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Mental Illness Among Students

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 Mental Illness Among Students
Hafiz Umer Habib

ABSTRACT

Mental health problems can affect a student's energy level, concentration, dependability, mental ability, and optimism,
hindering performance. Over the past few decades, mental illness has been extensively increased among students. Most of the
people think that mental illness is something that happens to someone else like “that won’t affect me; I am not like a mentally
retarded person” and that’s the root of this problem. People are considering the symptoms as normal. Anxiety, depression,
eating disorders, psychotics and mood swings are the most common symptoms that cannot be ignored. The truth is that, among
students, anxiety, depression and eating disorders are extremely common. According to mental health research conducted by
the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in four students has a diagnosable mental illness. A lot of pressure from
parents, Stress from exams, - pressure of getting good grades in university. These aspects destroy the inner peace of students.
Going away on an exchange may for sure add to that - it is an additional challenge that can sometimes make you feel more
stressed and on edge. According to a research, students that are diagnosed with either anxiety or depression” among children
aged 9–23 life increased from 5.4% in 2003 to 8% in 2007 and to 8.4% in 2011–2012 and 11.6 % in 2013-2020. The scale
relates to the four types of the mental disorders among students, such as tired or headaches, mood swings or insomnia. Previous
results showed that more the 38% students are diagnosed with mental disorders. The results showed that the mental illness
affect mental illness affected health status and destroyed the inner peace of students.

Key words: Mental Illness, depression, Inner Peace, University Students, Suicidal thoughts

