World Mental Health Day is observed on 10th October 2021. This day becomes all the more relevant during the ongoing the COVID-19 pandemic and the decision to slowly reopen schools. The extent to which the pandemic has given rise to mental health concerns among the youth is unprecedented in both its extent and its intensity- on both accounts it’s potential impact can last years, if immediate steps are not taken.
The Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya recently stressed on the need for teachers to be trained and oriented about mental health issues among children so that they are able to identify such problems early and refer them for treatment or counselling. In light of this Ms. Gracy Andrew, Vice President + Country Director in India, CorStone calls for making mental well-being a fundamental outcome of all programs and embedding mental well-being training into everyday learning and institutions.
When COVID-19 hit the global community, the impact of the pandemic on mental health gained worldwide attention. The extent to which the pandemic has given rise to mental health concerns is unprecedented in both its extent and its intensity- on both accounts it’s potential impact can last years, if immediate steps are not taken. A big opportunity that the pandemic has given is the extent to which stigma around reaching out for mental health help has reduced. Yet, what we are dealing with today is deeper than what we see on the surface.
Now as governments are being urged to reopen schools and institutions we need to be aware of the impact that such stresses have had on students’ and young people’s mental health. Many will still be dealing with grief and loss from the hospitalization and/or death of loved ones, isolation from significant adults, and ongoing worry about family members. Alongside this will be the anxiety of re-engaging with in-person classroom learning.
The need of the hour is to shift focus to promotive mental health. The philosophy behind promotive mental health, put simply, is that we not only focus on curing what is wrong, i.e. the deficiency; but we also invest in enhancing or promoting what is right -i.e. the strengths. promotive mental health programs along with access to mental health services must be integrated within the educational institutions as part of the response to the new normal. In most cases, this doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel, but rather realigning existing programs. Existing social and emotional learning and life skills programs need to be realigned to include a larger focus on building resilience skills that children and youth will need to deal with the uncertainties and accompanying stresses of the pandemic.
