Mental Health Crisis: now in Schools

 

Mental Health Crisis: now in Schools

 

A young class 10^th student of St. Columbia School took his life on November 18, 2025 at the Rajendra Place metro station in New Delhi.  My heart shatters every time I read what he wrote in his suicide note, ‘sorry mummy, aapka itni baar dil toda, abb last baar todunga’, a painful note left behind him shows that the 16 year old went through very tough times because he felt stranded in the very spaces in which they were meant to be nourished. Just imagine what all must be going through him that he took such a big step. To take one’s own life is not an act of weakness; it often comes from unbearable inner turmoil and a tragic courage that no young person should ever be pushed to feel. Across India, such tragic stories have become very frequent. Schools—meant to be havens of learning, laughter, and self-discovery—are gradually turning into spaces where academic overload, bullying, body-shaming, and silent emotional battles shape children’s everyday reality. In current scenario, the biggest challenge is mental health crisis, a silent killer now taking lives of young minds as well. Prioritizing one’s emotional well-being is the need of hour, no one should ignore.

 

Who’s at fault?

The biggest question here is who should be blamed for this tragic incident? While it is easy to point fingers after a tragedy, the first responsibility undeniably lies with the school administration and its teachers. A school is meant to be a refuge — a space where children feel protected, guided, and understood. When the very place designed to nurture them becomes a source of fear, humiliation, or pressure, something is deeply wrong. A child’s second home is school, which shapes his/her confidence and personality; it should not be the reason for someone’s suicide ever in life.  When a bright cheerful boy with penchant for acting and active in co- curricular activities, underperforms in academics, the response should be support and not ridicule. Yet, reports say he was mocked for his grades — by those who were supposed to nurture him. Imagine the weight of that on a young, tender mind. We fail as a society, if we are still measuring a child’s growth and development only by his academic performance.  Strict disciplinary methods, public shaming, unrealistic academic expectations, and the dismissal of students’ emotional struggles create an environment where a child can feel cornered and hopeless. Children need love and attention. They see somebody in whom they look for safe space, a person who will not judge them for what they are doing and rather give them a solution. Often, parents may struggle to fully understand their child’s aspirations, leading the child to turn to teachers for support and validation. In such moments, teachers become not just educators but trusted mentors who help students navigate their interests and dreams. They also play a crucial role in guiding parents, helping them recognize, understand, and encourage their child’s individual needs. Put all of this together — the pressure from school, the insensitivity of teachers, the emotional loneliness, and the fear of disappointing parents — and a child may feel trapped in a storm they cannot escape. That is when despair becomes deadly. That is when society fails.

This is where the school and the teachers were at fault. But contrary to this, it is equally important to highlight the other aspect of this story as well, where some of the burden shifts to the parents. They too, carry a crucial part of this responsibility. Sometimes the children’s silence is mistaken for sullenness, independence is tamped down as insouciance and perfectionism praised until it calcifies into anxiety. For parents it is challenging to monitor child’s thoughts and emotions, of course generation gap plays a huge role in this. Often parent’s expectations are different from their child, ultimately leading to conflict among them. Added to this is the reality that many parents today juggle demanding jobs, leaving them with limited time and energy to fully engage with their child’s needs. Today’s parents are far more sensitive and attentive to their children’s emotional needs than previous generations. Earlier, parenting styles were more strict—scolding or physical punishment was often considered normal ways of disciplining a child. In contrast, modern parents consciously avoid such practices and try to create a more nurturing, understanding environment. While this shift has brought many positive changes, it has also made children more emotionally sensitive, sometimes leaving them less equipped to handle criticism, disappointment, or difficult situations.

Lastly, the child too has a small share in this scenario, today’s children are growing up in a world far more complicated, competitive, and exposed than earlier generations ever experienced. Social media amplifies insecurities, comparison is constant, and one harsh comment can feel like the end of the world. Sensitivity is not weakness — it is a human trait — but without guidance, that sensitivity can escalate into anxiety, fear, or impulsive decisions.

We need to realize that students can perform their best only when they are allowed to pursue what they wish to and not according to the will of parents and as per the will of society. Children when opt for a different career against their own will, often ends up underperforming leading to mental health disturbance and suicides, in extreme cases. Whatever career we pursue (acting, filmmaking, dancing, music composer, scientist, engineer, civil services etc.), the end goal is our own satisfaction, and be it monetary, social, economic that totally depends on the individual (provided it is done in a legal way).

In truth, it is not one person or one institution that failed. It is a collective lapse — of systems, of adults, of societal attitudes — that must be urgently acknowledged and addressed.

 

Why mental well being has become a grave concern?

Mental health has always been important, but in recent times it has become a matter of urgency. Today it is not confined to any single age group- people across all stages of life has been through or currently are grappling with some form of mental health challenge.

