This World Mental Health Day 2018, students talk about mental health and the initiatives on campuses

M.Sc student Pravin Kumar Pawar was showing signs of depression following an incident in College. “I had scored badly in a test and the teacher screamed at me in front of the entire class for that. Having a teacher scold you in front of so many people can be very insulting and I felt horrible,” quips Pravin, he further adds, “I was quite upset after and isolating myself from my friends.In fact, one friend even came up to me and we ended up in a fight and I said things I should not have. When you have such a mental breakdown, you are not in control of what you say or do. That is the thing when you suppress emotions; you have such breakdowns which can hurt those around you. It is very important to share what you are feeling, vent out and just speak whatever is in your mind.”
In a population of more than one hundred and thirty crore people in the country, 7.5 per cent of the population is facing major or minor mental illness, states a report by the World Health Organisation. Another report by the National Mental Health Survey of India, 2015-16 found nearly 9.8 million of young Indians aged between 13-17 years are in need of active interventions.
“Contrary to the earlier times, families today are nuclear and put higher level of expectations onto the children. Earlier, there were more sources of income in a family which is not the case now. These expectations combined with stress, low knowledge of coping mechanisms, inadequate social support, peer pressure and social hierarchies found in colleges have led to an increase in stress, anxiety and depression,” shares Natasha D’Cruz, a clinical psychologist, further adding, “Additionally, the youth is not accustomed to setbacks. Having lived at home the entire time, students are used to being successful with most things, however moving out also brings in the first failures they face alone which can affect them massively.”
Akshay Chavan, a founding member of Fergusson College’s mental health initiative- Listening Club shares, “We get a lot of calls from students where they have problems such as being forced into a particular study stream, a variety of relationship problems, high expectations from family and the fear of not getting a job.” Pravin had spoken to Akshay after seeing the listening club’s post on social media. “As a listening club, we let the people stay anonymous and call us to speak their hearts out. We have a handy list of psychologists and psychiatrists to recommend to the people who need them,” says Group member Nitin Jadhav. The third person in the group is Dhanashri Patil who says, “The people who call us with problems, solve it themselves by speaking about it so much. We do not advice anybody as we are not psychologists but we do share our personal stories if needed.” Akshay continues the discussion, saying, “I, myself, have suffered from depression which was my main motive of starting this club. I spent a year being quiet and not speaking about how I feel until I just broke down in front of my friends one day.” He adds, “In spite of a counselling cell in the college, people do not go to it because of therapy being such a taboo.”
His words of therapy being a taboo ring true in the life of Saakshi Rajpurkar, “I was discouraged from going to therapy. I was told it will make me weak and I should be independent and strong. I was going through an initial stage of depression at the time and I would like to say that therapy does help. Adults need to be educated on the importance of therapy. They need to unlearn and be taught that Mental Illness are just as any other illness.” Speaking of other elements to heal, she shares, “Art is something that always works as a stress-buster. Whenever I feel sad or anxious, I fill up colouring books or colour old sketches. It really helps me calm down and relax. Moreover, dance is something which was of great help to me. I went back to dance during my depressed state and it really did make me feel better. In fact, taking up a hobby is encouraged in therapy as, scientifically speaking, it releases endorphins.”
Saakshi is a student at Symbiosis School of Liberal Arts where students are much vocal in terms of mental health today, “There was a student who was facing a lot of mental stress and she got angry at the lack of mental health facilities and spoke up about how the college needs to take it seriously. We have seminars, talks and the campus is much more open to talk of mental health today. There is also a support group for the LGBTQA+ community,” she quips. Fellow University-Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies has realised the rise in mental health issues too in students and started pet therapy. “The pet therapy was started in Symbiosis Lavale and they have now been moved to the Khadki Campus. While I was doing my graduation there, it was a great support having the puppies around. The main stress factor in students was the hectic schedules and studies. I remember being so stressed this one night. I had an examination the next day and I was so worried about how I would perform. It was late in the night and I was just anxiously studying in my room and Rubin (One of the pet therapy Labradors) just walked in and cuddled up next to me. It really reduces the stress when you pet them and cuddle up or play a round of fetch,” shares Dhruv Dutta.
Adding to this, Mayuri Bhosle, Second year MBA student at Symbiosis shares, “The pet therapy is quite helpful, especially after classes from 8 in the morning till 8 in the night and sometimes 9. The hectic schedules can lead to so much stress so walking the pets, playing a round of fetch or simply petting them can be a great way to relieve that.” She continues, “There was a time last year when I was going through high levels of stress and anxiety due to back-to-back summer internship placement interviews and examinations all happening at once. I could not cope with it all and just went to the common area and broke down which was followed by Alpha and Rubin cuddling up next to me and making me pet them, play with them which reduced the stress. They can be like the friend whose shoulder you cry on.”
Moving onto Modern College Ganeshkhind, the institute has started two initiatives. While their Ummeed initiative is aimed at the support staff, the Disha Councelling is aimed at students. Asawari , a second year student at Modern College Ganeshkhind says, “I started seeing signs of stress and depression after facing some family issues. I wanted to vent out my feelings and speak about what was going on so ended up taking a few counselling sessions with my Department head which was a big support.” A helpful part of the situation was the peer support group- Disha Counselling where students get the chance to speak about issues which are relevant to their lives. “The peer support group is really informative. It gives us an insight into a broader level of thoughts. I remember one session on freedom when everyone was complaining about not getting to go out much but a fellow classmate spoke of how he comes from a smaller town where things are much stricter in comparison the lives we lead and that changed my entire perspective on life. I realised how I took things for granted and I value things much more now.”
Sailee Modak, a psychology professor at Nowrosjee Wadia College shares, “The most number of cases we see are those of family issues. We have had students suffering abuse, bullying and some relationship issues as well.” The department of Psychology has started an initiative called Beautiful Minds. On the day of Mental Health Awareness, the department holds a two day programme which sees street play competitions, poetry and the most important- tables set out to talk about different health issues. “We have different booths to create awareness on different issues. We have booths of depression, gender and feminism, LGBTQ, menstrual health and Bi-Polarity among many more. There are about nine booths and the aim is to educate people on the topics. Furthermore, we have talks and seminars which teach us about mental well-being and create awareness. We also have film screenings over the year,” shares Kritika Khalre. The department students actively speak about mental health issues on Social Media.
Symptoms of mental health illness: (Visit a psychologist if symptoms remain for longer than two weeks)
* Uncharacteristic behaviour
* Loss of interest
* Isolation
A friend of a child facing mental illness can give the student a patient hearing. If the issue is a minor one even that is a big help. But in case of major issues such as emotional turmoil due to a break up, dealing with academic failure or clinical issue such as depression, OCD or suicidal thoughts, the friend can help by actively getting the student to seek help from a professional ( on campus if they have it) or off campus if they don't. The friend can also help to reduce the stigma of seeking help by accompanying, assisting the student while seeking help. In case of suicidal ideation, if a student has shared this with a friend, not just seeking help from a professional but also helping in monitoring the schedule is something friends can do. Even when students are availing of therapy or counselling, social support from friends and family is crucial.
-Dr. Sadhana Natu, Associate Professor and Head, Dept. of Psychology, Modern College, Ganeshkhind, Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist