Students: Looking after yourself and others during the pandemic
If you've just started at university or you're back after the summer, everything might seem different especially if there are coronavirus restrictions where you are. The pandemic has been a really strange time, especially when being away from home. You might feel like using alcohol or drugs because you've not seen your friends for a while or you're making new friends. And there might be more drinking and drug use around in student halls and houses because people can't go out as much.
You need to stay extra careful and remember that any drug use is risky as you can never be certain what the drug contains or its strength. If you're going to use a drug, you should always test a small amount first and then wait to see what the effect is on you - drugs can have very different effects on different people. Avoid mixing with other drugs or with alcohol, which can massively increase your risk of overdose.
To be safer, don't use drugs alone, stick with others while you're feeling the effects of the drugs and let friends know what you've taken. If your friends are using drugs, stay with them and keep an eye out for any signs of a bad reaction or overdose. These reactions may vary with the drug but could include, dehydration and overheating, irregular or very fast heartbeat, drowsiness, shallow breathing and unconsciousness.
Find out what to do in an emergency
Find out more about different drugs, the risks and how to reduce them in our drugs A-Z
You might be in new situations with new people and feel under pressure to drink or tak drugs - we've got advice about handling peer pressure
If you want to talk to FRANK in confidence about yourself or about a friend then you can call the helpline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 0300 123 6600 or you can chat online between 2-6pm every day.
