Monday 17 July 2017

Why Students’ Mental Health Deteriorate?

Young kids can’t wait to go to school. The idea of meeting new friends, having new school stuff and learning a lot of things excites many young students. However, their enthusiasm wanes down over the years.

Peer pressure, problems with bullies, and increasingly difficult class lessons can put a strain on a student’s mental health. Add to that, parents have less and less time for their kids because of added demands at work and the desire to earn more to provide for their family.

As student’s progress through school, they face more and more stressors that affect their outlook on life. Gone was the bright-eyed child so full of excitement and curiosity to learn more in life. College proves to be the hardest hurdle of all as the pressure of rising tuition fees, relationship conflicts with peers, lack of funding for educational groups and the opposite sex and academic challenges leave students drained and mentally exhausted.

“Going to university coincides with a period of immense change and personal development. We know that one in four young people are going to have an issue with their mental health. I just felt it was important to break the stigma attached to things like anxiety and depression,” Connolly says.

Such is the prevalence of ­mental health among university students that increasingly institutions are being forced to focus their attention on it.

From puberty to their late teens, students find it difficult to make the transition from their youth to adulthood because help is not always there when they need it. And many of them also feel alone once they go to college.

“This is largely due to the timing of onset of these disorders during the critical period of emerging adulthood,” Veness reports.

A study last year by 11 academics from the University of Melbourne, published in the journal Studies in Higher Education,confirmed that one in four of the 5000 undergraduate respondents to the study had reported suffering some form of severe psychological distress — most commonly depression, anxiety and stress — and noted that those levels were higher than found in the general community. The results were particularly strong for those studying arts and veterinary science.

“While severe levels of student psychological distress are reported across diverse academic programs, there are particular stressors associated with some fields of study,” the researchers note.

(Via: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/higher-education-growing-focus-on-students-mental-health/news-story/fd559fb917a1426a31e3029a90bcc2db)

It is high time that the government steps in and address these sensitive issues faced by students all over the country.

The last day to file bills during the 85th Texas Legislature was Friday, and local lawmakers are taking on some big issues in education, mental health and criminal justice.

State Sen. Kel Seliger, chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee, filed two priority bills aimed at reining in the rising cost of college.

The Amarillo Republican and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have made tuition reform a key issue in the Senate, arguing that academic charges have risen at a much faster rate than household income.

It is definitely good news for everyone – especially households with college students.

Price, a Republican from Amarillo, became chairman of the House Public Health Committee this year after leading a select committee on mental health in 2015.

His legislation aims to achieve parity in insurance coverage for those with mental health issues and improve assistance for mentally ill students and prison inmates.

Price also added his name to a bill that makes texting and driving a crime. Attempts to pass such a bill have been shot down several legislative session in a row.

(Via: http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2017-03-14/state-legislature-amarillo-lawmakers-tackle-mental-health-tuition)

In as much as the community and the government have a role in improving the mental health of students, it is primarily the responsibility of their parents to do so. Aside from providing for their needs, parents should also be sensitive to their feelings and offer support when they need help. Students can cope better at school if they know that their parents got their back and that they are always there when they need them the most.

The following blog post Why Students’ Mental Health Deteriorate? was initially published on Iamnotanartist.org Blog



source https://www.iamnotanartist.org/why-students-mental-health-deteriorate/

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