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Educators must be well aware of mental health issues among students since they are often the closest to their students and the first-line of defence against any. Education experts recognize the implications of a student's mental health on learning and achievement, and there is much that can be done to support students with mental health problems. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one out of every five people suffer from a mental illness and most people wait until adulthood to seek help. The fact that 60 percent of students with mental illnesses do not graduate emphasizes the severity of the situation. One of the main factors contributing to mental illness according to the World Health Organization, is depression. Tragically, among people aged 15 to 29, suicide ranks as the fourth most common cause of death.
Nowadays, students are heavily involved with social media such as Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitter and they may be subjected to destructive comparisons, cyber- bullying, body-shaming and a host of other threats. A person's reputation can be ruined in minutes through social media, and with long-term implications. Educators can work to raise awareness of these threats among the students. The concept of self-care and responsibility for one's own mental health and wellness with an emphasis on the fact that mental health is an intrinsic part of health, are important elements to highlight to student. Students and teachers should be taught how to spot the indicators of growing mental health issues such as apathy, feelings of disconnection, anxiousness, social withdrawal, mood changes, and a reduction in academic performance are some of the signs. Undiagnosed or untreated mental illness can have a significant impact on a child's capacity to learn and thrive. It can result in negative coping techniques and, in the worst-case scenario, suicide.
In order to deal with the crisis in student mental health, institutions should hire more counsellors. Organizations should advocate upstream solutions, such as training initiatives that focus on behavioural difficulties like stress management and resiliency. These could aid in avoiding complications down the road. At Wake Forest University and Ohio State University, student wellness centres have created models that guarantee students' wellbeing on a variety of levels, including the emotional, physical, social, academic, and financial ones.
Mental health education should begin at a young age as teenagers spend the majority of their time at school and campus, it's logical that mental health awareness and education be integrated into the curriculum. Students will be able to seek the aid they require if we empower them with knowledge and open discussion. Schools and universities must build an environment in which mental health disorders can be discovered and treated without the fear of being stigmatized.
While de-stigmatizing the necessity for seeking mental health care, leadership can also reduce access barriers to mental health support facilities. Here, student-led outreach initiatives and integrated peer-to-peer programmes can start a dialogue to better identify and support learner needs. These can also promote empathy among classmates, the benefit of sharing comparable experiences, and understanding of the supports for mental health that are available. Students must be taught stress management skills, as well as how to convey their feelings and, most importantly, that failure is OK.
With this realization, MAHSA University has begun to incorporate mental health education as a common module for our programmes. We hope to eventually have this for all our programmes so that all MAHSA students will have a better understanding of mental health issues and how they can cope with these issues effectively, or support a peer who may be facing mental health issues. This is in-line with MAHSA University’s commitment to do the best for our students and provide them with all the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed in life.