Students must be prepared from a young age to help them cope with stress, said Shilpa Prabhakar Satish, mission director, National Health Mission.
She was speaking at a workshop on mental wellness and stress management held at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras on Friday.
Institute director V. Kamakoti and head of Wellness Programme R. Sarathi were present during the first session. Mr. Kamakoti emphasised on the importance of taking steps towards a healthier campus, especially in the wake of rising number of suicides in the last six months. He said the institute had been taking several steps to ensure the well-being of its students.
The workshop included sessions with professors, doctors and professionals from various fields who spoke on curricular reforms and implementations and the importance of communication among parents, students and faculty with the help of artificial intelligence and psychiatry, counselling and accessibility to mental health support systems.