Department of Psychology Lady Shri Ram College for Women

The Mental Health Awareness Week 2013 'Being Young: Peers, Pressure and Passion’ September 19 - October 1 ‘2013 India is a nation of young people. Statistics indicate that more than 50% of the country’s population is below the age of 25 years. Considering this, it is imperative that the health and well-being of the Indian youth takes centre stage. While the college-going years have generally been perceived to be a carefree period in one’s life, away from the pressures of working and managing a household, one must not assume that young people are immune to mental health problems. Research shows that youth mental health problems are on the rise with anxiety and other mental health issues being five times more common among high school and college students than they were about 90 years ago. According to data collected by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the burden of suicide falls disproportionately on India’s young people. Nearly 60 per cent of all suicide deaths in Indian women occur between the ages of 15 and 29 years, the corresponding figure for men being 40 per cent. In today’s times, young people face a confluence of demanding experiences ranging from establishing one’s individuality, creating peer networks, pursuing romantic relationships, obtaining academic degrees to moving into employment. All these contexts provide young people an opportunity to fulfil their dreams and achieve their goals. However these contexts also create tremendous demands and pressures that unless handled adeptly can lead to mental health problems such as depression and substance addiction. In addition the urban youth in our country face these challenges in the backdrop of several on-going societal changes such as the transition

from collectivist values to individualistic ones, increasing rates of divorces and high levels of competition. Keeping in mind the fact there are only limited professional settings for young people to discuss and understand their problems, and considering that young people may lack life experiences and coping skills required to deal with their concerns, the Department of Psychology, Lady Shri Ram College for Women has organised the Mental Health Awareness Week 2013 on the theme 'Being Young: Peers, Pressure and Passion’.

We seek not only to spread awareness about the kinds of mental health issues faced by young people, but also to champion the right of every young man and woman to mental health and well-being. The focus of the week-long event is also going to be on enabling young people to understand the ways by which they can address their concerns with respect to issues such as the strong need for achievement, the tendency of social comparison with peers, feelings of isolation etc. The issues to be addressed during the Mental Health Awareness Week have been determined through the conduction of an on-line survey with approximately 200 students from various departments of Lady Shri Ram College for Women.

Do join us in executing what promises to be a week full of invigorating talks, presentations, competitions, a theatrical production and a movie screening which we hope will appeal to the young as well as the young-at-heart!