According to a government report, India’s toll-free mental health helpline, Tele-Manas, has received over 3.5 lakh calls since its launch in October 2022
Sourav Ray
In modern India, the youth have a desire to do something different and special for their society and family. With a unique zeal and passion, they move forward so that they can stand on their own feet in the future. In the present scenario, government jobs are given great importance from a social point of view, and a youth’s social status is judged by his job. From childhood days, parents want their children to become government officers or doctors-engineers, whether their children wish or not. Ultimately, due to family pressure and increasing competition, the youth start preparing for government jobs.
One of the major competitive examinations in the country is UPSC, after successfully passing which you become a government officer. In recent years, preparing for UPSC has become a trend among the youth. This can be considered a way to increase the prestige of oneself and one’s family in the society. In big cities like Delhi, youth from different states come to prepare for this exam.
The trend of youth towards other competitive exams like UPSC has also increased. One of the main reasons for this is their ambitions. In this competitive environment, every youth is special in his own way—some have a postgraduate degree, some have obtained a doctorate degree. Now comes the question of a good job, which is considered a government job in the society.
If we talk about the India of the past, the popularity of competitive exams was less than today. In modern India, the popularity of competitive exams has increased a lot due to social media and coaching institutes. Coaching institutes charge huge fees and in return show dreams that if you work hard, the life of you and your family will improve and you will get a foothold in the society. When the youth jump into this world of dreams, even if they do not want to, they realize that it is a swamp from which it is difficult to get out. Due to this, the youth lose the most important decade of their life.
When youth can’t succeed in competitive exams despite several attempts, the fear of losing respect for themselves and their family troubles them.
Nowadays youth aspire for higher positions by getting higher education, but due to limited opportunities, competition has become intense. Many youth are forced to remain unemployed for years, which is affecting their mental health. This disappointment directly affects the mental health of the youth. After not being successful in the competition, they feel guilty, which results in depression.
According to the National Mental Health Program (NMHP), it is estimated that 6-7% of the population suffers from mental health disorders. Most of the mental health problems are faced by the youth, 35 students commit suicide every day in the country. This figure is very shocking, youth is the future of the country and if the youth becomes a victim of depression, then somewhere along with the family, the entire society suffers.
According to a government report, India’s toll-free mental health helpline, Tele-Manas, has received over 3.5 lakh calls since its launch in October 2022. Men calling the helpline account for 56% of the total calls. Most of these callers (72%) are in the age group of 18 to 45, which shows that cases of mental health disorders are increasing rapidly among the young population.
Psychologist Dr Rupa Ghosh says that a large number of youth are becoming victims of depression. It is important to be aware of your future, but excessive worry affects mental health. For this, some precautions need to be taken like sharing your thoughts openly with your family or friends, stop finding faults in yourself, give yourself time, get adequate sleep, along with this, it is very important to get complete sleep, try to sleep at least 8 hours at night. These days, youth consume intoxicants to relieve stress, which acts as a sweet poison. Intoxicants also become the cause of depression, so it is important to exercise to keep yourself healthy, only then you will be mentally and physically fit.
Increasing depression among youth is a major problem for the whole country, but neither the government nor the society is aware of it. Many political parties promise that bumper vacancies will be issued and jobs will be given to the youth, but this does not happen. A large section of youth remains unemployed, due to which problems like depression arise. The government should run awareness campaigns to prevent this, while society needs to play an important role. Family members need to take care that they do not compare their relatives with anyone else because when comparisons are made, depression increases.
Ranchi psychologist Dr. Rupa Ghosh says that a large number of youth are becoming victims of depression. It is important to be aware about your future, but excessive worry affects mental health. For this, some precautions should be taken, such as sharing thoughts openly with your family and friends, stopping self-criticism, giving time to yourself and getting enough sleep. Getting enough sleep is very important; try to get at least 8 hours of sleep at night. These days, youth consume drugs to relieve stress, which acts as ‘sweet poison’
