HYDERABAD: Though a prevalent social malady, mental health issues continue to be neglected. The current lot of youngsters are being subjected to a tremendous amount of parental and peer pressure apart from the fear of failure, as a result of which many are resorting to killing themselves or becoming addicted to substance abuse. At a time when the world seems bleak and people are losing hope regarding the mental health front, a noted psychologist has been carrying out ‘mental health awareness camps’, in colleges across the State.
However, Dr C Veerender is not someone who shies away from the stage. He has been conducting various kinds of workshops in government and private educational institutions since 2015. His latest initiative has been the mental health awareness camps which he started on April 16, 2022, amid the pandemic.
In the past year, he has conducted camps in 15 institutes and addressed around 20,000 students. His mantra has been simple — overcome mental health issues with routine and discipline.
Speaking to TNIE, Dr Veerender mentions that he noted the rise of anxiety and depression among students after the pandemic. “Due to the loss of jobs in their families amid the uncertainty of a pandemic and being forced to stay in isolation for days, students have become more prone to anxiety and depression. Anger among children and exhibiting bad behaviour towards their parents and teachers is another issue that I have noticed,” he says.
‘Parents downplay what the victim goes through’
Speaking about the spate of suicides in hostels, he is of the opinion that the victim’s parents often downplay the extent of frustration and pressure a student is under even after being intimated of the same. “Often, students end up taking the extreme step because they feel no one understands their issues. There is often tremendous pressure on students to perform better academically. This often leads to depression and when they feel like that for prolonged periods of time, they start believing is the only way out for them,” he opines.
Dr Veerender believes having a counsellor in educational institutes can help improve the situation. “The heads of educational institutions should first acknowledge that mental health issues among students is a real issue. They should engage a person who will address the issues faced by students. In fact, there is a Supreme Court ruling stating that every institution should have a counselling psychologist,” he reminds.
While stating that regular physical exercise can also help students, he says introspection and honesty also form the basic tenets of beating depression and anxiety. “Firstly, students need to start being honest with themselves. When they are learning in an honest way, they can gauge what needs to change in their lives and take appropriate measures,” Dr Veerender states.
He says, “In an environment where the focus is the completion of syllabus and pressure from peer groups, it can become extremely difficult for them since they have not developed the tools to handle that level of pressure. To escape from this constant torment, they start gaming, watching porn and just chatting, which can soon lead to addiction.”
The psychologist points out that almost half the number of current students in the age group of 17 to 21 suffer from mobile addiction, concentration issues and anxiety.
Apart from regular depression and anxiety, Dr Veerender also creates awareness of neurodivergence issues and bipolar disorder among other things and teaches students how to overcome such issues.