Ms. Prachi Narkar, Clinical Psychologist, AIMS Hospital, Dombivli

Mental health issues are common in today’s younger generation.  Navigating their way through this competitive world and high expectations can feel overwhelming. Juggling school, relationships, and social pressures can make it tough to maintain a healthy balance.  Uncover the factors affecting their mental health and learn how they can find support!

Mental health is a vital aspect of one’s psychological health. It negatively affects an individual’s emotional and physical well-being by heavily influencing how they think, feel, and react. Mental health plays a crucial role in determining how an individual handles a stressful situation or an event and makes prompt decisions without being guilty. There’s a significant surge in mental health problems amongst the younger generation these days.  Recently mental health issues like stress, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders are quite common. Various factors can contribute to this physiological stress and chaos.

Factors that can negatively affect the mental health of youth

* Academic stress: The increased competition in today’s world has negatively contributed to mental health problems in young people. The constant pressure to score the highest marks compared to your friends and successfully excel in this competitive world can be overwhelming. This can further lead to exhaustion, burnout, anxiety, and stress. Over time, this stress can heavily affect their academic performance.

* Relationship challenges: Navigating and managing relationships when you are young can be emotionally challenging. It is quite common to fight or disagree with the opinions of your friends, family members, relatives, and romantic partners. This can further lead to feelings of loneliness, social isolation, and guilt. They may often struggle to express themselves or try to resolve their conflicts which can heighten emotional stress and anxiety.

• Social media influence: These days social media plays a critical role in the lives of adolescents. Young people are more likely to easily compare themselves with others in terms of happiness, friends, followers, and particularly the way of living life. This can further lead to low self-esteem and even identity crisis. Issues like cyberbullying on social media can negatively impact one’s mental health.

* The stigma surrounding mental health: Mental health is often seen as a sign of weakness. This is why young people may often try to neglect the early signs and symptoms associated with mental health. They may fear being easily judged by their friends when they try to express their mental health struggles. This can negatively prevent them from sharing their issues with others while creating an endless cycle of constant suffering.

The last word: Relaxation techniques like yoga and meditation, practicing self-care, communicating with family and friends, exercising daily, eating a nutritious diet, journaling, being kind and considerate toward others, limiting screen time and spending quality time in nature, sleeping well, and seeking counseling can be helpful.