Your mental health is important; Don’t ignore it
Good mental health and good results are like two sides of the same coin. Singapore’s competitive and mentally taxing education system means one thing — that mental health is something that we should emphasise greatly on. While the Ministry of Education (MOE) has pushed through multiple schemes to improve student’s mental health such as Peer Support Boards and school counsellors, stress in Singapore’s students still appears to be at an all time high. We will be exploring the main stress factors in students, such as stress from academics and balancing extracurricular commitments, how that affects mental health in the long run, as well as what’s being done to help these students.
HOUSTON, WE GOT A PROBLEM
According to The Straits Times, the statistics emerged in a study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which conducts the triennial tests called the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The study polled 540,000 students from 72 countries and economies to look at connections between student well-being and academic achievement in the tests.
From the tests, it emerged that an average Singaporean student’s anxiety levels were significantly higher than the OECD average for all five questions, with an alarming 86 percent of Singaporean students saying they were worried about poor grades at school, as compared to their OECD contemporaries at 66 percent.
The numbers don’t lie, and clearly shows that the stress that Singapore students are facing is very real, and that it is a cause for concern. So, what exactly is causing the stress that so many students are facing?
To answer that question, I obtained some first hand accounts regarding individuals dealing with school and mental health difficulties. Interviews were conducted with friends from various schools and institutions to get a fresh and diverse perspective.
William, (not their real name) who is currently Year 6 in Raffles Junior College, shared with me that their stress mainly stemmed from the tedious task of having to juggle academics, Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs), other commitments and relationships with friends.
For academics, William shared that academics weren’t the main stressor, but it was more about “holistic” stress — a need to excel not just academically, but also in organizing initiatives, winning championships and competitions — They shared a pressure that many felt, in that the “…worst thing is that no matter how many things you commit to, or how many achievements you get, it’s very hard to feel as if you’re on the same level as everyone else”. The issue that stuck me the most however, was this: “The focus is on being among the best rather than simply good, and that excelling in studies is just the core”.
“… no matter how many things you commit to, or how many achievements you get, it’s very hard to feel as if you’re on the same level as everyone else”
Personally, that shocked me the most. All this time, I was convinced that the main cause for stress among students was doing well academically, and that everything else was secondary. Perhaps it was the difference in school culture that made me have this mindset, but it was eye opening to see my “theory” of stress stemming from mainly academics to be proven wrong nonetheless.
Next, I interviewed Sheldon (not their real name) who is moving onto Year 2 at Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Film & Media studies. Their stress mainly stemmed from the intense GPA competition, as well as worries about getting into a good local university. They shared that: “I had friends who went through multiple breakdowns in the middle of the academic semester out of fear that they wouldn’t do as well as they did in their previous semester (they got 4.0; straight As) and I witnessed many of us not sleeping on school days just to finish work or study”.
In addition to that, Sheldon opened up about their worries and doubts about getting into a good local university. Sheldon shared that: “It is actually still quite a common thing for the majority of us to be aiming to go to university. But this would mean our cumulative GPAs have to be good, and we would need a good CCA record. This means that we have to balance academics and CCA, which isn’t all fun and games.”
The cumulative aspect of the Grade Point Average system in polytechnics is a constant source of stress for many students — they are expected to be on the ball consistently, juggling projects and liaising with classmates for project work and presentations. A single mistake or test taken while off one’s game could set back one’s GPA, making it extremely stressful for those aiming to get into competitive courses for both overseas and local universities.
While I was always aware that polytechnic was demanding and required a lot of hard work and determination, I was taken aback by the degree of the sheer volume of sleep and rest they sacrificed, just to complete the bare minimum like homework — before even accounting for the additional aspects like co-curricular activities or external projects.
While the two of them may have different experiences, the common denominator was the struggle of balancing the tremendous amount of commitments, having too many things to do, and too little time to do it.
“… I had friends who went through multiple breakdowns in the middle of the academic semester out of fear that they wouldn’t do as well as they did in their previous semester”
WHAT’S BEING DONE?
In an effort to combat the stress, and ultimately the effects it has on mental health, the MOE has pushed out various schemes and initiatives. Many schools have begun adopting Peer Support Boards (PSB), peer counselling programmes that aim to cultivate support structures in the manner of providing a listening ear, and in general, a friend, to those who may be in distress.
I myself have been a Peer Support Leader (PSL) in school for about 3 years, and, the experiences and stories I heard were all very common sentiments amongst secondary school kids, issues such as exam stress, school stress, and relationship stress as well.
While these minor problems eventually resolve on their own, there were also stories about students having suicidal thoughts and tendencies as a result of the stress they faced in school, combined with potential stressors from life at home. At such vulnerable stages of their lives, these minor problems can add up and potentially even exacerbate into more serious issues.
