Fear, self-loathing and stress affect students appearing for competitive exams

• According to a recent study published by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, one in every five teenagers in India faces mental illness.
  
• Incorrect benchmarking and effort mismatch are the key reasons for stress among JEE aspirants.
  
• Other factors affecting student’s mental health include parental pressure, fear of failure and irregular sleeping patterns
  
• According to World Health Organisation (WHO), mental health problems in India is equivalent to 2,443 DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years) per 100,000 population.

Growing competition and pressure of performance is turning Indian students into victims of stress. This is truer with those appearing for competitive exams.

According to a recent study published by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, one in every five teenagers in India turns into a victim of toxicity or mental illness.

Globally, anxiety is the most common psychological disorder amongst school students and teenagers.

WHO defines mental health as a state of mental well-being where the individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life and can work productively. Few Indian students are able to display it.

Each day, about six students commit suicide because of academic failure.

The constant stress to score higher in competitive examinations such as Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), is making students slip into depression.

Competitive exams check the relative performance of students, building pressure for many. As Indians compete with a large number of aspirants for engineering and medical entrances, the fear of rejection is high. Added to that, incorrect benchmarking and effort mismatch cause stress amongst JEE aspirants.

“Often it is seen that students think a 10 CGPA in board examination is sufficient to secure a good rank in JEE whereas both are different ball games. So, setting a goal based on performance in another exam can lead to disappointment, thereby causing stress or anxiety among students,” said Partha Halder, Centre Head, FIITJEE, Delhi.

It has also become common for most of such competitive exam aspirants to take coaching classes. And, a classroom batch accommodates as many as 200 students. This leads to difficulty in approaching teachers to clear doubts.

Other factors affecting student mental health are parental pressure, fear of failure and irregular sleeping patterns.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), mental health problems in India is equivalent to 2,443 DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years) per 100,000 population.

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