OPINION: More Than A University Extension
Lying about having a mental illness isn’t the ‘life hack’ you think it is. Sure, you might get an extension on a university assignment, but you’re also extending the stigma around mental health, using a serious illness you don’t have for your own personal gain.
An Instagram account dedicated to VUW students sharing confessions, secrets, and stories about university recently had a ‘uni life hacks’ theme. For this theme, students were encouraged to share tips and tricks that make university life easier for all of us — the exact opposite outcome ensued.
The Instagram page was bombarded with students telling others to lie about their mental health as a ‘life hack’ to get extensions on assignments.
“Legit just complain about your mental health even if you don’t have it and they can’t deny your extension request,” one student advised others.
Another student spread the same harmful message, saying “I’m super lazy, but saying I’m depressed has gotten me an extension everytime lmao.”
This rhetoric is dangerous.
Students are recommending people lie about mental health issues as a way to get ahead, not realising that they’re jeopardising the education of others. Mental illnesses aren’t a convenient life hack.
My mental illness stays with me at all times — I have no choice. I can’t just get a mental health condition from the pick n mix of life, use it, and throw it away without a refund after my extension is granted. It’s a serious health issue.
I’d rather have the ability to do my assignments on time than have to muster up the courage to email my tutors and lecturers every time I’m in a rut. I’d rather not have depression and have to do my assignments on time, even when they’re inconvenient. And yes, even when I’m lazy.
Depression has meant I’m lucky to get 4 hours of sleep a night; I don’t brush my teeth, shower, or look after myself when it gets bad, and I often genuinely require extensions on university assignments because my health and academic work has been jeopardised by the condition.
When I was in respite care last year, I was tormented by the idea of my lecturers not taking me seriously when I asked for academic help.
Mental health conditions are shadowed with intense stigma. As a society, we do not take mental illnesses seriously enough, and many of us do not see the academic hindrance that mental health issues give people. Let my story serve as a cautionary tale — it’s hard to start an essay, let alone finish it, when your days are made cloudy by depression. When depression leads to a lack of motivation, which leads to a lack of confidence, poor academic performance often follows.
The university has tried to accommodate for this by allowing extensions for those dealing with mental health issues. I’m glad they are listening, but the system is being exploited.
“Too lazy to do your essay? Just say you have a chronic mental illness!” I hear those words echo in my mind. Over and over again. I’m not too lazy. I’m sick.
Knowing that some people lie about mental health conditions makes it even harder for me to get support. I have worried about lecturers and tutors not believing me when I’ve emailed asking for extensions in the past; knowing that students exploit the kindness of academic staff in their favour makes me feel ill.
It sickens me — mentally and physically.
Academic staff may end up catching onto this self-described ‘life hack,’ and stop granting extensions to people who claim they are mentally ill. This could have a real impact on the many students who navigate university with mental illnesses and health conditions.
A potential solution may require students to submit proof of their mental health condition, but this outcome may not benefit those who are really struggling. Many people who deal with mental illnesses also struggle to seek help or visit doctors and counsellors who can ‘prove’ their condition is real. With this outcome, some students who are genuinely struggling won’t be accommodated by the university.
‘Life hacks’ at uni should stay trivial, lighthearted, and ultimately meaningless. Put your lecture recordings on 1.5x speed to save time, download textbooks online to save a few dollars, and take breaks while you study.
But don’t, under any circumstances, lie about being mentally ill.