Student life can be a stressful period because of the immense competition, uncertainty over one’s future, the multitude of choices and not knowing where one fits. While the body is going through a physical transformation and any physical ailment is perceptible, mental illnesses are harder to treat. When we think that the child is going through the teenage year of rebellion or mood swings, they may be indirectly asking for help, unable to communicate their problems. The onus of creating a holistic environment, where students can communicate freely, without fear of being mocked or considered inept or incapable is very important, at school and home. It is important to be sensitive to the stresses and their situation in the evolving ecosystem and their perspectives.
As per WHO reports, around 20% of students globally face mental health problems. About one in five students struggle with mental health issues resulting from bullying, disabilities, alcohol or drug use, stress and learning disabilities. An NCERT survey shows that 81% of Indian students experience high levels of stress and anxiety due to high academic expectations and examinations. An Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) survey revealed that 12-13% of Indian students suffer from psychological, emotional, and behavioural conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the conditions as students were isolated in their homes, cut off from social interactions and attended online classes.
Depression and anxiety are being recognised as legitimate mental health problems by the general populace as they get media attention. However, what measures to take to alleviate these conditions, the importance of counselling and information on treatments are still largely not known. Students with depression are at risk of developing severe mood conditions that will impact their thoughts, actions and emotions. The underlying causes of depression can be social, psychological, biological or hereditary variables. Stressful events, family history, hormonal imbalances or brain structure can also cause depression. Anxiety in students can be recognised by symptoms such as uncanny fears, excessive worry, or nervousness which can become intense and last longer than regular anxiety. Anxiety can impede the student’s daily activities, social interactions and overall well being.
Some children have disabilities that may curtail their ability to function like a regular person in a conventional society. Having a learning disability such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia or attention disorders such as ADD or ADHD are some issues that affect the student’s mental well-being. Due to a general lack of awareness, these children are often met with insensitivity and impatience which can cause anxiety, withdrawal from social life and depression. Not all children who are academically weak or have a low aptitude for Mathematics have a learning disability. Impatience and hyperactivity in children are also not always because of a disorder. There are trained counsellors and child psychologists who offer tests for identifying these issues and diagnosing them.
The mental well-being of students is the responsibility of the school, teachers and parents. The factors causing mental stress in the student may be due to the environment at home, at school or outside both these spaces in their social circle. It is important to create a secure atmosphere where students are taught to recognise their emotions, practice wellness habits to manage stress, improve productivity, overcome challenges and focus on their well-being. Some measures that can be adopted to ensure student’s mental well-being are -
Students must be taught to identify their emotions, encourage them to make friends and practice self-discipline. Learning subjects dealing with social and emotional issues is as important as learning mathematics and the sciences.
Students must be taught to cope with failures and treat success with humility. Winning is good, but it must not be the prime focus, the experience and learning must also be stressed. Rather than rewarding students for their marks, teachers and parents must reward students for their progress and how well they focused their energies on improving themselves, participating and learning.
Yoga, meditation, hobbies, sports, performing arts and fine arts must be given as much importance as academics. Learning outside the classroom, engaging oneself in activities and discovering interests through them is as important for making a student mentally and physically resilient as doing well in academics. School should be about learning, not just from textbooks but also through self-study and various experiences.
Regular counselling and talk sessions about people’s life experiences, reading good books and discussing them or simply having conversations on values and ethics can contribute immensely to a student’s well-being.
