When Charlotte Mia, 28, was studying graphic design at the University of Plymouth, she always set out to hand in her work on time, but she’d get diverted. First, she’d chat to other students and get caught up in their amazing projects. Next, she’d have an urge to pour a glass of water, open a window, tidy her room – all important for a good working environment, or so she told herself. Finally, despite her best intentions, she’d give up and go out.
There were other struggles. She’d forget to go to lectures or to plan meals. “I ate a lot of instant food, like noodle pots,” Charlotte says now. She’d lose her keys again and again and had real difficulty remembering to pay her rent.
“Everyone else seemed to be managing completely fine, but for me it was so much harder and I didn’t know why.” She googled memory loss. She felt like a failure and drank “far too heavily”.
A saving grace was meeting Jess Joy, 28, who was studying fine art at Plymouth College of Art. Like Charlotte, she was battling headwinds that were limiting her potential. “I’d always leave things to the last minute,” she says. “I desperately wanted to manage, but always felt I was playing catch-up. I struggled a lot in my first year. My mental health was in an absolute state.”
