Maharashtra: 9 out 10 students stressed due to study pressure, reveals mental health survey

A mental health survey held in a government-run Kalyan-based school revealed that nine out of 10 students feel overburdened by their studies

A mental health survey held in a government-run Kalyan-based school revealed that nine out of 10 students feel overburdened by their studies. The survey was conducted to study the mental well-being of school students and what stresses them the most. The survey also throws light on how students try to find a way out themselves rather than approaching their parents or teachers.

"We have to provide a friendly environment to children so that they can openly talk about their problems and what stresses them out. During a survey, we found that nine out of 10 students were feeling stressed about their exams. The teachers and parents need to put combined efforts to normalise the pressure of exams on students. Further, 12.3 per cent of students expressed that school work makes them stressed the most," said Rakshita Manglani, a social activist.

She further added, "As per the survey, we found that 87.5 per cent of students do not want to talk to anybody but rather want to be left alone. There is a huge communication gap between students and their parents due to which they are not comfortable sharing their problems with their families."

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Sandy Khanda, founder of Green Pencil Foundation, who conducted a mental health awareness drive along with the survey said, "We asked the students, in case they found out a friend was suffering a mental health crisis, who would you approach, around 21.9 per cent of students looked for online resources to manage their mental health and only 30.1 percent of students like to share it with their teachers. Not more than 37 per cent of students would like to share with the parents about suffering and mental health crisis."

While many students these days are exposed to social media in their daily lives, a question on the usage of social media revealed that 35.6 per cent of students spend at least two to four hours on social media platforms.

"The screen time of students on mobile phones has increased these days which is not good for their mental and physical health as well," added Khanda.