Mental health needs of today’s college students: challenges and recommendations

By Davidender Narang

Normally in our society, a person with mental health problems is considered as a weak person, sometimes even treated as a crazy and incoherent person. Instead of tackling the problem head-on, people try to isolate it; they often face stigma, which can prevent them from seeking help and make recovery difficult. Mental health problems are very common among college students. In fact, it is becoming a hot topic for academics and students are the biggest victims. With their young mind and naive attitude, they are unable to tackle this particular problem. However, education professionals have recognized the impact that a student’s mental health has on learning and achievement, and realize that much can be done to help students with mental health problems.

A better personality depends on good physical and mental health. Good mental health is when you feel positive about yourself and cope well with daily pressures. If you are having trouble coping with everyday issues, it could be a sign of a mental health issue and needs to be addressed immediately. Students with mental health problems often feel drained, depressed, fed up, or anxious. They behave in a distant and withdrawn manner. If it is not addressed at the right time, it will lead to many serious problems. Students often go into seclusion when they can’t find a solution. They show low self-esteem, they have a desire to withdraw from the world; they constantly have feelings of shame, hopelessness and/or helplessness. They lose interest in activities they once loved. The matter is made worse as students often downplay or simply never talk about the things that bother them deeply. They prefer to remain silent due to insecurity, fear of standing out or shame. Multiple studies have shown that excessive use of social media by students has a direct link to poor mental health. It is observed that students often do so because they are bored, need to escape their immediate physical environment, feel overwhelmed and stressed, feel lonely, have few real-time friends, or need to feel appreciated and validated. The use of social networks has also resulted in many young people being harassed, embarrassed, humiliated, stalked, threatened and become victims of fraud through social networks.

Recognizing the signs of poor mental health is difficult; Anyway, it’s not impossible. Simply acknowledging their existence can solve half the problem. There may be many ways, when adopted, they can tackle this problem professionally. Few solutions can help you are given below:

• Maintaining a healthy and consistent lifestyle can work wonders.
• Create a daily routine that prioritizes self-care
• Eating well in addition to having a healthy diet
• Staying physically active has become a prerequisite for improving psychological well-being. Young people today should be encouraged to engage in sports activities, develop an exercise regimen.
• There is a need for better communication. Students should develop the habit of communicating easily and openly with their parents, peers, teachers, and siblings. They need to spend quality time with family and friends instead of being glued to their phone and laptop.
• Students need to cut down on screen time, which is one of the biggest culprits in their daily routine. Unstructured time creates boredom, spikes in anxiety and depression.

In a nutshell, it can be argued that issues such as mental health among young people need to be recognized first and acted upon with the utmost urgency. Raising awareness among young people, encouraging them to seek help will also help a great deal. Mental health awareness and mental wellness should be included in your curriculum so that young people are aware of the issues.

The author is the director of the Jaipuria Institute of Management.