In the scenario of Indian education, where competition is rather intense, academic excellence can result in a heavy burden of mental illness. Being on top of exams, making them gain top grades, and satisfying what society expects from them can be highly stressful and overwhelming for students. In this blog, we ponder on the enigmatic vulnerability of Indian students to academic pressure and mental illness and give solutions to managing academic stress without affecting mental health.

Understanding Academic Stress

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Academic stress is a term used to describe the strain and tension a student experiences due to overloading academic tasks. Education and success among Indians are mostly linked to academic excellence; the students have been under tremendous pressure rising from the exams, entrance exams and other competitive assessments. Students may relate to the fear of failure, the demands of parents, their peers' competition, and the burden of being bound by social norms, which, in turn, results in an excessive atmosphere of academic stress in Indian schools and colleges.

How Academic Stress Affects Mental Health

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Students frequently face acute stress due to competing to succeed in education. Consequently, they may become overwhelmed, leading to anxiety, depression, and burnout. The continuous effort for students to get good grades on exams can present an opportunity to adapt themselves as inferiors, perfectionists, and self-doubts, reducing their esteem and confidence. Also, the addition to the fear of teachers' disappointment can increase stress and anxiety in an individual's performance and decrease health.

Research proves that academia attaches excessive stress on students, and that is the primary cause of mental illness among them. Truthfully, students with higher academic burden report an increase in anxiety disorders, depression and thoughts of suicide, as well as other psychological defaults. Going to college undeniably imposes a lot of pressure on the students, especially mental health; most of them can't handle the pressure, and their mental health issues can lead to severe forms of stress.

Coping Strategies to Ace Exams with A Calm Mind

Even though the weight of achieving good grades seems like an impossible mission in the beginning, students have several things to apply to face the situation with a positive attitude and avoid dangerous health consequences. Firstly, learners should try to look after themselves and give consideration to their well-being by the formation and maintenance of routines such as running or jogging, sufficient sleep, a good diet, and incorporating some relaxation techniques in their daily schedule like mindfulness or meditation. In addition, individuals may have social groups in the form of friends, family, and mental health workers who can provide relevant emotional support and keep perspective intact during challenging times.

Furthermore, the current plan includes:

Strategies to fight academic anxiety and keep the balance of mental health are knowing your hurdles and problems, splitting tasks into little pieces, and allowing yourself to feel the peace of not being perfect.

Creating a Supportive Environment

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Institutional and educational campaign agents are necessary to devise a suite of proactive measures that equally benefit students' mental health improvement and life support. Schools and universities can set up awareness and stress management programs, provide psychological counselling, start peer support groups, and introduce mindfulness techniques to help students cope with academic stress. Moreover, they will be taught to manage their academic stresses well.

Now, we have debuted the process of bidding farewell to our academic career by the students in India, which may affect their mental health positively or negatively. Academic performance and good mental health become related problems. Therefore, methods should be implemented to reduce the pressure on academic activities and give attention to mental wellness. Students will thus be able to do their assignments better. Students, teachers, parents, and legislators are responsible for cultivating a safe and peaceful environment where all can be treated with equal academic and mental health terms.

Note: Heart It Out offers frequent therapy sessions to help reduce people's distress. Feel free to visit our website to speak with one of our licenced therapists or other health professionals. You can also schedule an online or offline session with one of our psychotherapists in Bangalore.