A promising university student sent a desperate email to staff asking for help before taking her own life.
Natasha Abrahart was studying physics at Bristol University, where she was due to give a class presentation.
Suffering crippling social anxiety, Natasha was filled with dread at the thought of talking in front of her peers, so much so, the 20-year-old attempted suicide in the lead up to the assessment. She alerted staff to this fact, in her final, heartbreaking email, reports The Mirror.
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In her email she wrote: “I wanted to tell you that the past few days have been really hard, I’ve been having suicidal thoughts and to a certain degree attempted it.
(Image: PA)
“I want help to go to the student health clinic or wherever you think is a good place to go to help me through this, and I would like someone to go with me as I will find it very hard to talk to people about these issues.”
She was not excused however, and three months later, in April 2018, as she was due to give the presentation in front of the whole class, she killed herself.
A talented student, Natasha’s severe anxiety didn’t present at home so while her mum Maggie, 62, a retired psychological well-being practitioner, knew she had been a shy child, she didn’t know the extent.
(Image: Courtest Abrahart family / SWNS)
She said: “Social anxiety is situation dependent, so when she was at home, we just didn’t see those symptoms.”
However, Natasha’s anxiety had become so crippling, she was unable to speak in front of strangers or in public, for fear of being judged – something which worsened when she moved from halls into a shared flat in her second year of university.
Remembering her being “happy at uni,” Maggie added: “She told us she’d been to discos and joined a baking society.”
(Image: Tom Wren SWNS)
Husband Bob, 68, added: “We thought she was coping. We’ll never know why she didn’t tell us.
“If we’d known, we would have done anything to stop her from going back to university.”
Natasha was referred to a GP through the university in February 2018. At her inquest into her death, Maggie and Bob learned the doctor had strongly suspected Natasha was suffering with severe social anxiety, and had immediately referred her to the crisis team.
(Image: PA)
When she died, she was still waiting to be assessed, but was still required to complete the presentation.
Recalling how Bob answered the door to a police officer, who told him Natasha had taken her own life, Maggie said: “It was the worst moment of our lives.
“Then to discover that her death could have been prevented was unthinkable.
“If the university has been told that a student is suicidal, what should their responsibility be?”
(Image: BBC)
A spokesperson for the University of Bristol said: “We care deeply about all our students and staff which is why the mental health and wellbeing of our community is at the heart of decision making across the University. This includes the provision of appropriate, accessible services and interventions. We continue to develop and improve our services to support those who need help.”
Bob and Maggie successfully sued the university for £50,000 for disability discrimination and are now campaigning for higher education providers to have a statutory duty of care to students.
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website at samaritans.org
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