Mental health issues among Indian students: Confronting an emerging crisis

By Dr Durgesh Nandinee

Emerging mental health issues among students are not unknown. Mental health has been a topic of discussion for decades. The problems related to it have been addressed in our Indian society at a superficial level. Until now we have been underestimating the impact of mental health problems among our students because the suicide rate is so high. Mental health and physical health are connected. As we know, there is a suicide attempt every three seconds and a suicide death every forty seconds of our youth. These statistics alone are alarming enough to drive home the fact that student mental health will be the next crisis. This generation of students is talking about mental health differently than previous generations, but they don’t have the right words to express it or their voice is often suppressed. Many students and parents are stigmatizing mental health issues. Therefore, it is very essential to test students to be documented before entering any institution or joining training so that they can get the right help at the right time. Mental health is indicated by the state of well-being perceived by the individual who feels that he or she can cope with life’s challenges and is a productive part of the community.

Mental health is an integral part of health; it is more than the absence of mental illness together with the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of those affected. Determinants of mental health include individual attributes such as the ability to manage one’s own thoughts, physiological changes, emotions, behaviors, and interactions with others. In addition, social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental factors all have a role to play, as do specific psychological, personality, and genetic factors.

Students generally assume that it is not normal to have mental health problems, therefore they often hide their problems or ignore family and friends or deny if someone asks them about their problem. Nowadays many students claim that they are stressed and cannot relax. Chronic stress can lead to mental health problems. The mental health needs of students of marginalized identities such as LGBTQ+ students are never addressed. Because we failed to create a safer environment for them to address their mental health issues.

Students go through many phases of transition during their formative years of education. Students are under different pressure these days compared to before and they live in a world with the internet. They are emotionally unprepared for the challenges they face and fail to access the resources that can bring balance to their lives. Due to the transition, stresses and strains are evident. Prolonged periods of struggle drive them towards distress and as a result, they suffer from mental health related problems. There are many signs and symptoms that students show when they experience problems related to this. Several factors prevent students from accessing help when experiencing mental health issues, including pressure from parents, friends, family background, lack of awareness, judgment from mentors, and stigma associated with mental health. Mental health problems among students are not isolated from the single health service. We have to create a micro-level partnership that encourages students to talk about it and get help from professionals if needed. Bringing students closer to services that are available at your institution or near your region will be the need of the hour.

Raising awareness and mobilizing efforts around mental health issues at various student hubs will help us identify students who need help. Mental health promotion involves creating an environment that promotes healthy living and encourages people to adopt a healthy lifestyle. An enabling environment through national mental health policies and legal frameworks is imperative for the effective management of mental health disorders and for providing general instructions to ensure mental health promotion. This requires a commitment in multiple sectors and a dynamic approach to life. Mental health should be treated with the same fairness and respect as all health problems.

The awareness will help develop a culture of health and wellness, by creating a society where the mental health need of every student is given the highest priority. The need of the moment is to advise, discuss and support our students. Mental health plays an important role in an individual’s ability to maintain good physical health. Mental health not only affects physical health, but can also impede academic performance due to lack of concentration. In our country, if a student is not successful academically, he is not treated well by his parents and he experiences emotional distress. Similarly, students who have unconventional educational options are bullied by their relatives, which disturbs their mental health. As a result, students are unable to focus on their career or life goals. This paradigm has to change. We are now recognizing this problem and very few students are seeking help from professionals to deal with it and understand its impact on their lives. Professionals help students help themselves, which makes them more productive. Mental health problems are not necessarily mental health disorders. Throat slitting competition is one of the major causes that creates a distressing environment for students that prevents them from being productive and fruitful as a result of suffering from mental health related issues.

Prevention deals with avoiding disease, while promotion deals with improving health and well-being. The positive aspects of mental health promotion can help us set attainable goals. It is important to focus on the positive aspects of mental health alongside the illness.

The virulence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), reported around the world, poses potential mental health risks for students in India and many other countries. From my personal experience, I think it’s time to address the long-standing mental health issue as we all go through a phase of lockdown and closure where most of the time we stay indoors and gain various insights about our own Health. Research posits that communicable diseases are expected to remain a major public health problem for decades to come, posing a threat to national and international health security. As experts foresaw, closures of educational institutions and social distancing are interpreted as a particular challenge for students.

Currently, the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic is a serious public health problem. Due to this pandemic, students started online classes which negatively affected their mental health. Virtual classes and the optimal level of exposure to the Internet are also important reasons why the student population suffers from problems related to their mental health. It causes stress and anxiety not only in adults but also in students.

An institution must focus on a healing approach so that the transition phase is smooth for students. For this approach to work, we need to get to know our student body and get professionals who can assess the mental health status of our students. Train members of the institution to instill unconditional positive regard and empathy as two important qualities in dealing with students.

(The author is Assistant Professor of Psychology, GITAM College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hyderabad Campus. The views expressed are his own and not necessarily those of Financial Express Online.)