The Silent Scream: Mental Health and Career Decisions

THE landscape of career choice has undergone a seismic shift. Gone are the days when students followed traditional paths without much ado. Today, the pressure to choose a career that aligns with one's strengths, passions, and market demands is overwhelming. The tragic incidents in Kota, Rajasthan, serve as a harsh reminder of the intense competition and stress that students face. The decision to choose a career is often daunting because it involves weighing various factors, such as personal interests, academic qualifications, financial stability, and job market trends in a world that has become more interconnected, leading to increased competition. The emphasis on knowledge, skills, and innovation has created a high-stakes environment where students feel the burden to perform. There is a societal shift. Automation, AI, and shifting industry landscapes have created uncertainty, making students feel the need to be more prepared. The constant updating of curricula, addition of new subjects have increased the workload. Social media platforms have created a culture of comparison, where students feel the need to measure up to their peers. Increased parental involvement and expectations from children have been responsible for excessive mental and psychological tension of children. Even parents themselves become victims of such anxiety. Issue of student suicides in Rajasthan is the direct impact of competitive pressures on students. Hence it becomes indispensable to work towards creating a more balanced, supportive, congenial atmosphere for holistic development of children and to create an environment to flourish in a competitive world.

- PROF. PROMOD DAS

The primary factor responsible for increasing mental anxiety is parents' aspirations and high expectations for their child's future. Parents do not even mind to put their tender age children reading in class VI or VII, in institutions giving special coaching to develop acumen to get admission into reputed engineering or medical colleges when they pass out class XII examination. Parental involvement is essential but excess of it can be detrimental. When forced into a career that does not align with their passions and that choices have been dictated by their parents, it may lead to dissatisfaction, depression and burnout. Parental pressure leaves a profound impact on children, may lead to stress-related disorders and erode his confidence and self-worth. God forbid, the parents-children relationship is not strained. That would lead to feelings of resentment, indignation and bitterness. It is worth citing a letter (that I read somewhere recently) from a son, living in the U.S., to his father in India. He writes to his father that it is not he but his father who had encouraged him all through to excel in studies and be in the best possible job in the U.S. He succeeds in fulfilling his father's expectations. He recalls the euphoric moment when he secured admission to the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology. His father's beaming smile and warm embrace are etched in his memory forever. His father's pride and joy were palpable