The children today are growing up in an environment which has become increasingly tough. The academic competition starts early, co- curricular activities are treated like performance test and schools have become high pressure zones rather than nurturing points. Nowadays, the early childhood shaping is mostly left to nannies or some other people as parents are busy in their 9-5 job which leaves little or no time for them to completely focus on their child’s growth. This age requires complete focus and development of children which only parents can justify. Children also lack the vocabulary to express what they feel. They don’t say, “I’m anxious” or “I feel overwhelmed.” Instead, they withdraw, cry, avoid school, or in the worst cases, crumble under stress. When their emotional cues go unnoticed, small struggles turn into deep insecurities. This is why childhood is now the most fragile stage of psychological health — everything begins here.

Teenage years are always challenging, hormones at peak, mixed emotions and identity crisis creating emotional chaos often difficult to handle. Every photo, every exam score, every friendship becomes a silent competition. Teens are constantly comparing themselves with influencers, toppers, athletes, and even AI-filtered faces.  All this makes no sense since; every individual has its own unique identity which no social media content can define. But, exposure to online entertainment content has blocked their thinking capability to a great extent as their ideas are now being shaped by social media algorithm. This generation is visibly more sensitive, more aware, but also more afraid of judgment.

And last but not the least, most vulnerable group being adults, who’s been targeted by many problems, be it the family problem, aging parents, relationships, career pressure, health concerns- everything piles up. Yet they rarely seek help because society expects them to ‘handle it’. Emotional fatigue, stress, and loneliness quietly take over, often without anyone noticing.

The real issue is actually within our society itself.  Society expects children to score well, labels certain body types as ‘beautiful,’ normalizes body shaming, and pressures students to follow specific career paths, regardless of their interest. The same society that urges young adults to marry early, later expects them to have children, as if personal choices must fit into a fixed timeline. We need to step out of this bubble and live the life as per our own wishes because in the end it is not society who would keep us happy but we ourselves would have to find it. 

 

Protecting mental health at every stage of life

Each stage of life requires a different kind of understanding and support. Childhood being the very first stage requires proper nurturing and attention by parents and their teachers. Teachers should be trained to recognize distress instead of punishing it. Parents must talk to children daily, even if short conversations. A simple “How was your day?” can prevent a thousand emotional wounds. The foremost thing is to avoid any kind of comparison, always teach your children to compare him/her with their own selves in order to analyze themselves and work on it to be a better version each time. Every child is built different and unique; there is no way of comparing a child with another fellow. Also, allow children to fail, eventually they learn from their failures and never overprotect them or scold them harshly as it creates fear. Limit exposure of children to mobile phones and TVs; expose them to more outdoor games as it maintains their energy level and health, ultimately leading to good emotional health. Childhood well-being is not about perfect marks; it’s about developing confidence, security, and courage.

Ensuring the mental well-being of teenagers requires patience and non-judgment. The endless comparison worsens self esteem. Teens should feel safe without fear of judgment. They must be educated to differentiate between online life and real life. Playing a sport will lead to reduced anxiety and loneliness. Very important thing here is normalize going for therapies, people need to remove this taboo that: ‘psychiatrist or psychologist ke paas jaa rahe hai matlab pagal hai’. Not everything can be solved by our parents or friends. Seek help from whomsoever you wish to as per your convenience. We need to respect the emotions, and not sideline it by saying that, ‘itna kya overreact ka rahi hai’, this invalidates their real struggle and they don’t share their problems. Teenagers don’t need perfection — they need understanding, boundaries, and guidance.

Young adults are often trapped in handling their career and life problems. This is the age where most painful heartbreaks occur because of a lot of chaos going on in the personal life of the two individuals and this destroys the very confidence of a person. They had set a timeline of succeeding by the age of 25 and this is even aggravated by their fellow mates, who by now have reached at some height in their lives. We need to normalize slow growth, not everyone succeeds by the age of 25, sometimes patience is the key which many of us lacks today.  It is okay to switch fields or start late. Young adults need reassurance that life is not a race.

In the end, our goal should be simple: to live a life that brings us genuine happiness, not one shaped by fear, pressure, or societal expectations. We must learn to prioritize our mental well-being just as much as our physical health. Practices like meditation, journaling, physical workouts, pursuing hobbies, or even spending quiet time with our loved ones can go a long way in grounding the mind. Speak up every time you feel heavy. As individuals, families, and a society, we need to create a world where children and adults alike feel safe, supported, and free to choose their own paths. Each one of us is a strong individual; let’s not give this power to our mind to control our thoughts and emotions. Those who fight this battle are the toughest to defeat in any field. I would like to end this by a piece of advice everyone should consider, “each one of us has gone through or must be going through some tough times so if someone comes to you complaining their problems, do not start competing with that individual with your own issues because that person wants to be heard at that time, so try to be a good listener, maybe it’s what he/she needs the most in the moment.”

“There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn't.”