World Mental Health Day 2021: How to meet psychological needs of youth during COVID time

World Mental Health Day 2021: World Mental Health Day is observed globally on October 10 with an objective to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide. Since 2020, this COVID pandemic situation has made people emphasize more the need for coping strategies. Therefore now people are more conscious about the ways to deal with lockdowns, extended isolation, and most consistent uncertainty.   

Affect of COVID-19 on education

The COVID-19 situation has turned the world of academics upside down. Since the first wave of COVID-19 schools, tutions, and other institutes are relying more on online education. The students, as well as parents, found it quite difficult to adjust to this change,  Parents had to cope with work and the educational needs of their children and families had to deal with multiple anxieties regularly.

Educationist Rajesh Bhatia, Founder, and CEO of Treehouse Education says, “On this Mental Health Day, let us not forget how much stress our children have gone through during this time. They stayed indoors during the lockdown, were cut off from activities that define childhood, and had to suddenly connect with their peers and teachers on a computer screen.”

He further said, “We incorporated activities that helped children channel their physical energy, curiosity, and the need to socialise. We designed modules that included not just conventional learning but encouraged exploration of the immediate physical environment. We engaged parents too so that they could bond with their  kids over music, art, dance, storytelling rather than just worry about learning milestones.”

Rajesh Bhatia on School Reopening

As the schools are opening up in India, the lifestyle of children and their parents is going to change again. With an aim to make this transition as seamless as possible, educators and parents should be counseled. They must be counseled to prepare children for what lies ahead. Rajesh Bhatia says, "Children will go through stress again as now they have to renegotiate their relationship with the world and possibly stick to a mask mandate and social distancing protocol. There is nothing normal about this new reality because they can no longer just be children, or socialise and learn with complete freedom.”

Rajesh further says, “I read recently that the WHO has found a fifth of children and adolescents worldwide suffering from mental illness. In India, these numbers are even more distressing because nearly 10-15 percent of teens aged 16 or below suffer from a diagnosable psychiatric disorder. Every day, we read about young people dying by suicide and these numbers are too high to be ignored.”

Prevention begins with better understanding: WHO

A lot of things are there that can be done to help build mental resilience from an early age, to help prevent mental distress and illness among adolescents and young adults, and to manage and recover from mental illness. As it is said, prevention is better than cure, prevention begins with being aware of and understanding the early warning signs and symptoms of mental illness. Parents and teachers can help build life skills of children and adolescents to help them cope with everyday challenges at home and at school. WHO says, "Psychosocial support can be provided in schools and other community settings and of course training for health workers to enable them to detect and manage mental health disorders can be put in place, improved or expanded."