Raising student awareness of mental health: strategies and challenges

Student mental health is a major issue that requires the mobilization of the entire educational community. Faced with the multiple challenges students face, such as academic stress, social isolation, and anxiety and depressive disorders, it is essential to implement effective awareness-raising strategies. These include information campaigns on campus, the training of peer support workers among students themselves, and the integration of mental health into study programs. At the same time, the development of psychological support resources and services directly accessible on campus, as well as the promotion of digital tools and a caring university environment, are essential levers for promoting student well-being.

Summary :

1. Understanding Students' Mental Health Challenges
2. Effective awareness strategies
3. Resources and support for student mental health

Understanding Students' Mental Health Challenges

Academic stress and performance pressure

Heavy workloads and demanding academic expectations can have a significant impact on students' mental health. Faced with a hectic pace of classes, assignments, and exams, many young people feel constant pressure to succeed and excel.

This quest for performance can lead to stress, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and exhaustion. To maintain students' psychological balance, it is essential that institutions implement support and guidance mechanisms. Listening spaces, stress management workshops, and awareness-raising about the risks of overwork would allow students to better manage academic pressure while prioritizing their well-being.

Social isolation and adaptation to university life

Starting university marks a major transition for young adults. Far from the comfort of family and friends, many find themselves alone in a new environment. Everything needs to be built: a new social network, new lifestyle habits, and academic independence.

This situation can lead to a profound feeling of isolation and loneliness. Deprived of their bearings, some students struggle to create new connections and find their place. Shyness, lack of self-confidence, or difficulty reaching out to others are all obstacles to successful social integration.

The consequences of this isolation can be severe on students' mental well-being. Stress, anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, and even depression can emerge and significantly impact their psychological balance and academic progress. Supporting young people through this adjustment phase is essential to fostering their personal growth and academic success.

Anxiety and depression in students

Anxiety and depressive disorders affect a significant proportion of the student population. According to the 2022 Enabee national survey, 13% of children aged 6 to 11 have a probable mental health disorder, with a higher prevalence of emotional disorders (anxiety, depression) among girls. Among high school students, 24% report having had suicidal thoughts in the past 12 months.

Given the extent of this psychological suffering, it is essential to be attentive to warning signs. In students, anxiety and depression can manifest as a loss of motivation, difficulty concentrating, withdrawal, sleep disturbances, or excessive consumption of alcohol or other substances.

Appropriate support is therefore essential. The deployment of listening and psychological support services directly accessible on campus, such as Student Health Services, is a first response. The development of psychosocial skills through stress management or self-awareness workshops also represents an effective prevention lever. Finally, raising awareness among the entire educational community and training in identifying psychological distress allow for action to be taken as early as possible.

Effective awareness strategies

Information campaigns on campus

Here are some ideas for visual and event campaigns to raise awareness among students about mental health on campus:

1. Impactful Poster: Deploy a striking poster campaign on campus featuring striking statistics on student mental health. The goal: to raise awareness and provoke action to break the taboo.
2. Mental Health Ambassadors: Create a network of student volunteers to act as information relays to their peers. They will be able to lead workshops, provide referrals to support resources, and be a listening ear.
3. Wellness Day: Organize an event dedicated to mental well-being with specialist conferences, stress management workshops (yoga, meditation, etc.), information and discussion stands.
4. Creative Competition: Launch a call for artistic projects (short films, posters, texts, etc.) inviting students to express their vision of mental health. Selected works will be exhibited on campus.
5. Solidarity Run/Walk: Organize a unifying sporting event to raise awareness about mental health. Each participant will wear a bib with a message of support. The funds raised will be donated to a charity.

Peer training and student ambassadors

Directly involving students in mental health awareness campaigns among their peers has proven to be an effective strategy. Young people often feel more comfortable speaking out and engaging with other students who understand their concerns.

However, for these student ambassadors to fully play their role, it is essential to provide them with adequate training. This must enable them to acquire basic knowledge about mental health disorders, learn to spot signs of distress, and direct their classmates to appropriate support resources.

By combining the expertise of mental health professionals with the power of peer support, institutions are implementing a comprehensive system to promote the psychological well-being of their students. The trained ambassadors become clearly identified prevention relays and help create a supportive environment conducive to dialogue on these often taboo issues.

Integrating mental health into the curriculum

A first step towards including mental health in curricula would be to introduce awareness modules. These would allow students to better understand the issues of psychological well-being and recognize the signs of distress.

To go further, specific courses on stress and emotion management could be offered. Acquiring these psychosocial skills would strengthen students' resilience in the face of the challenges of university life.

Finally, integrating mental health across subjects would promote a holistic approach. Teachers could explore the connections between psychology and literature, or the impact of sport on mental well-being. Embedding mental health in teaching would help make it a priority for the entire educational community.

Resources and support for student mental health

Mental Health Services on Campus

Universities are facing a real challenge in meeting the growing mental health needs of their students. Academic stress, family separation, and financial difficulties can all undermine young people's psychological well-being.

To address this, many institutions are implementing counseling and psychological support services directly on campus. Students can benefit from personalized support from trained professionals in a confidential and reassuring environment. Psychologists, therapists, and counselors are available to help them overcome their difficulties and regain the mental well-being essential to their success.

Digital tools and wellness apps

Here are some examples of digital tools and apps that can help students take care of their mental well-being:

1. Headspace: A guided meditation app that offers short, student-paced exercises to reduce stress and anxiety.
2. Daylio: A digital diary that allows you to track your mood daily, identify the factors that influence your mood and see how it changes over time.
3. Sanvello: A comprehensive platform with self-assessment tools, therapeutic programs, breathing and relaxation exercises to better manage your emotional well-being.
4. 7 Cups: A space for listening and peer support, with the opportunity to chat anonymously with trained volunteer listeners, available 24/7.
5. Woebot: An artificial intelligence-powered chatbot that uses the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy to help manage anxiety, stress, and negative thoughts through interactive conversations.

Creating a supportive academic environment

Stress, isolation, and mental health issues are major challenges many students face. To address these challenges, universities must commit to creating a caring and nurturing campus environment.

Several concrete initiatives can be implemented. Creating spaces for relaxation and socializing encourages interaction and breaks isolation. Regularly organizing unifying events, such as sports tournaments or wellness days, strengthens the sense of belonging.

Training university staff to spot signs of distress is also essential for early intervention. Finally, the development of easily accessible psychological support services, with flexible hours, helps support students experiencing difficulties. By placing kindness at the heart of their operations, universities can offer each student an environment conducive to their well-being and success.

Raising awareness of student mental health is a major issue that requires the mobilization of the entire educational community. Developing prevention, support, and guidance strategies, involving students themselves, is essential to fostering their well-being and growth. Integrating these issues into programs and campus life, through concrete and accessible initiatives, helps create a caring environment conducive to success for all. Faced with these challenges, innovative solutions like those proposed by Emundus to simplify admissions processes and personalize student monitoring, can help lighten their mental load and facilitate their journey.