English psychology

2

Abstract

There is a stigma that surrounds mental health and those in need of it. Universities are no exception to this. It seems that university students are not very interested in discussion or learning how to help one another with their own mental health issues, let alone support their peers who may be struggling. This can be a result of what they were taught in high school, their family’s relationships with one another and their own personal relationships (Ma et al., 2021). There are many challenges professors face when teaching a class on mental health and they do not get to spend enough time preparing to teach this class due to the workload that comes with being a professor. As a result, many are unsure of how to approach the topic of mental health in their classroom. This can be seen when a professor asks, "How many people here have been depressed and in need of help?" Students today are much more open to discuss mental health. They are very comfortable with speaking about the common issues that they have encountered, even if it is not depression or anxiety (Ngin et al., 2018). It does not matter if the student is having an issue with their mental health; they are willing to speak about it and understand what is happening in their life.

References

Ma, Q., Parisi, J., Joo, J., & Gallo, J. (2021). Singapore young adults’ perception of mental health help-seeking from mental health professionals and peer supporters. Asian Journal Of Psychiatry, 61, 102687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2021.102687

Ngin, C., Pal, K., Tuot, S., Chhoun, P., Yi, R., & Yi, S. (2018). Social and behavioural factors associated with depressive symptoms among university students in Cambodia: A cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 8(9), e019918. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/9/e019918.abstract