While PSLs can provide a listening ear, it is important to note that they are students themselves as well, and are not professionally trained or certified mental health experts in any form, and sometimes might even offer detrimental advice. In this case, the protocol would be to inform a teacher, but many of these students dislike adult intervention, out of fear that their parents would be informed or that the teacher would be dismissive or subject them to more ridicule.
Student counselors were intended as the stopgap measure to fill this critical blank — a trustable adult that wasn’t a teacher.
However, there has been discourse regarding the efficacy and attitude of these counsellors that MOE employs in schools. According to The Straits Times, when working with minors, the counsellors may share critical information and the support plan with parents on a confidential basis, so that students are supported both at home, and in school. However, this potentially betrays the trust the student placed in the counsellor, potentially sending them down another spiral, inhibiting future attempts in seeking help.
But, according to The Straits Times who cited Mr James Leong who worked at an educational institute as an intern-counsellor, people who he had to report cases to often broke the confidentiality.
A counsellor often has to report to other, more senior individuals in the institution’s chain of command. While these reports were meant for “information” only, the cruicial trust between the counsellor and the student broke once the reports and rumors started circulating outside of the safe spaces of the counsellor’s office.
I had the privilege of interviewing someone who was willing to share their experience with a school counsellor.
Lisa (not her real name), shared with that the counsellor asked really uncomfortable questions and that things that were promised to be a secret were spread to the teachers and discipline master.
Lisa shared that she was sent for counselling after having some issues with her best friend, and they were encouraged to sort the issue out. Lisa confided in her closeted sexuality to the counsellor, someone she trusted. At that point, she wasn’t publicly out to anybody except her close friends. One close friend that she came out to, however, felt uncomfortable about this information and reported this information to a teacher.
She said: “I used to like this best friend. However, she went and told the teachers that she felt uncomfortable around me because I was gay and had liked her before”.
During the counselling sessions, the counsellor asked very uncomfortable questions, and shared the details of her counselling session to the teachers, and the counsellor also treated her sexuality like a “disease”.
Lisa shared that: “They say everything in counselling is secret but my discipline master and other teachers got to know of my sexuality and even questioned me openly after that during lessons”.
On top of that, the counsellor guilt tripped her, and made it seem like she had done something wrong. Lisa shared that: “She (the counsellor) made me feel like I had done something wrong when it was just a small stupid highschool crush. I wasn’t going to harm her (she was my best friend) and neither was I acting on my feelings. I had confessed but it was just to take the weight off my chest”.
She also shared that the counsellor did tell her to avoid her best friend, and while that helped, the counsellor also said that Lisa was going to be “Okay” soon, and she’s still unsure what the counsellor meant by that.
However, this school counsellor does not reflect all school counsellors in Singapore, and there are many cases where the school counselors have played a huge role in improving the mental health of students. Lisa also shared that she would still strongly encourage friends who are in need of mental health assistance to still go on counselling.
But this definitely sheds light on the potentially detrimental effects that some school counsellors might have on students — especially in the case that some counsellors might have an attitude or perspective that can hurt rather than heal. This incident highlights critical issues that need to be addressed in order to truely make counselling as effective as possible, starting with respecting confidentiality, safe spaces, and fellow peers.
WHAT CAN I DO?
If you, or someone you know is facing mental health problems, here are some healthy ways you can cope. According to a paper, “Stress Triggers, the Effects Stress Has on Social, Mental and Physical Behavior in College Students, and the Coping Mechanisms Used” by Murray State University, some healthy ways to cope are as follows.
- SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT: Social engagement can be another positive form of stress reduction or elimination in college students, and can be key in overcoming stress when becoming withdrawn is the stress contributor.
- COUNSELLING: Private counseling from licensed medical professionals may be used to eliminate stress in college students. Studies have determined that counseling is the primary method to relieve stress, and behavioral management tends to be the counsellors’ preferred treatment preferred treatment of counselors for reducing the stress in college students
- EXERCISE & DIET: Private counselors may also suggest that students make a behavioral change in the form of diet and exercise in order to reduce stress. Using exercise as a coping mechanism for stress can be both physically and psychologically beneficial for the student.
- SELF HELP: While students may feel weak because their stress influences certain aspects of their life. Students must seek help with stress because suppressing it will not cause it to pass on its own accord.
However, even with all these solutions, mental health is still difficult to tackle — there is no panacea for all. Celebrate the small victories and keep pushing, even if you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel now.
Teachers checking in on students to ask them how they are doing every week can be a step in the right direction to better mental health in students. This can give an opportunity to those who don’t dare to directly speak up about their personal issues to speak up, as well as generally assessing and keeping track of the mental health of students.
All in all, while the network MOE has created for students to reach out and get mental health help is good, there are still areas that falter — causing some students to unfortunately fall through the cracks. Things such as dedicating counsellors in schools and deprioritising academics by removing exams are steps in the right direction, but I believe that much more can be done.
I hope to see the day where Singapore’s students excel in school, on top of having good mental health, and / or a good mental health support system.