Significance of study thoughts In fact, suicide is the second-leading

cause of death for those between the ages of
The aim of the present study was to 15 and 24.and that’s the major reason why I
investigate the influence of mental illness want to talk about this topic. The findings of
among university students and how this this study will inform curriculum
mental disorder is destroying the whole development for graduate and post-graduate
upcoming generation. The university life of midwifery students therefore improving the
an individual are emotionally and care and support women with mental illness
intellectually more demanding than almost receive from antenatal services.
any other stage of education. At this stage, an
individual faces a great deal of pressures and Research questions
challenges that pose a variety of physical,
social and emotional difficulties. As a result Before coming to the main point, I would
of changing social and emotional picture of like to share the questions that I will cover in
university students, they become more this segment:
vulnerable for developing mental health
problems. Mental Health diagnoses affect • Why students are facing mental
about 20% of the population at any given issues??
time. A plethora of research has focused on • Why we need to highlight this
study of the prevalence of mental health issue??
problems among university population and • How it can lead to suicidal
the findings suggest that throughout the thoughts??
world, a substantial number of university • Why depression and suicidal
students experience mental health problems. awareness is necessary for
When these health problems became severe, students??
they can lead an individual to suicidal
• What should be the role of parents
to stop this disorder from its
beginning??
Objectives
The authors have approached this
research keeping these objectives in
mind:
Introduction
The university life of a student is emotionally
and intellectually more challenging than any
other stage of life. At this stage, a student
faces a great deal of pressures and struggles
that pose a lot of physical, social and
emotional difficulties.[1] As a result of
changing social and emotional picture of
university students, they become more
victims for developing mental health
problems A excess of research has focused on
study of the frequency of mental health
problems among university population and
the findings suggest that throughout the
world, a substantial number of university
students experience mental health problems.
Studies have also showed that mental health
problems among university students are
increasing in number as well as in cruelty.
The concept of mental health can be defined
and conceptualized differently in different
aspects. There are different ways to view of
factors of mental health problems that may
determine the definition of what is mentally
healthy and what type of counseling and
interventions procedures are appropriate to
manage mental health problems and what
could be the preliminary precautions that can
be done in order to remove this disorder from
students. College students struggle with
growing issues and some are struggling with
more multifaceted and chronic problems and
some are dealing with poor grades problems.
The more common problems faced by
university students are mood disturbances,
eating dis-orders, interpersonal problems and
destruction of inner-peace. University
students often claim to experience stress,
• To determine whether this mental
illness is significantly different
between students of different
status.
• To improve health and quality of life for
people affected by these conditions.
• To raise awareness about the mental
health continuum among students.
anxiety, symptoms of depression, eating
problems and other psychological issues.
The university period is recognized
as a time of significant transition resulting in
changes to the students relationship with his,
family, friends, and wider social network. As
part of this transition the student may also
experience emotional changes that may range
from mild distress and worry to significant
mental distress. This mental distress can
emerge at any time during the first year or the
last year or may be after .These mental health
problems can cause repetition of an existing
mental health problem or the development of
a new problem. It is estimated that between 8-
19% of students will experience depression
during the first year of university. Static rates
of severe depression range between 15-25%
due to the fear of not getting a straight-
forward job after graduation. Being aware of
student with a prior history of mental distress
is critical for practitioners. In particular,
student with a prior history of getting a lot of
pressure from parents during college will
surely maintain its streak during university
life. This is especially true for those who stop
proper counseling abruptly. Evidence
suggests that a previous history of an anxiety
disorder is also a risk factor for a mood
disorder which is depression or anxiety.
When this counseling stops, suicidal thoughts
may destroyed your inner peace or self-
esteem. In addition, suicide continues to be a
significant cause of maternal mortality.
Literature review
Home instability
Mental Illness might be a potential sign
of home instability. It includes a broad range
of housing-related problems, such as being
pennilessness, living in overcrowded or
doubled-up residences such as living with
friends or family to decrease costs, and
frequent residential moves, all of which low-
income renter households may experience
before becoming homeless.[2] The concept of
home instability is commonly used to indicate
housing situations. Thus, households that
experience residential instability experience a
spectrum of housing-related issues that are
more severe than those with housing
affordability problems usually allocating 30%
of household income on housing cost because
most of the students cannot pay their
university fee. Students coming from
different cities likely to face more financial
issues. [3] They tend to be more economically
disadvantaged than the overall poverty
population and are more likely to experience
homelessness at some point Research
suggests that the association between housing
instability and health status or health behavior
is closely related to loss of housing,
overcrowding experienced by those who have
to live in shared housing to save money, and
residential mobility. Some studies, for
instance, suggest that housing loss causes
mental illness because it decreases one’s
feeling of personal control and induces stress
Negative health behaviors likely associated
with stress from housing instability include
drug abuse and unhealthy eating habits, which
can lead to chronic diseases
Data collections
Study to investigate the effects of mental
illness on perceived health status, including
the subjective physical and mental health
(depression) of renters. An ongoing
longitudinal study by the Korea Institute for
Health and Social Affairs has been conducted
on a nationally representative sample of
Korean citizens over the age of 15 years since
2006. [6,7] The survey sample represents
90% of the census conducted in the first
survey, which may reflect the overall health
status of the population in Korea. In addition,
since about 50% of the total sample is
selected from the low-income group (less
than 60% of the national median income at
the time of sampling), the data were
especially appropriate for low-income
targeted policies and poverty research.
Consequences for Campuses
Poor student retention can mean losses in
tuition, fees, and alumni donations.
Campuses feel the burden when students
with mental health difficulties do poorly on
course work and drop out of school. This
may affect their university rankings
because if students don’t do well in studies
than they could not match the standard by
their education commissions[9]. Colleges
and universities must be prepared to
address the psychological impact of mental
illness among students that can lead to
suicides which is one the most leading
issue of the current generation[12]
Gap Year
It has been studied that the severe stage of
mental illness will lead the students to the
gap years. Moreover, the relationship
between student’s families after the gap
year may lead the students to a severe level
of depression. When a students will start
 lagging as compared to other students, Table 1: Analysis related to gap
he/she feels such an immense amount of years
mental stress that no one can imagine[13]
Currently, no literature is available in the
are related to gap years or after schooling
on self-concept and the literature available
on the influence of on self-concept seem
to be unreliable[14]. The findings of the
present study specify statistically important
lower self-concept scores on all scales
except psychic values and physical ability
in students belonging to lower middle class
family as compared to those of upper and
upper middle class of universities[15].
Table 1: status of students in gap years

Methodology whom and when[18]. Despite all these

It’s time to take action to stop mental health
problems from happening. Researches has
come to a stage where we are starting to
discover what we can do to prevent, for
organizational issues, facts will be facts and
that is a huge proportion of university
students suffer from serious mental health
problems that may affect the normal
functioning of their daily life routines but
 there are several methods that can be life lessons, learn to play an instrument or become
saving in students’ life. fluent in another language could be useful.

