In today’s times, every other person is dealing with some kind of mental health problem including stress, anxiety, and depression. Even young students are suffering from serious mental health issues; and, this is a matter of grave concern.
Recent studies and surveys have revealed startling facts, such as –
- Over the last decade, student mental health declarations have increased by 450%.
- More than a quarter of the students suffer from serious mental health issues.
- Close to 77% of students believe that mental health resources are important to tackle daily stressors and other mental health issues.
- However, over 52% of students admit that their universities don’t provide access to mental health resources.
Mental health problems plaguing our young population must be addressed as soon as possible otherwise what we are essentially doing is creating a generation of mentally disturbed people. It is a silently brewing national crisis that needs immediate attention.
So, why are students struggling with mental health problems?
There are lots of problems that students face on an everyday basis that contribute to the deterioration of their mental health. From stressful workloads to financial problems to relationship issues – various things create problems in students’ lives.
Many students report that they have unnecessarily inconvenient schedules that leave them with insufficient time to study. The workload in universities is quite demanding and often students are not provided with enough time and resources to meet these challenges.
In a recent survey, over 30% of students confessed that they cannot afford housing costs while close to 40% of students admitted that textbooks prices were too high as well. High education is costly and creates a burden on students, especially, those that come from financially weaker sections of society.
These are just some of the reasons why stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues are running rampant in our student population. However, what is more, concerning is the fact that universities and the system, in general, are not able to provide adequate resources to students to deal with these problems.
The Fallout? Serious Mental Health Problems and Student Suicides
Failure, on part of the educational institutions (and, the entire system, in general) in providing an environment that protects and supports the mental health of the students has led to various issues. It is estimated that one student in the UK dies by suicide every four days. These are alarming numbers that must be addressed.
