The Inner Call, Forum for Evolution, Development and Awareness in collaboration with Department of Psychology, Government College for Women M A Road conducted an awareness workshop on the ‘Youth & Mental Health.’
Students from various departments of the college participated in the awareness workshop. Selected students spoke about various Mental Health issues like addiction, peer pressure, anxiety, stress, substance abuse, psychological first aid, family discord etc. They spoke on a length on also the issues youth face due to mental health and the stigma related to it.
A Poster Making Activity was also held during the workshop in which students expressed various mental health issues through art. They also gave a detailed description of the poster they had designed.
Speaking on the occasion, Roma Wani, Chairperson, The Inner Call said attitude of gratitude, unconditional love, firm faith and practical dreams are the secret for a healthy existence.
Prof Shaheen Altaf, Principal of GCW, appreciated the efforts of The Inner Call. She laid stress on conducting more and more activities focusing on mental health.
Affan Yesvi, Secretary The Inner Call, said modern times are increasingly marked by nuclear families, where youth lack the support system provided by the grandparents and the larger family network. He said that in close-knit traditional societies, children grew up in an environment of sharing and caring. But youth were becoming self-centered now. So there was an alarming increase in the cases of anxiety and depression.
The speakers expressed concern that one can see issues of anxiety and stress related to modern technology like Facebook or social media platforms. The speakers observed youth were getting stressed or upset if they were not able to access the social media platforms.
The participants also discussed that as a result of mental health issues, drug abuse and substance abuse had seen a worrying increase.
