How education and mental health go side-by-side?

Most of us are familiar to hear the word Mental Health. But are we aware of the real importance of Mental Health?

Before finding the reason behind mental health, let's know what mental health is.

Mental health and education

Thousands of people are dealing with mental illness every day. Mental disorders come in different forms. Anxiety disorder, personality disorder, panic disorder, and depression. If the person is facing mental illness, it means he is not in his complete senses, or he can't handle himself in some situations. It affects what we think, what we do, how we handle stress, and how we feel.

Mental health and education go side by side. Unless we are unaware of the real facts of mental health, we will not be able to help ourselves and the other person. Having complete knowledge of mental illness will make it much easier to make life easy and the way we look towards life.

* Why Mental Health Education is So Important in Schools?

Have you ever tried to find out why some students are not good in their studies even they are trying their best? Why some students have fear about anything and are unable to overcome it? To make this easier and understandable, it becomes important to give mental health education in schools. Schools should take responsibility to provide knowledge about mental health and its causes. Practicing certain things in school can make a big difference in understanding and developing interest in awareness about mental health among students.

* Mental health effects of school closures during COVID-19

Global pandemic Corona Virus 2019 (COVID - 19) has brought sudden changes in every sector. The education sector is one of the most affected sectors during this pandemic. Have we thought of shutting schools and colleges off for nearly one year? This education gap has affected the students badly.

Talking about the students who are not stable with their mental condition, going to school was a struggle for some children but at least they had school routines to which they had become familiar but after the lockdown, sudden changes in their daily routine and drastic changes has affected them. Becoming familiar with the new schedule has become somewhat difficult for them.

Many countries are postponing or canceling university entrance exams. This has directly affected the minds of students who have been studying and preparing for their exams for a long period. Many of the students have started feeling mental illness due to sudden changes in the new timetable or the cancellation of exams.

There are some high school or college students who do part-time jobs. Some lost their part-time jobs as local businesses are closed. Some students in their final years are worried about the placements they would have entered. But due to covid 19, they have lost this chance.

* Mental health should be given equal importance as physical health

Almost every time, we give more importance to physical health, but knowing about the current situation there's a need to give equal importance to mental health too. Students learn about physical and nutritional health, but not about mental health.

Mental health plays a major role in maintaining physical health. Once our mind is in a good state we are more focused on the overall health of our body. Misconception or unawareness of mental health may lead to uncertain problems like anxiety, depression, and the ability to give up on life. Mental health and physical health should not be considered differently. Balancing the health and life 100% is not possible, but preventing stress and similar problems help a lot to maintain and balance your mental health.

* Depression is on the rise due to mental health

The common cause of not handling mental health is depression. In depression, a person has feelings of sadness, feels lost somewhere, or may have anger issues.

Emotional abuse can make you more unsafe and can cause depression later in life. Depression is the leading global disability, and it is the leading cause of early death. Drastic changes in daily life over the period are growing the burden of diseases, including depression.

* Anxiety symptoms in children are often ignored

This is one of the main reasons why the students have to face mental health. Anxiety or the fear of something is very common in students. Some of them overcome it and some can't. There's a need to pay special attention to such problems. Increasing anxiety and its unawareness may cause severe mental disorders. People are found making fun of student who has certain fear, and this happens because they do not know about it. It becomes important to take a stand and talk to the student about his fear, anxiety, and other problems. Ignoring such topics will affect the student's health and will make him much more depressed about his problems. Rather than waiting for students to come to us in distress, we need to go out there into classrooms and spread awareness about mental health and its importance.

* The teen suicide epidemic and mental health

Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for ages 10-24. There are several reasons for suicide, it may be the burden of study, excessive fear of the teacher, physical or emotional stress. Teens experience major physical, social, and emotional changes, these changes, feelings of stress, fear, confusion, hopelessness, and pressure, can lead some youth to feel depressed and the person feels so much stress that he chooses to end his life rather than dealing with the problem.

* Mental health awareness in schools

There are different students in schools and all are having different problems. If one student is good in study, we can't expect everyone must be equal to him. In the same way, some students may have fear about very normal things, but some may be dealing with some serious problems, which have to be noticed and work on. We often see some students who hesitate to talk and stays alone. Giving proper knowledge about mental health in school will make every student aware of it. The student who is mentally ill will get attention from others and his friends may help him to overcome his disorder. Mental health education should be part of the curriculum. Studies and pressure have increased gradually and so is stress, which directly affects mental health. So according to the chancing time, certain changes and practices need to be changed in schools including the mental health awareness program.

Final Thoughts:

If you find yourself struggling with mental health, please contact your parents, teacher, or your friends. It's better to share your problems than to keep them inside. They may help you to find some solution and help you deal with your problems.

If you are someone who knows mental health, share it as much as you can. The world needs more people who can understand mental disorders.