Proper counseling Healthy lifestyle

Students who have suffered do not receive
any therapeutic or any services. Mental health
problems among the university students may
be short term and long term consequences
including trying to avoid work, human
capacity and poor academic performance
Mental health problems are positively
associated with increased nicotine and other
drugs. The need and the value of student
therapy is maintained by the fact that
whenever such services are provided, the cost
of these services often tend to increase in
time. The awareness about increasing mental
health problems and associated negative
consequences also increase the demand for
developing counseling services for university.
So to stop this disorder, there must be at least
one counseling department in each university.
Researches shows that students having healthy
lifestyles and avoid the severe attacks of mental
disorders in university. So we should promote
healthy lifestyles including nutrition and exercise at
the university level because if your body is healthy
then your mind will be fresh. So it could be the most
lethal way to stop a mental illness from its
beginning[19].
Analysis
Now, we will check the statiscal analysis taken
from different sources all around the world.
Table 3 has shown that the ratio of mental
illness is huge among people 18 -25 age
[20].Most of them will be students and they
will take over the world in their upcoming life.
But what if they trapped in this disorder?

Educate parents

Parents can play a vital role in this area. They

should talk to their kids on regularly basis
especially when their kid feels very sad or
avoid university for more than two weeks or
Not eating, throwing up, or using laxatives to
make oneself uncomfortable because
sometimes a little therapy can be useful to save
someone’s life for an instance o two.

Student responsibility
According to research taken by the American
psychological association that a total of 87% of
I think the students should be aware of the
American students agreed that having a mental health
harm effects of mental illness. If can managed
disorder is nothing to be ashamed of, and 86% said
to survive the difficult times, then he can
they believe that people with mental health disorders
survive the harsh waves of mental stress but
can get better and that is the best thing. The survey
for that he must have to value himself. If he
found that 87% of people said they would be very
can treat himself with kindness and respect,
comfortable being friends with someone with a
and avoid self-criticism and make time for
mental health disorder, and 69% would be very
hobbies and favorite games, or broaden your
comfortable in interacting with a person with a
horizons, these all are such ideas that will
mental health disorder. Those numbers plunged,
inhale someone to get rid of this disorder. Do a
though, for more intimate[22,23]
daily crossword puzzle, gardening, take dance
envelopment: The proportion of people comfortable letting someone with a mental health disorder care
relating someone with a mental health disorder was for a child.
51%, and only 35% said they would be comfortable
Despite this welcome news, some humiliation still
exists. A third of defendants (33%) agreed with the
statement, people with mental health disorders scare
them and 39%would viewSomeone differently if they
knew that person had a mental health disorder and
that is the bad thing and that will enhance mental
Another survey has taken adolescent mental
health department, that the majority of students
having ages between 20-24 years will suffer mental
stress due to having poor lifestyles and this ratio is
increasing day by day
DISCUSSION/FINDINGS
The research was designed to examine the link
between the student life with the university.
Currently, not enough literature is available to the
researchers on the influence of mental illness among
students in university and the literature available on
the influence of mental illness seems to be not
enough. The findings of the present study indicate
statistically significant lower scores on all scales
except psychic values and physical ability in students
belonging to lower-middle-class families as
compared to those of upper and upper-class families.
These results demonstrate that parent’s education,
occupation, and income influence their beliefs,
disorder among students. If the society play an
important role in breaking down the shackles of this
disorder then this could be overcome within few
years.
behavior, and expectations, this leads to providing
better educational support and lifestyle. Families with
low incomes are more concerned with providing
basic needs only to their children. The constant
stressors that encourage poverty, reduced parental
involvement, and hostile living environments deeply
affect an individual’s mental health. This study also
encourages the way for getting higher studies to
identify students who may show signs of weakness in
the early stages and those who end up becoming ill or
commit suicide Moreover, the magnitude of the
problems might also help in policy making and
establishing counseling centers in universities.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the findings of the present study
indicated that the students with severe mental illness
experience an elevated level of load, particularly
related to encouraging the patient and worrying about
the patient. In this study, it can be suggested that a
high-quality lifestyle and satisfaction family may
positively affect the students’ behavior in their
subjective physical health status and reduce
depressive symptoms. Further, social exclusion of
individuals in permanent mental stress may increase
the feeling of isolation and aggravate their mental
health risks. While permanent mental illness may
contribute to reducing involuntary residential
mobility for low-income renters, it may have a
negative influence on their psychological health and
will destroy their inner peace
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