Mental Health And College Students

Author - Aabhash Dwivedi

Health is important for development of the country. World health Organization (WHO ) defines health as “ a state of physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being and not merely the absence of  disease or infirmity”.  WHO defines mental health as mental well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.  In this positive sense, mental health is the foundation for individual well-being and the effective functioning of a community.

Be it autism and intellectual disability in childhood, adult conditions such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and psychosis or dementia in old age, the world is facing a challenge in the form of mental illness. According to an estimate by the World Health Organization (WHO), mental illness makes about 15% of the total disease conditions around the world. The same estimate also suggests that India has one of the largest populations affected from mental illness. As a result, WHO has labelled India as the world’s ‘most depressing country’. Moreover, between 1990 to 2017, one in seven people from India have suffered from mental illness ranging from depression, anxiety to severe conditions such as schizophrenia, according to a study. It is no exaggeration to suggest that the country is under a mental health epidemic.

Mental health has impact on

1. Educational out come
2. Productivity at work
3. Development of Positive personal relationships
4. Crime rate
5. Alcohol & drug abuse

Why is mental health important?

More than 450 million people suffer from mental disorders.  According to WHO, by the year 2020, depression will constitute the second largest disease burden worldwide (Murray & Lopez, 1996).  Global burden of mental health will be well beyond the treatment capacities of developed and developing countries.  The social and economic costs associated with growing burden of mental ill health focused the possibilities for promoting mental health as well as preventing and treating mental illness. Thus the Mental Health is linked to behavior and seen as fundamental to physical health and quality of life.

1. Physical health and mental health are closely associated and it is proved beyond doubt that depression leads to heart and vascular diseases
2. Mental disorders also affect persons health behavior like eating sensibly, regular exercise, adequate sleep, engaging in safe sexual practices, alcohol and tobacco use, adhering to medical therapies thus increasing the risk of physical illness.
3. Mental ill health also leads to social problems like unemployment, broken families, poverty, drug abuse and related crime.
4. Poor mental health plays a significant role in diminished immune functioning.
5. Medically ill patients with depression have worse outcome than those without.
6. Chronic illnesses like diabetes, cancer, heart disease increases the risk of depression.

Mental Health impact on college students

It is an unfortunate fact that India ranks as one of the countries with highest student suicide rates in the world. At least one student commits suicide every hour according to reports provided by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Mental health in general is a neglected concept, let alone the mental health of college students. The NCRB in 2015 presented data which reflected 8,934 cases of student suicide. In the five years leading to that, 39,775 students had committed suicide in India.

Pressure kicks off even before the college experience, when there is peak effort to secure seats in prestigious universities. The pressure itself can have deadly ramifications. As many students will attest, there is the pressure of marks and grades, which is backed with extremely high expectations from parents and teachers. In the midst of this, students also face peer pressures to maintain a good social life, bullying on campus, and any number of traumatic experiences which they are not always able to articulate or express, all of which in turn their overall mental health and well-being.

According to a study published in Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 37.7%, 13.1%, and 2.4% of the students were suffering from moderate, severe, and extremely severe depression in Indian Universities. The study also said that, a significant difference was found across semester, that is, semester II students reported a higher level of depression than semester III students. The findings of the study emphasized the need for immediate mental health support services for about 15.6% of the students who were either suffering from severe or extremely severe depression at the University.

The first and foremost reason for India to lose its mental health is the lack of awareness and sensitivity about the issue. There is a big stigma around people suffering from any kind of mental health issues. They are often tagged as ‘lunatics’ by the society. This leads to a vicious cycle of shame, suffering and isolation of the patients. Also, there is a serious shortage of mental healthcare workforce in India. According to WHO, in 2011, there were 0·301 psychiatrists and 0·047 psychologists for every 100,000 patients suffering from a mental health disorder in India. These issues aggravate the scale of the problem and need immediate redressal.

Mental health situation in India demands active policy interventions and resource allocation by the government. To reduce the stigma around mental health, we need measure to train and sensitize the community/society. This can happen only when we have persistent nationwide effort to educate the society about mental diseases. We also need steps to connect the patients with each other by forming a peer network, so that they could listen and support each other. Moreover, people experiencing mental health problems should get the same access to safe and effective care as those with physical health problems. Additionally, mental illness must mandatorily be put under the ambit of life insurance. This will help people to see mental illness with the same lens as they use for physical diseases.

Are campuses in India equipped to handle mental health from a preventive point of view?

While there are notable exceptions, there often seems to be a lack of awareness, coupled with low funds, and minimal trained resident mental health professionals. Many colleges do not have psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors or social workers available on campus who can help students in need. Hence, students who are struggling are not able to openly talk about their issues.

But let’s unpack a major cause of stress — moving away from home for undergraduate or postgraduate studies can cause separation anxiety. This transition is a very important phase in a student’s life, and people can feel vulnerable, alone, isolated, especially if they’re unable to make friends quickly. Every administration should be properly equipped to deal with such situations because family members, parents and siblings are not as accessible as before.

It is possible that universities hesitate to invest in creating a mental health system on campus because mental health is already a stigmatized field; and cost could also be a factor.  But as a result, where advice is given, it’s often very generalized. And yet there’s no doubt that well being of the students should be of utmost importance to any college or university, with mental health facilities included in any college healthcare programs.

The good news is that nowadays in India, many premium colleges do have a better mental health care setting with in-built counselling centers and mentorship programs, but it seems that many other institutions still lack these facilities. And let’s not forget that students are often unable to afford external mental health help, given the cost factor.

What can be done ?

There is a need for much more to be done, and on a war footing. Peers and teachers must be sensitized to deal with mental health problems of students better to compensate for poor mental health services. There are very important issues like substance abuse, bullying and cyber crime that need to be dealt with and a basic knowledge of mental health can make a big difference. These issues should not be treated in isolation as college students go through various phases in these formative years.

When it comes to providing the right care to patients with mental illness, we need mental healthcare intervention to the patients, we need innovative models to deepen the penetration of services and staff. One such model is accredited social health activist (ASHA) by the ministry of health and family welfare, Government of India. Under this model, community health workers not only educate and sensitize women and children about mental diseases but also guide them to reach the right expert in their locality. In other words, they form the bridge between patients and the most optimal care around them. However, the model is yet be scaled up and become gender agnostic (something which can be easily replicated).

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

http://www.healthcollective.in/2018/07/mental-health-college-students/

http://niepid.nic.in/

https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/