We have definitely come a long way from hardly talking about mental health to becoming more aware of the mental health and it was much-needed. But we feel there’s still a long, long way to go where mental health is concerned, especially in handling it sustainably. And that is precisely why we are here to discuss the same.
A decade ago, mental health was honestly not a big deal – nobody would talk about it, and going to therapy was a taboo topic discussed in hush-hush voices in dimly-lit bedrooms. But it’s 2023, and therapy is a part of the regular academic curriculum in so many schools, colleges, and universities.
So, stay tuned to find out why your mental health is important and how you can manage the same!
Exploring The Importance Of Mental Health: Why Is It So Important For Students?
Recently awarded as “Emerging School in India” Gurgaon based CBSE school “Pragyanam” stated, “Because your mental health is directly linked to how you perform and a top school reaches that position when they look into all aspects of a child’s life – not just academic aspects but also a child’s psychological, emotional, and social well-being.”
So, let’s find out why mental health is so important for students in general!
1. Academic Productivity
Any student’s turbulent mental health can severely impact their academic performance. A student who has positive mental health will want to learn – these students have high self-esteem and the motivation to learn new things.
Because ultimately, your child’s mental health is directly linked to their academic productivity – a child cannot do well academically if they are facing mental health issues like anxiety, depression, or anything similar. This is why it is vital that your child is aware of their mental health while growing up.
2. Early Detection
While researching online, we found out that “fifty percent of mental illness begins by age 14, and three-quarters begin by age 24,” according to data published by American Psychiatric Association. Research says for most victims of mental health disorders, the earliest symptoms begin in school.
If your child’s school is pro-mental health, then it can greatly help your child. If your child does have any early symptoms of a particular mental health disorder, then that will get detected really early. It will help your child to deal with the symptoms while growing up and, of course, heal with time.
3. Healthy Choices
Another reason why it is important to create awareness about mental health in the lives of students has a lot to do with the victim’s ability to make healthy choices. A student in their formative years has impressionable mind. How a student is introduced to adult aspects of life goes on to create lasting impressions in their minds.
It even shapes the person the particular student will grow up and become. In this context, making healthy choices is important for the student’s general well-being. Awareness about mental health and the issues that stems from it can help your child to make healthy, positive choices in their daily lives.
4. Future Relationships
A lot of mental issues stem from how a student is treated in different relationships in their formative years. By relationships, we mean any and every relationship that a student might have with people around while growing up. While many students talk about problems with parents, others mention their issues with teachers or even peers.
These early relationships shape how a student’s future relationship will look like – if you are always demotivating your child, it is possible that your child might start suffering from self-esteem issues. In their future relationships, it is highly possible that your child will face self-esteem issues.
5. Coping Mechanisms
This one’s perhaps the most important point when you are asking why mental health is important for students. When children are facing any symptoms of mental health from a young age, they resort to some coping mechanism that is unhealthy. And that is where the problem starts.
If you have seen Netflix’s Ginny And Georgia, then you would know what we are talking about. Ginny self-harms, and that’s her coping mechanism – she is only fifteen and she is already self-destructive. It might be fiction for many of you, but it’s so close to reality, which is precisely why it’s so vital.
Managing Your Mental Health: Self-Care For Students!
Now that you have a fair idea about why mental health is so important for students, let’s talk about managing your mental health – yep, let’s discuss self-care for students. When we say ‘self-care,’ we are not just talking about skincare; we are talking about so much more.
So what does self-care for students comprise of, or rather, how do you manage your mental health? Stay tuned to find out!
1. Take A Break…Every Now And Then
Breaks are so underrated in the real world that we often forget about taking them. While your life might be moving quickly, and you think taking a break might just waste some of your precious time, let us tell you about the beauty of doing nothing sometimes. Let your brain relax.
For instance, if you are studying straight for eight hours every day, and you are still facing issues focusing, then it’s obvious that your strategy is not working out. Instead, why don’t you try studying for four hours first? After that, give yourself an hour where you can just relax, and then take four more hours.
2. The Perfect Sleeping Schedule
You might think that the perfect sleeping schedule is a myth – but guess what? It’s not! As a student, you don’t have to pull an all-nighter and suffer the next morning. When you do pull an all-nighter, you might think it will help you, but in reality, it never really helps anyone – not you or your productivity.
Instead of studying every night, why don’t you study in the evening and then go to bed early? It will help you focus better, and you might just remember everything you actually studied the evening before. Of course, we are not asking you to go to bed by ten every night – but there’s no point staying awake till one in the night.
3. Practice Wellness
Do you know what wellness stands for? Any person who follows a wellness-oriented life eats, cleans, maintains a balance, and sleeps on time – it’s exactly what the whole ‘that girl’ trend is about. ‘That girl’ is someone who has the perfect sleeping schedule, eats well-balanced meals, and never skips on exercise.
When the general well-being of your life improves, your whole life automatically changes. You will find your productivity improves, your desire to get out of bed early is cultivated, and you might even enjoy studying. Plus, you will get to witness how the overall quality of your life has begun to improve.
4. Set Goals And Try Meeting Them
Setting goals is a healthy idea, and it eventually always works out. And who said you have to set bigger goals that are almost unachievable? You can always start small – if you struggle with eating at the right time or maintaining a healthy sleeping schedule, then how about addressing those issues first?
You can start small – give yourself a period of two or three months, and set some small goals for those few months. If possible, note your progress in a journal or any such app on your smartphone. Remember Bridget Jones and her diary? Her goal was to quit smoking. When two or three months have passed, then track your progress – did you meet your goals?
5. Forget Ghosting…Stay Connected, Instead
We know how you guys love ghosting people, and sometimes mental health makes you disappear for months, only to emerge later as if nothing has happened. It’s a recurring situation, and we have personally noticed this about so many students, both in schools and colleges. But that’s precisely what you need to stop doing.
We are not asking you to force relationships that honestly don’t matter to you – we are no one to judge your choices. But then stop disappearing when things get hard – if needed, make it your primary goal. Confide in people you are comfortable with, and always reach out because staying connected is so much better than dealing with issues alone.
Mental Health Awareness In The Life Of Students
We have come to the end of this discussion on mental health awareness in the life of students.
“The purpose?”
– To spread awareness about mental health and its vital role in shaping a student’s life in the long run.
What you subdue in childhood doesn’t disappear – it grows inside you and one day comes crashing down on your adult life.
So, it’s better to identify the problems when you are young and deal with them – tell us what your thoughts on the same are. Share your thoughts and opinions with us on the same in the comments below. If, as a parent, you are seeking schools for admission in Gurgaon, “Pragyanam School” is one of the top schools that make their student’s mental health a priority.
