd Best Cheeseburger whilst my brother opted for the most expensive item on the menu, the Grilled with Love BBQ Tray which looked epic. 

Being the little piggies that we are, we all chose a third course too. My brother and dad chose coffees whilst us girls were tempted by the small, but ample, dessert menu. Although my youngest sister initially picked Fresh Churros, they had none left (you should have seen her face) so she was recommended their most popular dessert, 'Snickers' Mess (£6 - brownie, ice cream, meringue, chocolate sauce and Snickers). I liked the sound of Baked Alaska (£5.50) so chose to try that for the first time, whilst my other sister picked the Bourbon Sticky Toffee Pudding (£5.50) which they served with ice cream instead of clotted cream, at her request.

I thoroughly enjoyed all three courses of my meal, and the service from our waiter was spot on too. He was friendly without being overbearing, food and drinks were served quickly and politely and the atmosphere of the whole restaurant was great. We stayed for a good two hours, enjoying our food and the opportunity to all catch up together (it's amazing how rarely families catch up once the kids are that little bit older). 

As Mud Crab offer 20% student discount (on food), our whole bill came to around £95 which, at just under £20 per person, is - in my opinion - a great deal for there courses and a drink each. 

If you're ever in Sheffield, check Mud Crab out - you won't regret it.