When it comes to students’ academic success, one of the major things to keep in mind is their mental health. That’s because, without good mental health, there’s no way a student can reach their goals. Good mental health helps students manage the daily stress of school life while making them realize their abilities. All this eventually encourages them to learn well.
That’s why mental health is as important as any academic step for a student’s well-being and success. To elaborate more, here’s a detailed overview of the importance of students’ mental health:
Can Poor Mental Health Affect a Student’s Academic Life?
Absolutely! Poor mental health can be a big downfall for a student’s professional and personal life. In fact, as per a study, students who show severe mental health symptoms are four times more likely to experience low academic self-efficacy. Similarly, another study by the American Psychological Association indicates that 87% of college students consider education as their main source of stress due to uncertainty of what’s coming next. So, one can say there’s a two-way relation between mental health and academic life.
The reason behind such a strong association between poor mental health and students’ bad academic life is that the former can affect classroom learning. Eventually, it may lead to attendance difficulties, issues with behavior regulation, attention/adjustment-related concerns, and more.
Effect of Good Mental Health on Students’
Just like bad mental health can be a big downfall for students, good mental health can act as a positive step in academic life. Not only does it help you with daily challenges and stressors, but it also encourages happiness and better learning toward academic achievement. It encourages a sense of contentment and stronger relationships too.
Here are some effects of good mental health on students:
Better Self Esteem
A student with good mental health can ensure good self-esteem. And why is self-esteem important in education? Well, it’s required for risk-taking in learning and to recover after failure. There are many areas in education where you may face downfalls. However, it’s important to stand back strong and learn from mistakes. That’s only possible if you have strong mental health. You’re more likely to focus on the positives and ignore the negatives.
Boosted Productivity
A student with good mental health can ensure good self-esteem. And why is self-esteem important in education? Well, it’s required for risk-taking in learning and to recover after failure. There are many areas in education where you may face downfalls. However, it’s important to stand back strong and learn from mistakes. That’s only possible if you have strong mental health. You’re more likely to focus on the positives and ignore the negatives.
Boosted Productivity
You can stay assured of better productivity when you have good mental health as a student. Mental health disorders like anxiety can act as a hindrance during multitasking and fulfilling day-to-day tasks. As both these things are essential in students’ lives, you certainly can’t lose out on them. However, good mental health encourages the same.
Not only does it help to complete homework/assignments, but it also makes you feel more accomplished. A student’s productive mind can also help easily reach academic goals/objectives that offer great academic success.
Maintaining Healthy Relationships
Good mental health can also ensure a strong and healthy relationship with peers, teachers, and family. To succeed in academic life, you must have the communication skill and the potential to make stronger bonds. If you lack them, you may miss out on great opportunities. Good mental health encourages peace of mind and happiness, so you may feel encouraged to communicate with others. Eventually, it may help you make better connections and prevent you from running the risk of falling behind your peers.
Clear Thinking
If your mind is occupied with negative thoughts due to mental health disorders, you may lose out on clear thinking and a pragmatic approach. And to study better, you should have them both. Healthy mental health can encourage the same. It can also motivate you to analyze situations, make good decisions, and work well under stress. Ultimately, you can stay assured of good emotional, social, and psychological well-being.
Inner Peace and Calmness
Good mental health can encourage inner peace and calmness in students, eventually contributing to successful academic life. In practical subjects like science and mathematics, you’re likely to solve numerals commonly. In such situations, you may not resolve the problems correctly without inner peace. As good mental health can contribute to your overall peaceful mind, you can stay assured of seamless problem-solving.
Tips to Ensure Good Mental Health in Students for Academic Success
There are various ways to ensure good mental health amidst academic stress:
Prioritize Yourself
Academic pressure can take a toll on your mental health. The rat race of doing better than others can make you competitive, but you may struggle big time if it becomes excessive. So, despite how tough the competition is, always keep yourself as the first priority. Your job is to work hard and do your best. Don’t go overboard and over-pressurize yourself.
Learn to Deal with Stress!
Stress is one of the major culprits of academic life, and that’s why you must learn to deal with it. Walking, extracurricular activities, and yoga are some of the best activities to keep your academic stress. There are various effective asanas to calm your mind. So, don’t miss out on the same.
Set Doable Goals
Students often want more, and they aim for the top. While that’s good, setting unrealistic goals each day is a big no-no! For example, if you have to brush up on your maths skills, you can practice them daily.
But a daily practice of 2-2.5 hours is more than enough. Pushing yourself for a 5-6 hour practice will stress you a lot. So, start with short goals and increase them gradually as per your capacity. However, maintain regularity, even if you’re studying for one hour a day.
Get Help From Tutors
Sometimes it’s not about the time you spend on a subject but rather the concept that’s not clear to you. You may develop stress and frustration as you keep struggling with the same topic. That’s why, whenever you feel that things are too complex, take help from professional tutors. If you’re struggling with maths, hire a maths tutor to improve overall academic performance. They’ll guide you through the concepts and reduce your mental stress easily.
That’s it. Hopefully, now you understand the importance of students’ mental health toward academic success clearly.