According to the French survey "Bien-être et santé des jeunes” carried out by Marie Rose Moro and Jean Louis Brison in November 2016, 17% of young people have confirmed having suffered from a depressive episode between the ages of 16 and 25. However, less than 10% of adolescents report reaching out for professional help.
What are usually defined as the best years of a person’s life, can turn into a real nightmare for many young students. Facing some important life changes such as leaving behind the family home or coping with financial duties for the first time, can really have an impact on the mental health of students. Poor mental health at university affects not only how they learn but also how they interact with their surroundings. When suffering from these diseases, the most routine tasks like preparing a meal or answering texts from friends, become challenges.
“I didn’t know how I should talk about it.” Liyana is a 21 year old exchange student at SciencesPo. She summed up in a sentence how many of us can feel when addressing mental health issues: will someone look at me differently if I bring it up? How do I start a conversation about it? Even if the answers to these questions depend on the circumstances of each person, they will always have one thing in common: we should never feel ashamed for asking for help.
Nevertheless, during the Debates for Student Representative’s elections, candidates highlighted the mental well-being of students as “the first issue that needed to be addressed.” SciencesPo students can turn to different professionals, however some candidates proposed creating a plan to enforce help between students. The candidates believe that the university is following the right direction regarding this matter, nevertheless they consider that in some cases, students would feel more at ease receiving a similar type of help from students. Although the details of a plan like this would still need to be discussed in future debates, addressing mental health issues with students that have already undergone what others may be experiencing seemed the best option for some candidates.
In Reims, students can also reach out to the Point Écoute Jeunes. This free service has a team of professionals that offer counselling and guidance to young people (from 11 to 25 year old) and their family members. When asked about the stigmatisation of mental health, they underlined the different particularities of each case. Some young people attend this service already knowing a fair share about mental health, but others do not have a clue. Even so, they have also faced cases when family members refused to acknowledge there was even a problem.
So, how can we help someone who is struggling? It is important to remember that handling things by ourselves may not be the solution (in fact, it never is). Professionals recommend being both careful and respectful, suggest our close ones reach out for professional help for us, as well as being properly informed about the existing mental health care structure in our country, village or centre of learning. The PEJ insists it is necessary to ask for professional medical help (for example, CMPE at Reims) when necessary.
María Luque Calzado
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