Bhubaneswar: Expressing concern over rising suicidal tendency among youths especially college students, the State Government is going to start mental health awareness programmes in Government, Government-aided colleges & State-run Universities.
In this regard, an MoU was signed between ‘Mo College’ and ‘Indian Psychiatric Society (Odisha State Branch) on Friday to create awareness about psychological and mental health issues among students of various government, government-aided colleges & public universities.
Akash Dasnayak, Chairperson of ‘Mo College’, Amrit Pattojoshi (President) and Ashrumochan Sahoo (Secretary) were present during signing the MoU.
Rapidly increasing mental health issues including suicidal tendency of students is the major concern of society these days. Competitive and academic rat-race among young minds without being aware about its negative impacts the student has to bear the brunt throughout his/her life.
India Psychiatric Society is one of the oldest professional bodies with an aim to work for the improvement of mental health in society and to reduce the stigma and create awareness regarding mental health, officials said.
Equipped with learned eminent psychiatrists with vast experience, it will be working major areas of deficit that needs urgent attention like, increasing suicidality, stigma leading to gaps in treatment, reduced self-help skills, poor coping style, strained interpersonal relationships etc, they said.
Throughout the training, students from various colleges and universities of Odisha will be trained to identify different mental health issues, stress management, create awareness, reduce stigma and also to identify warning signs of suicide as well as to build resilience and other supportive methods.
“These days students are getting mentally pressured due to several reasons. Let it be social media, online gambling, expectations of family and relatives as well as the peer pressure of establishing themselves well in society. When all this doesn’t go accordingly, suicidal tendencies occur, so mental health awareness is need of the moment right now,” Shri Dasnayak said. In the first phase, this awareness campaign will be held in 100 colleges, he informed.
On the other hand, Dr.Pattojoshi stated “Human life is a gift of god. The main motive of this MoU is to empower youngsters and students as well as to create awareness over their mental health. It includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being.”
Mental Health affects how one thinks, feels, and acts. It also helps determine how one can handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood,” he said.