Whenever there’s a talk about health of students in our social circle, the most common words we hear are “Get up in the morning and everything will be fine” or “eat green vegetables and you will stay healthy forever”. We are not questioning these general beliefs about health, what we are questioning is the facts that never, have we ever, came across a discussion on the mental health of students in India.
The status of mental health of students of India is DISTURBING! We’ve studied various research papers and gathered this data for you. The figures you’re about to read will leave you stunned:
- ONE out of FOUR students in India suffers from mental illness
- As per a WHO Report, India is the MOST DEPRESSED country in the world
- Suicide is the THIRD largest cause of death amongst the youth aged between 13-25 years
- 85% of students who have mental health issues neither seek help nor do they get any
- Around 50% of mental and psychological problems affect a person during his/her childhood
There are multiple kinds of mental illnesses that students suffer from; the major ones that affect the students in India are Anxiety & Panic Disorders, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Eating Disorders, Schizophrenia, and Substance Abuse & Addiction. Most of the times, parents and the near ones ignore the signs of mental illness thinking that it’s just a phase every youth goes through but whenever you notice the following symptoms, be alarmed as these are the signs of mental illness:
- Not showing interest in regular activities or rapid decline of interest in the activities which one was fond of earlier
- Overwhelming fear of something or a sudden attack of paranoia
- Students suffering from mental illness often show suicidal tendencies and try to harm themselves
- A student showing an unusual lack of energy, for example, if a person used to sleep for around 7 hours a day, the same person will sleep for more than 10 hours a day if he/she is facing mental health issues
- Showing symptoms of eating disorder such as overeating or becoming anorexic
- Extreme loss in concentration. A person having mental health issues will find it difficult to concentrate on anything
- Student will try to cut themselves off from their friend circle and they will show signs of sadness and melancholy for more than two weeks
The state of mental health is in India is truly alarming, but the solutions are not that complex. There are very basic steps and precautions which we need to incorporate to improve the state of mental health amongst the students in India:
- Psychotherapy: The most trusted option is to seek help from a professional counselor, therapist or a psychologist. These professional will help in diagnosing the root cause of the illness and they’ll also suggest ways to stop it from relapsing.
- Group Therapy: In group therapy, the person attends group meetings or conventions, such groups are often leaded by one or two psychologists. The numbers of group members range from 4-7 and these are often people who suffer from same kind of mental disorder. Attending the group therapy sessions helps in eradicating the feeling of loneliness from a student.
- Educational Toys/Activity Kits: The best way to prevent mental illness in young students is to keep them occupied in productive yet interesting activities. Genius Box Activity Kits and Educational Toys are the best way to improve mental strength of young students and studies prove that GB Activity Kits and Educational Toys help in maintaining a healthy brain function amongst kids.
- Medications: Medications are prescribed by psychotherapists for the students with severe symptoms who aren’t responding 100% to the verbal treatment. Often, anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications are prescribed to students who suffer from depression and anxiety. The course of medicine goes along side with their routine therapy.
- Summer Classes: Most of the counselors and psychologist suggest that the best exercise to establish sound mental health is to keep the students occupied in career building activities, even during the summer holidays. The spare time students often ‘waste’ during their summer vacations can be utilized to make a stronger foundation for the upcoming academic year. This way, a student won’t lag behind coz underperformance is one of the primal rea sons of depression amongst the students in India. You can book a Free Demo Class for the next Academic Session at WONK. Give a Missed Call on 8080805225 for more details.
Mental Health has been an ignored topic since ages and this massive ignorance has spoiled the lives of millions of students in India. It’s high time we should start talking about the mental health openly and start educating others around us too. Please do share this article to spread the word. Who knows, your one share can help a student somewhere!
