{"id":136891,"date":"2022-03-07T17:20:42","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T16:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=136891"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:09","slug":"student-well-being-i-need-to-spend-eighty-hours-on-my-studies-which-is-surely-bizarre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/03\/07\/student-well-being-i-need-to-spend-eighty-hours-on-my-studies-which-is-surely-bizarre\/","title":{"rendered":"Student wellbeing: \u2018I need to spend eighty hours a week on my studies, which is surely bizarre!\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

EUR students are not doing well in terms of mental health. That was the conclusion of both programme leader for student well-being, Rianne van der Zanden, and student psychologist Marit Spillenaar Bilgen. Spillenaar Bilgen treats EUR students with study-related problems. \u201cWe see a lot of performance anxiety, motivation problems and melancholy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Iris is studying Econometrics and Economics, a double degree programme. It is a tough course, she says. \u201cBefore I started, I saw the curriculum. It involved slightly more work than an ordinary degree, but it\u2019s obviously a double degree so that was logical. But in my third year, the programme changed out of nowhere. Suddenly I needed to get twenty credits in one block, which means spending eighty hours a week on my studies. Which is surely bizarre!\u201d She went to talk to her faculty about it but unfortunately, they couldn\u2019t help. \u201cThey tell me: \u2018sorry, it\u2019s just how the programme is organised,\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018In my third year, suddenly I needed to get twenty credits in one block, which means spending eighty hours a week on my studies\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

This high workload is a source of stress for Iris, and she\u2019s certainly not the only one. Student psychologist Spillenaar Bilgen says that many students come to her suffering from study-related stress. \u201cI see many students with stress problems due to the pressure to perform that they experience. Many students also have long-term and complex issues like mood problems, depression, anxiety and loneliness. We then refer them on for appropriate treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHoney Simatupang<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Well-being programmes<\/h2>

The latest student well-being monitor shows that things are not going well for a large group of students. Around 70 percent are experiencing an above-average level of stress and anxiety and nearly half feel depressed and very lonely. Study stress is the most commonly mentioned cause. Students also mention personal problems, daily commitments and worries about their financial future as the cause.<\/p>\n\n\t

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Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t