Mental health problems among the students have become a norm
Engineering sucks -- read the message left by an 18-year-old IIT Guwahati student who recently committed suicide in her hostel room. The reason for the suicide can be anything but the two words clearly spoke about the pressure which the student must be facing during her first year as a student of the Mechanical Engineering. Students from the top professional colleges also top the list when it comes to cases like depression and mental ill-health. Some important reasons for the same are Peer pressure, tough syllabus, parental expectations, etc. “Mental health issues manifested in young adults tend to be lifelong with issues ranging from depression, anxiety, obsessions, suicidal behavior to substance dependence, schizophrenia and bipolarity. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students,” says Abhiram Kumar Verma, associate professor, Mining Engineering, co-professor- in-charge, Counselling Centre, IIT Kharagpur. “Students who commit suicide do not necessarily have a mental illness. Their coping mechanism to deal with small frustrations, failure/loss is poor,” says Dr Harish Shetty, a psychiatrist at Dr. LH Hiranandani Hospital, Mumbai. He further adds “Any event — be it relationships, exams or issues relating to one’s immediate environment — affects students profoundly. That, and the apparent social disconnect with people who care compound their problem, making for a potent suicide cocktail.” Anand Prakash, head, Department of Psychology, Delhi University, said that some factors such as heightened aspirations, career uncertainties and financial constraints also act as stress boosters among the students. “Students from radically different backgrounds face problems ranging from language, gender and student diversity. They have no clue on seeking counseling which often leads to feelings of hopelessness,” adds Prakash. Most of the students who made it to the prestigious institutes spend most of their adolescence preparing for the exams which lead to a lack of social skills. “This poses another difficulty in the first few years of college unless they start acquiring social skills right from the beginning,” says SM Sivakumar, dean, IIT Madras. “After coming into IIT, students realize that the race is far from over and the pressure has multiplied,” he adds. In times of great stress and expectations it is important to empower parents and teachers to help students cope with the issues related to finance, career and family. It is imperative for the institutes to have special mental cells which can provide timely counseling to the high-risk students who are most vulnerable to failures.
