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Mental Health

Your mental health is relevant during your math studies, because it affects your studies and your studies affect your mental health. Studying math can be very stressful and you may feel isolated sometimes.

We want to lower the stigma around the topic and talk about it! For that we are organizing "Group Talks". A Group Talk is a small get-together with other students who either feel like they encounter the same problems or struggle with any form of mental health concerns right now. We aim to create a safe space to either share your experiences or just listen in. In addition we offer cookies and tea.

 You can find the upcoming Group Talks under the Gender Equality/Mental Health events:

Resources

Please be aware that all information here is given to the best of our knowledge, but without guarantee. It is meant to be a non-exhaustive collection of some first points of contact if you are in need of help and do not know where to find it. Some of these offers of help might change or cease to exist, but the most important takeaway should be that there is always a way to find help.

In case of acute mental health problems, please be aware of the following, which might alleviate your situation:

  • Your GP (Hausarzt) can give you sick leave for mental health reasons.
  • You can call in sick for exams and exercise sheets (with a note from your doctor).
  • You can apply for a deadline extension for your thesis for (mental) health reasons.
  • In case of emergency, you can also go to the hospital, e.g. the LVR clinic, which is a psychiatric hospital in Bonn. If the situation is urgent, you can go there without appointment. Contact: 0228 551-1
  • In the worst case call the emergency sevice of the fire fighters under 112!

If you are struggling at university (for example with your studies or because you experience discrimination) there are resources provided by your faculty and your student council to help you:

  • Awareness team of the Fachschaft, during or after events: (awareness (at) fsmath.uni-bonn.de or +49 1590 1489564)
  • Equal Opportunity Working Group
  • Equal Opportunities department of the math student council  (gleichstellung (at) fsmath-bonn.de)
  • Ombudspersons of the Maths Department: 
    • Regula Krapf (krapf (at) math.uni-bonn.de)
    • Jack Davies (davies (at) math.uni-bonn.de)
  • If you are participating or have participated in a mentoring program, you might reach out to your mentor for advice.

Additionally, the University of Bonn offers some resources for mental health first-aid as well as workshops.

  • You can apply for therapy with your health insurance. For that you might need a therapist and an examination by your GP. Ask your insurer what they need.
  • German health insurances usually cover the first two to four therapy sessions before you have to apply, so called "Probesitzungen", where you can get to know your potential therapist. More information about "Probesitzungen" can be found here (only in German). 
  • The situation is inconsistent for international students. It depends on your health insurance if and under which circumstances the costs of therapy can be covered. It is worth it to call or email your insurer and just ask them directly! The international office might help you with questions regarding health insurance.
  • You can find a therapist online. The search can be tiring, but try to reach out to many different therapists and don't give up! When reaching out to potential therapists, you should keep in mind that most oft them only accept phone calls on one fixed time slot per week. Instead of calling, you can also email them. Possible search portals are therapie.de (only in German) und Praxissuche (only in German).