By Ananya Jain
“What do you want to become when you grow up?”
“How much did you score in exams this year?”
Do these two questions jog your memory down to a taxing conversation you had with your family or peers? Well, you are not alone.
The extent to which education and career plans have taken a toll on the mental health of young minds is a matter of grave concern.
According to WHO, “10-20% of children and adolescents experience mental health conditions, but most of them do not seek help or receive care.
Why is that?
Society has created a stigma around mental health because of a lack of awareness and fallacious beliefs. Many think that the word “mental health” does not exist, instead, they consider it as a clear case of spiritual possession or drama. Some of them are subjected to jibes and jeers, therefore they fear to acknowledge their mental wellbeing.
Now, if you think about it, most of us are very synonymous with the characters of the “3 idiots” movie.
Some are like “Raju Rastogi” who encountered the hardships of the rat race very early in life, therefore we fear failures, and some are like “Farhan Qureshi” who are enforced with a pre-planned future and are condemned to follow their passion. The “Virus” in their lives was a clear example of the harrowing state of students in colleges/ schools that struggle to keep up with societal pressures. The two of them had Rancho to give a happily ever after ending. But, not a lot of you have that person to haul you out of such a disastrous plight.
The one place we could fall back upon could be the mental health laws in our country. The mental healthcare act introduced in 2017 intended to protect and promote the rights of the people undergoing mental illnesses. But its implementation is not at par with the societal conditions.
The pressure and stress of juggling your work life or school tasks have always been inevitable. Therefore, we need to inspire the young minds and uphold their
confidence so that they can avoid diving into the pitfall. So here are some tips for you and your loved ones:
1. The most crucial one is to reach out to those who you trust or seek professional help.
2. Do not feel intimidated but motivated by your role models/ overachieving peers.
3. Develop short-term goals instead of going straight for long-term goals.
4. Never lose hope in your failures and start over because it is never too late.
5. Explore your roots as much as you want.
6. Empathize and learn from others.
7. Normalize being unacquainted with every single little detail.
Before leaving you readers, I would like to conclude by saying that in a world of “Viruses” do not try to be Rancho, just be the best version of yourself!
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Ananya Jain is an advocate for neurodiversity with Project Inclusion'20.
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