Areesha Iqbal

Students, Depression and Mental Health, Can you be a help to them? YES!

“A bright student from the university attempted suicide due to depression and died” we are listening to this type of sentence a quite more often these days. Aren’t we? Have you ever thought about why?

Why these all students admitted into the best institutes, apparently looking happy and healthy, having all the necessities if not luxuries at last end up taking up their lives? What was so missing in their days that brought up depression in their lives, depression so severe that their every breath became worthless to them? We all come up with different guesses like maybe he was depressed due to the pressure of studies in the school or university, or he had a lot of burden of family responsibilities or he had financial crisis or maybe he was a lost lover. Yes, these all can be the possible reasons but there’s one more thing that can be the staircase towards the fatal step of suicide. And unfortunately, we all are the part of it either knowingly or unknowingly. Let me explain.

The most common thing in the people who attempt suicide is the fact that they hate themselves, they think that they are the most useless creatures on earth and so they have no right to live. This is possibly the worst point in one’s life. But who took them to this stage? Of course, the people around them play a major role in that. Either by their deeds or by their words. Everyone these days, especially university students, want to be the best in their respective fields no matter what. There is no bad in having such an ambition especially when you are a career-oriented person and you know that these 4 years are very important for your future. But does that mean that you have the right of being selfish and mean to others? No wonder, competition is good, but being so indulged in it that you forget about things like friendship isn’t good at all. Haven’t you heard from every second person that the friends at the university are snakes! And no one is sincere to you. That’s a sad thing to know. This is because everyone in university is running after marks and GPA. In addition to this many don’t want others to get to their mark. Spreading negativity is a common trait of such people. They will remind you of your weaknesses so often that you will start creating self-doubt. Even if you are good something they will find holes in your court and will shatter your confidence. No wonder, this is why many students are unable to hold up so much pressure and self-doubt and eventually give up. But unlike the mean ones, there are others as well who are not mean at all and those are the real gems.

Dear mates, what’s wrong in helping others in what they lack and making it easy for them? What’s bad in reminding others of their capabilities and boosting their confidence instead of pinning their weak points? And if you are good at something not only acing it for yourself but taking others along too can also be so fun, making people comfortable around you by reminding them that they matter and their existence is precious one way or another can be really helpful in turning someone’s depressed mood into a happier one. And that’s how you make friends. People always like to get along with people who make them feel good about themselves. Also, this is the right thing to do, deleting the negative people out of your life, letting no one tell you about your weaknesses instead doing self-analysis, being confident and staying happy because do remember that there’s always A thing, if not many, in which you are the best and you have your worth and those around you who don’t accept this aren’t going anywhere in life. So be happy, chill and don’t forget YOU ARE LOVED!