Psychological, corporeal and societal health – strands of a sound life that are intimately woven and enormously interdependent. But the mental health is an integral part of the overall health and depicts the spiritual transcendence in the modern world.
At the dawn of a new age, communities and societies, particularly youth are increasingly facing the situations of mental distress. Mental functioning is fundamentally interlinked to physical and social behavior and thereby the health outcomes.
Mental intrusions can impede all the aspects of health, including emotional well-being and social development, leaving young people feeling socially isolated, stigmatized, and unable to optimize their social, vocational, and interpersonal contributions to the society.
One such catastrophic adversity on rise in the today’s society is depression, which is most probably prevalent in the young generation. World Health Organisation (WHO), describes depression as the most common mental distress worldwide and the leading cause of disability and suicide.
According to the estimates, 350 million people are affected by depression worldwide. Around 8.3 percent of youth between age group of 18 to 25 years have had serious thoughts of suicide. In the United States, suicide is the second leading cause of death among people aged 15–34 years.
In Kashmir, more than 1.8 million people suffer from mental distress which contributes 45 percent of the total population of the Valley.
There has been a phenomenal increase in psychiatric morbidity due to continuing conflict in Kashmir during the last years. The results reveal that the prevalence of depression is 55.72 percent. The prevalence is highest (66.67%) in the 15 to 25 years age group.
The major cause of depression is the stress caused by certain eventualities in a person’s life. Death of kith and kin, unemployment, poor grades, household complications, financial difficulties, relationship problems, prolonged physical illness or other severe stresses are all potential causes of depression.
Among students, the most prevalent cause of depression is the academic pressure, which later leads to anxiety and consequently to depression.
The new report, based on a survey of over 1000 first and second year university students has revealed that 82 percent of students at UK universities suffer from stress and anxiety and 45 percent have experienced depression.
In today’s world of competition, stress has its roots deep into the society spreading its ill effects to the productive section of the society that is, the students.
Students, in order to attain an identity of their own, thrive day and night to reach their goals and work hard as much as they can. This process even though might prove fruitful but later on makes the students face a lot of strain which ultimately leads to depression.
A growing problem not only in Kashmir but all over the globe is that students are more stressed than ever. Although the reasons are myriad but failure in examination, unemployment, and depression are the paramount causes which bludgeon students into such illicit means.
A common cause of concern is the pressure from parents; particularly due to BOSE examinations, Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), Mains and Advanced, Scholastic Aptitude Test and predominantly the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET).
Fear of failure causes anxiety among students which has substantial negative effects on their academic and social success. Here in Kashmir, the self-worth of a student is determined by the academic success and grades, and not on the basis of individual qualities they already possess.
There have been many incidents in the past where students have committed suicide during exams and on the result day. But what can be so extreme that students decide to end their life?
The Psychologists suggest that students suffer from anxiety and traumatic disorder relating to fear of examination. The fear factor is the reason why students suffer from anxiety, depression and its consequences. The fear not only comes from the schools and tution centres but also from parents, who go to extreme levels to push their children into getting better grades and selections in competitive exams .
The performance of a student’s 12th grade determines the choice of college or university he/she will get admission in. Students from science stream go into further stress by giving entrance exams for different universities and colleges. And the competition is fierce.
Few months before when NEET results were declared, my teacher asked the students to take a pledge to set their foot into medical field and asked the students to make their slogan as Coffin or Apron. It means that they had two options- medical college or death.
The question here arises is that does failure in an exam mark the end to the world? No, it surely does not. Every entity is special. Every individual is talented. All one needs is to discover and enhance that talent.
The best time of the life that students are supposed to enjoy and cherish is the time they are pushed to extreme levels which can be overwhelming for many. Time and again many complaints have been made against the Indian education system which is more inclined towards memorization and takes long systematic study hours. In the long run it shrinks time for recreational activities and socialization which is an essential part of the development of a child.
In a recent survey, two-third (66%) students reported that their parents pressurize them for better academic performance and the pressure from non-graduate parents was more compared to parents those were graduates and post graduates.
Every day, 6.23 percent students commit suicide due to the peer pressure. There must be something wrong that we not able to comprehend. Everyone learns differently and students could develop their own plans on how to study for long hours effectively, and parents and teachers could help them develop their own learning methods.
With the commencement of JKBOSE examinations, what every parent should know is, it’s just exams, not the end of the world. The success lies in what they chose to do with their resources, the actions they take but not in the grades.
With limited intake capacity in college and huge number of students applying to get into the top universities and colleges, it is difficult to get enrolled into the top college.
The students who cannot get in can always study abroad in UK, Ireland, US, Canada, or other countries that are more than ready to welcome international students.
But the ones who can’t afford it, to them, selection in a leading college or cracking the competitive (particularly NEET) turns into an abstinence.
Merely being a doctor or an engineer won’t assure you a dignified life. Other options still exist.
If you are unable to pass an exam in your first or second attempt, just leave it and move on in your life. Youth have a plate with a variety of opportunities. The variety includes bitter, sour and undoubtedly sweet. If we taste the bitter one once, just leave it and look for the sweeter one. That surely is present in our plate. All we need to do is to remain focused while picking up a variety which suits our taste.
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