Schools are supposed to be safe spaces where students can learn, have fun, and build relationships. But in reality, many students face enormous pressure that takes a toll on their mental health. From the early morning rush to meet up with schedule, to the afterschool cram sessions, many of our students are already prone to developing anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. In this article, we’ll explore the hidden truths behind how schools affect students’ mental health and what we can do about it.
The Pressure to Perform
We refer to school environments as places of learning, but often, they feel more like battlegrounds where students are continuously fighting to perform better than their peers. Students today face an unprecedented number of tests, presentations, and assignments on top of their regular coursework. With guidance from parents and teachers emphasizing the importance of good grades, many students feel the pressure to excel, leading them to stress, anxiety, and exhaustion.
Self-Efficacy and Self-Image
School settings impact students’ confidence and shape their sense of self-image. Constantly being compared to, and ranked against, other students can be very harmful and affect students’ self-esteem, identity, and confidence. A lack of adequate support from friends, family, and teachers during mental health crises may lead to students feeling disconnected, unsupported, or abandoned. Ultimately, this can lead to severe mental health issues.
School Safety
School safety is an essential aspect of mental health. If schools fail to provide a safe learning environment, it can lead to anxiety and related mental health problems for the students. Additionally, bullying, harassment, or any other fear may worsen students’ mental health difficulties.
Support for Students
It is vital to prioritize mental health care, counseling programs, and support services within the school setting. Student support services should help students discuss personal or academic problems and create coping mechanisms. It is essential to start early and intervene early, putting your focus on prevention rather than responding to crises. This may help students build resilience to the endless grind of academic challenges.
Conclusion
The truth is, our schools’ rigid structures and relentless pressure to perform better than others are taking a severe toll on our students’ mental health. It is only by recognizing the intricacies of mental health and offering enough support to our students that we can mitigate the situation. Recognizing that the schools’ role goes beyond academic learning and prioritizing mental health care within the school level is the first step in the right direction. Ultimately, we need students to build better resilience capacity against this academic penultimate, so measures geared towards training for resilience can be introduced to help them cope better for the future rigidity of academic/personal living alike.
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