By Emma Yeo, Second-Year, English
In 2022/23, a survey by HESA found that 16 per cent of students in higher education have a known disability or chronic illness. This means that the reality of living with a chronic illness while at university is something that remains unknown to the majority of students. Common symptoms that chronically ill people face daily – such as fatigue, pain and general malaise – can have a substantial impact on their ability to attend teaching and partake in parts of university life, inevitably altering their university experience.
But what is a chronic illness?
Healthline defines chronic illness as being a condition ‘that lasts for a long period of time and typically cannot be cured.’ This includes conditions such as arthritis, depression, HIV, diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, and many others. Each chronic illness will have a range of symptoms and treatments which can help to minimise day-to-day manifestations of the condition. However, the fact remains that these conditions typically do not have a complete cure, meaning that those who have a chronic illness will likely experience a baseline of daily symptoms.
Further to this, it is common for those with chronic illness to experience ‘flare-ups’, which the Medical Dictionary defines as ‘a sudden worsening of the symptoms of a disease or conditions.’ While typical baseline symptoms such as pain or fatigue may underscore everyday life, flare-ups are likely to have a greater impact, meaning that pre-existing support may not be enough to manage normal activities.
Here at the University of Bristol, there are various support systems in place for students with chronic illnesses. The first point of contact for many students is the Disability Services, a team that can assist in designing Study Support Plans with reasonable accommodations to help students access their degree in an attainable way.
There is also the Bristol SU Disability and Accessibility Network, who seek to ‘provide a safe space for students with disabilities and/or accessibility needs.’ As always, students are also encouraged to speak to a personal tutor or senior tutor for advice, as well as to reach out to Student Health Service for medical care. These support networks can be incredibly helpful for students with chronic illnesses, but equally cannot mitigate every issue.
Chronic illnesses can cause a stark exacerbation of normal stressors students face. The World Health Organization (WHO) observed that generalised anxiety is common in student populations. These anxieties stem from many common aspects of student life, such as academic deadlines, exam stress or difficulties regarding housing. These issues can amount to heightened anxieties in students who have chronic conditions. For example, a sudden flare-up might make a deadline impossible to meet – switch the concern of ‘Will I pass the upcoming exam?’ to ‘Will I be able to sit the exam?’ In the academic journal, Chronic Illness, it was observed that ‘There’s just more things to worry about’ as a student with a health condition.’ This is precisely part of the problem: issues that may seem trivial to students without chronic illnesses can become overwhelming and debilitating to those who have additional health concerns.
While for most students the extent of academic pressure might look like a rushed essay the night before the deadline, or a late-night study session in the ASSL. As flare-ups don’t operate on any form of academic schedule, for students with chronic illness, it’s undeniably more complicated. One anonymous student told Epigram that during a flare-up, they felt ‘so sick but had so much work to do’ which resulted in them ignoring these symptoms in order to meet deadlines.
In addition to the stresses of academic demands, Chronic Illness found that students with chronic illnesses also worried about coming across as lazy to peers and teaching staff. This reveals the unfortunate reality that many students with chronic illnesses compare themselves to students without. Frances, a student at the University of Bristol, observes that the common grounds of being at the same university, around the same age and potentially on the same course ‘fosters comparison.’
She went on to note how ‘demotivating’ it can be to see others receive better grades or spend more time studying. ‘If I wasn’t ill’, she continued, ‘I’d get better grades or be able to do more.’
Further to this, navigating and maintaining a social life also proves difficult for those living with chronic illnesses. With university culture often centring around drinking, clubbing and supposedly having the best years of your life, engaging with it while having a chronic illness poses its challenges.
Frances notes that university culture is ‘not tailored to people with chronic illnesses’, with a large proportion of society events being inaccessible. This not only results in chronically ill students having a limited opportunity to get involved in the social aspect of university, but may also inhibit them from meeting others with similar experiences. With the Office for National Statistics finding that almost a quarter of students are lonely most or all the time, we can only imagine what this figure would be in the case of students who are physically unable to engage with university culture.
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In her first year of university, Frances noticed the need for a space where chronically ill students could meet each other and discuss similar experiences. To remedy this lack of community on campus, in 2024 she founded the Chronic Health Condition Society – the first in the UK. This society sets out to run regular accessible events, such as games nights and arts and crafts sessions while prioritising inclusion and community.
Frances told Epigram that being chronically ill is ‘an innately lonely experience’ and it can be helpful to have ‘a place people can come and feel more seen and more comfortable.’ Through the society events and the matching scheme, students with chronic illnesses can find people to who they can relate. This in turn helps to combat the loneliness that countless students with chronic health conditions face.
Featured Image: Epigram / Nel Roden
To find out more about the work Frances and the Chronic Health Condition Society are doing, check out their Instagram: @chcs_bristol
