World Mental Health Day: Tackling mental health issues among students
A topic that was once regarded as irrelevant considering the cultural values and traditions the society holds on to, has become the elephant in the room now.
One cannot stress enough about the importance of mental health and yet there is very little awareness among people around the topic.
A topic that was once regarded as irrelevant considering the cultural values and traditions the society holds on to, has become the elephant in the room now.
Mental health issues are now coming to the fore with people trying to analyse it and seek help to make their lives easier. But there is still room for a lot of awareness around the topic.
We are now facing a grave situation of the rise in the suicide rate among students in our country which needs to be tackled carefully. The recent case of Actor Vijay Antony's daughter who died by suicide has sparked a concern among parents and teachers to not take mental health issues lightly.
“Helplessness, hopelessness and worthlessness -these are the feelings of a depressed person who may find suicide as a way to solve their problems. There are various factors that contribute to an increase in the rate of student suicides. Socio-cultural change that happened over the years is one among them. The difficulty in handling failure, unrealistic expectations of self or parents, academic/social pressure, difficulty in handling romantic or peer relationships, identity crisis, bullying, loss of dear ones, financial constraints, substance abuse, stress, anxiety, emotional or physical abuse are some of the reasons,” says Lekshmi Vinayan, a consultant psychologist who is a specialist in handling mental health issue cases among children.
The Ministry of Education recently released the draft UMEED ( Understand, Motivate, Manage, Empathise, Empower, Develop) guidelines for schools. The draft guidelines propose a plan of action for schools to deal with the prevention of suicides among children which is on the rise now.
According to the NCRB reports, 8 percent of the suicide victims in 2021 were students. When students are unable to handle their personal-social issues and concerns effectively, it can result in a constant feeling of sadness, dissatisfaction and frustration, mood swings, hopelessness and in extreme cases may also lead to self-harm, including suicide.
All the figures and occurrences are a constant reminder for us to work out on being more serious when it comes to seeking and providing help to people with mental health issues, especially students.
A lot of myths about mental health have developed over the years which makes even the educated fall for it. In an attempt to dispose of these misconceptions, the Ministry of Education in its draft guidelines debunks the myths to help parents, teachers and school authorities in the accurate identification of warning signs of suicide.
The National Education Policy 2020 also envisions promoting mental health and well-being among students, which plays a prominent role in all aspects of an individual’s life. 'Every Child Matters' is the underlying belief in developing the guidelines for the prevention of suicide by the Education Ministry.
With this vision, efforts are aimed to be directed towards the prevention of suicide in schools. The guidelines provide directions to schools for enhancing sensitivity, understanding, and providing support in case of reported self-harm.
In addition, the guidelines also emphasise nurturing partnerships between school, parents and community, for fostering societal support as a critical strategy for preventing suicide and reducing the stigma associated with suicidal behaviour.
Students go through a lot of transitions in school life as well as in their personal lives and some of these can have lasting a impact on them psychologically. As time evolves, we are more acquainted with technology which keeps getting better with time. And so is the addiction of children to gadgets and social networking sites.
“ Children these days find themselves lonely, stuck in their apartments with no social life and all they have around are gadgets. From what I have observed, most of them lack self-love and being happy for who they are is quite questionable. Due to the online and gadget influence, kids are unable to focus which is not a good sign. They perceive that being perfect is important and cannot accept flaws. It's high time that we gave mental health its due importance, especially in schools,” says Nishitha Mohandas who works as a Counsellor at Trivandrum International School.
Setting up dedicated faculty and sessions to help the students becomes the responsibility of the school and periodic assessments need to be undertaken by the school for continuous reflections on actions taken towards the prevention of suicide, as mentioned in the draft guidelines.
“As educators, increasingly we have a critical task of nurturing the emotional and mental well-being of our students. On this World Mental Health Day, it is imperative that we recognize the essential role of self-care and resilience in providing a well-rounded education. The integration of mental health awareness into our curriculum equips our students with essential tools not just for academic success but more importantly for effectively navigating life's complexities. To ensure the well-being of our students, it is crucial that our schools employ qualified emotional and mental health counselors who regularly conduct tailored hands-on workshops, addressing the specific needs of different grade levels and individual students. Identifying those in need of one-on-one counseling, with the collaborative support of counselors, parents, and teachers, is paramount,” said Dr. Skand Bali, Principal of The Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet.
It is a race against time for the adults to complete their office tasks, handle household chores and to set a time for their personal life is often a herculean task.
But in this helter-skelter lifestyle, every moment that we keep apart for the children would make them feel wanted and make them trust in the adults when they face challenges.
Being watchful of the signs, communicating with the children/students and setting priorities can be helpful in gaining their trust. Being extra careful while communicating with students/ children be it at school or at home is imperative.
