As a student, maintaining good health is essential in every day of our life. Our wellbeing is a holistic journey that integrates physical, mental, and emotional health. Mental health is a cornerstone of our overall well-being, though many students often overlook it. Mental health problems can affect a student’s energy level, concentration, dependability, mental ability, and optimism, which hinder their performance. Students consider symptoms like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, psychotics, and mood swings as normal experiences which often lead to mental illness.
According to mental health research conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in four students have a diagnosable mental illness. “A lot of pressure from parents, Stress from exams, the pressure of getting good grades in university. These aspects destroy the inner peace of students. In a world where stress and fast-paced demands are commonplace, prioritising self-care and balanced living can significantly impact health and happiness. However, the case is often different for most students. The stress of pursuing academic excellence at times leads to the neglect of their health. To pass their exam, most students stay up late, reading for more than 16 hours a day, and some stay without taking proper care of their diet, which results in mental, physical and psychological problems among students.
Mental health is important at every stage of life from childhood to adolescence then to adulthood. there are several causes of mental health illness in students, which stem from depression, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder etc Most students on campus experience some of these problems but always downplay them as usual feelings.
A level three architectural student of Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Amina Abubakar narrated her experience on how school activities have been hard on her. and how it affects her mentally.
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Similarly, Maryam Jibrin, a student of the Economics department also lamented about the price of being a student. she said, “Being a student, trying to get good grades, maintaining social relationships and trying to cope with the current hardship is on another level because it’s really affecting most students in many ways.”
Consequently, mental health issues among students have a significant effect on their academic performance. social relationships, behavioural issues, physical health, lack of concentration, insomnia (having difficulty with sleeping) and other problems, which might affect students physically, mentally and psychologically.
Matt Haig, an English author and journalist said “Mental health problems don’t define who you are, they are something we experience, you walk in the rain and you feel the rain, but you are not the rain.”
Khadijat Ogido wrote via [email protected]
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