Mental Health: Not Something to overlook
Throughout my blog I talk a lot about self-improvement, and write about many of my thoughts and experiences from my readings. And while it may seem that self-improvement is what I’m concerned with, I am more interested in the underlying issue: mental health. I care a lot about what goes on inside my head, and my mental health has been at lows throughout my life. As I wrote about earlier, I used to struggle with anger management, but it also led to things like anxiety and in some cases depression. My personal experience has led me to believe that our mental health is just as important as our physical health. And as a student, I had to pose the question: does mental health affect academic performance? In this blog post I want to talk about two articles I read from ScienceDirect — The Students’ Mental Health Status, and A Study of the Relation between Mental health and Academic Performance of Students of the Islamic Azad University Ahvaz Ranch. The former, written by leading author Yaghoob Nami, and the ladder, written by leading author Mehdi Bostani, both talk about the mental health of students and its effects on student success. And through my readings I was able to come to some frightful conclusions.
Our mental health has a lot to say about how we develop as individuals. To Bostani’s point “University students are one of the most sensitive strata of society…” (Bostani) which means we are more prone damage to our mental health. When you look at the requirements of university students it’s no wonder this is the case. You ask a student to go to off by themselves into the world and create a future for themselves. “… factors such as students’ lack of familiarity with the university environment upon their entrance, detachment from family, lack of interest in educational major, failure to get along with others, insufficient economic/welfare amenities, etc. Can bring about mental problems….” (Bostani). I myself have felt many of the issues introduced by Bostani: moving away from home, not knowing people when I was on campus, and budgeting are all factors that once occupied most of my cognitive space. And when you worry about just getting through your day it can be hard to focus on studies which are what we came to school to do after all. So to both Bostani and Nami’s main point: Mental health does have an effect on academic performance.
Our mental health is a critical part of being a successful academic student. There is no doubt in my mind after reading these two papers that mental health is directly linked to how well we perform. When Bostani’s team took a sample of students from Islamic Azad University Ahavaz branch in Iran, They found “The results showed that general health and some of its components, such as depression and anxiety, a significant relation with educational performance…” (Bostani). This research is showing us that if we want to have a strong educated work force it starts with mental health in the education system. If our students are developing mental disorders due to high stakes environments such as universities, then we are developing a society with mental health issues. I push for self-improvement in my blog because taking care of my mental health has proven this research true. Think back to your own lives. When something traumatic happens and your mental health takes a nose dive, how productive are you at school. I know when I had roommate issues my academics suffered greatly. When I went through a big breakup, my first concern was not with school, but with myself so my grades dropped. This research makes it clear that if we want to be a successful student we need to take the necessary steps forward to ensuring that our mental health is in as good shape as it can possibly be. And when we don’t ensure mental health it can have huge consequences aside from academics.
Our mental health when not addressed leads to serious problems if not taken care of. Nami’s article talks a lot about some of the same issues as Bostani’s, but she puts more of an emphasis on the negative side effects students face with mental health issues. She not only reinforces the claim that mental health is linked with academic success, but also claims that there is a major rise in mental health problems. She states, “…many students are suffering from depression and anxiety; Level of alcohol consumption among them is concerned, a significant number of them are suffering from an eating disorder and self-harm. Also, reports indicate that depression, substance abuse, eating disorders and learning disabilities, including the most common problems are related to campus sustainability.” (Nami) A rising number of students with mental health issues means a rising number of people with these problems which means our future is full of people with mental health issue. If there is a rise in people with mental health problems and it’s linked with substance abuse, then where does it end? If we don’t make leaps and bounds to try and correct this issue, and believe me they try, then we have a major crisis in our upcoming work force. The university life is difficult, and as students it’s a time in our lives where we have to start making real life decisions — future jobs, living environments, car, health, future partners. If we don’t have the mental stability moving forward with our lives we only set ourselves up for failure.
Mental health is an issue faced in our current academic system. These issues lead to problems in our academic performance which affects our workforce, as well as life decisions made in this crucial part of our lives. Through the articles I read by Nami’s team and Bostani’s team I have been enlightened on the importance of mental health and why I work so hard to maintain it. In my blog I want to help people understand why self-improvement can help with mental health so that we are prepared for the life ahead of us. We face a lot of obstacles ahead and if we are not ready for them, we will carry them with us for the rest of our lives.
