Have you heard about a place where students go to become future engineers and crack a tough exam? That’s right, I am talking about Kota. A is a place where students prepare to crack the Joint entrance exams. Due to exam pressure, students cannot handle it and at the end commit suicide. Parents of students from poor or middle class families sell or mortgage a piece of land to send their child to Kota have suffered severely. These children have a lot of pressure on them. For example if these students are not able to manage the pressure and do well, they don’t have the courage to go and tell their parents because their parents have given everything to see their children succeed so children decide to commit suicide. The average suicide rate per month in Kota is three. The average rate is very concerning.

There have been organizations like “Jeewan” who help students overcome their anxiety and depression. These are online or offline sessions specially held after exams like JEE, NEET, ICSE and ISC. It helps students to remain mentally stable even when they get to know that they have not cracked these exams. They help students immediately after listening to all their problems which may lead to suicide and selfharm.

Anxiety and depression are two forms of mental illness. Anxiety takes place when one worries in an excessive and intense manner. It might be common to a certain extent but if it becomes uncontrollable, it may lead to mental retardation. Some of its’ common symptoms are feeling irritable, disturbed sleep, legs shaking continuously and experiencing abnormal distress. Depression is characterized by a low mood, loss of pleasure and loss of interest. Its common symptoms are sleep schedule being disturbed, slow thinking, trouble concentrating and making decisions.

The first reason for anxiety and depression is the expectations parents and family have from their child. For example if one friend’s child has done better than their child, the parents start comparing them to others by saying common phrases like “You have disappointed me”, “ I expected so much better”, “ Why can’t you become like your friend” instead of saying “ I am proud of you”, “ you have put in your best so I will not comment on your marks”. Comparing your own child to someone else not only bring their morale down but also makes them question their existence like if they are good enough for their parents? These thoughts distract the student and makes them achieve much less than what they are capable of. However, to motivate them to do better, their parents should cheer them up and support them at all costs. Students in high school are the main age group suffering from anxiety and depression. Students in class 10 start doubting themselves and suffer from the lack of motivation.

Being a teenager is not at all easy. In this phase, their hormones are at its peak especially the sex hormone bringing about a mild depression among each individual. Girls and boys both undergo a lot of changes like growth of hair, voice changing, developing moustaches and beards, height increasing. This is a stage where one is neither an adult nor a child, also known as puberty. During this phase, parents often treat their teenagers as children which irritates them. If they try to be an adult, they are taunted by phrases like “You are still a child”. This creates a sense of frustration among them and henceforth decide to be in their room throughout the day. The academic pressure also hits them as they have to decide the perfect college for themselves, whether in their country or outside. They also have to start preparing for examinations like IELTS, SAT, ACT, AP. These exams are not that easy to crack and may also bring down one’s self-esteem if they are not able to cope-up with this pressure. Falling in love which is given the title of “high school relationships” is also very common. These relationships mostly do not work out and puts them into severe depression if too attached and teenagers are not able to get over it. Students having a heartbreak think that this could be the worst that could happen to me, but little do they know that’s the beginning! However, adults always tell us to never fall in love in your teenage years as no one knows how it could end up harming an individual. Getting addicted to drugs, smoking and drinking is also very common. Usually, after failed relationships, teenagers get addicted to drinking and smoking to temporarily remove the pain of losing a relationship resulting in permanent damages to our body. If addicted to it once, getting out of it becomes very difficult.

Social media has brought in anxiety and depression especially among teenagers. Being active on apps like Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat have brought about a lot of mental illness and retardation among teenagers. The common phrase “fear of missing out” which is also referred to as FOMO can be a cause of anxiety. It basically happens when one is excluded by their friends and on seeing their stories makes them question their personality. It brings in negative thoughts like “Do my friends still like me”. There are certain instances where a teenager is excluded because they don’t like partying or they are too studious. This brings one into anxiety and trauma. This has been very common in today’s world and happens with almost everyone. One can also be jealous by looking at others story and imagine of their life like that. However, we must not post our entire life on social media as it might be affecting someone’s mental health in a state we do not have any idea about! It should be used to a certain extent only.

Bullying in schools and colleges have increased at an unimaginable rate. Students keep on bullying those who they do not like. They comment on their appearances, academics, personality etc. This de-motivates them and brings them into trauma which results in affecting their mental health. They do not want to go to school/college rather want to sit at home and sleep. Some of them do not tell their parents or any adult whom they trust because they think that it is embarrassing. However, one must immediately consult a counsellor or consult their elders to deal with this situation since they are experienced and have been through this phase of life. Physical abuse among girls, also known as “raping” is also very common. Girls are not safe alone nowadays, because of the rape cases that have increased tremendously. Studies have said that 33% of the women who are raped commit suicide. Some girls also go missing and are never found. Same sex marriage has also been very common these days and bullying has been more common in such cases. Teenagers, who are a part of the LGBTQ society are bullied to the extent that they feel like committing suicide. We should normalize it and the society must accept it as well.

As we have already talked about all the causes of anxiety and depression, we must also talk about the remedies to the same. There may be unlimited causes for anxiety and depression but the remedies to it are limited. First and for all, they must consult a therapist immediately if things go out of control. The therapist will help them throughout it only if one is completely open with them. Now, many parents have a complaint that their children are more comfortable with their therapist than with them. This is because the therapist is a trained professional who does not judge them and keep all their talks a secret even from their parents, if informed. They can easily make their affected students comfortable with them so that they can speak about the cause of their problem openly.

It is often said that each individual must know how to play a sport and play an instrument. However, that statement is very much true. Playing an instrument like the guitar, piano, violin, drums; singing; and dancing relaxes one’s mind and also keeps their mood joyful. Doing either of these activities is very important to keep your mind relaxed and distract yourself from the high academic pressure, especially for teenagers. Playing outdoor sports like basketball, football, badminton not only keeps their body fit but also helps their chill and relax. Playing a sport and an instrument brings clarity and consciousness into that individual. However, it is recommended to do the same to all.

Yoga and meditation also helps relax one’s mind. Yoga encourages positive self-talk and mindset, increase self-confidence and sense of self. Recent studies have shown that around 54% of the people could get out of anxiety and depression just by doing yoga on a daily basis. Having a balanced diet is also very important during this phase. Usually, teenagers feel like eating junk food during this time but it must be avoided. Salads and home-cooked food must be consumed in this period.

Most of the parents lose hope in their child when suffering from anxiety and depression. That is the worst thing any parent could do! They must never lose hope in their child as may lead to further depression and suicidal thoughts.. If this is done, children will start becoming happy and interactive with their parents. This is will solve half of the problem already. By this I would like to conclude my speech by saying that

“I am bent but not broken. I am scarred but not disfigured. I am sad but not hopeless. I am tired, but not powerless, I am angry, but not bitter. I am depressed, but not giving up.”