Dear school’s, look out for your students more

“You’re in the best international school in Doha!” everyone kept telling me. An excellent science and maths department with remarkable grades achieved each year. While this was enticing, there was one aspect of the school that was missing. Something that seemed to noticeably pattern itself within these young adults. Where, in the thirteen years of this educational institution were we taught how to take care of our mental wellbeing?

"Where, in the thirteen years of this educational institution were we taught how to take care of our mental wellbeing?"

The unfortunate answer is that the majority of schools still exclude this, arguably the most important part of the education system, out of their curriculum. Instead, school’s will condense and squeeze this into a one hour class known as PSHE. As a young adult who has now stepped out of school into the real world, I can confidently say that this is not enough.

When I moved colleges, I innocently thought I left behind my abundance of mental health issues but I quickly realised that this wasn’t the case. Having battled with my eating disorder for a few years I was more aware of the support I needed during college and so I was disheartened when I failed to receive it. The first disappointing experience I faced in college was when I met my school’s counsellor for the first time. I walked in with lots of nerves, secretly clinging onto an atom of hope.

“I wish I could help you but I can’t, as I’m not qualified to help you with an eating disorder.”

The meeting with the counsellor lasted about five minutes and I remember regretting even going in the first place. After this, no member of staff checked to see how I was coping… if I was coping. I remained in and out of appointments with my doctors, but the place I really needed some support was in my everyday life.

As a result, I was pretty much left in the deep end. Balancing exams and a mental health condition, whilst appearing completely normal to everyone else put a huge toll on my academic achievements. When university applications came around the already stressful experience was worsened by lacking the mental and physical energy to go through the rigorous application process. Some of my grades throughout the year plummeted and it was difficult to see myself come out of the end of the tunnel. Nevertheless, with the help of my family and friends, I carried my own weight and pushed through the two years. This tough experience would definitely have been made easier if I just got the support I needed by my school. Battling a mental health condition during a critical time in your life is one of the most difficult experiences a growing, young adult can face. The issue of the school’s not looking out for their students goes far beyond this, however.

"Battling a mental health condition during a critical time in your life is one of the most difficult experiences a growing, young adult can face."

Most people reading this won’t know the difference between stress, anxiety and fear. Instead, we will interchangeably use these words to describe how we THINK we are feeling. This is problematic, because the more we reinforce these behaviours the less we know about why we behave in certain ways. The truth is, we do have control over our behaviour if we train ourselves to regularly take care of our mental wellbeing, the same way we brush our teeth every morning. I strongly believe that mental well-being care should be engagingly taught to young, developing individuals in the best quality so they have the skills and strategies to deal with the challenges that young adults may face. This is a huge goal of mine throughout my career.