The month of May comes as an imperative moment for every student of Ireland – exam season. Tensions are high. Stress is palpable. Libraries are crammed. The temperatures rise in tandem with the level of pressure felt. If this doesn’t summarize the Irish exam season, then I truly don’t know what does. Unfortunately, however, with all the hustle and bustle this hectic season brings, it is forgotten that May is Mental Health Month. This year’s theme is loneliness; and I couldn’t have selected a more significant theme for Mental Health Month 2022 if I tried.
As many students are well aware, studying can be a very lonely process. You are often working on your own subjects, using your own notes, for your own exam, for your own results. Everything you work towards isn’t for a team – but for your own academic achievements. Although this can result in rewarding accolades and celebratory occasions, studying is solely a single person’s responsibility. It is a lonely experience.
This feeling of loneliness was only heightened by the impact of Covid-19, as students isolated alone through-out lockdown. Secondary school and college students were stuck with online lectures and lessons. Not only that, but they were also left studying locked up in their own rooms. Without a doubt, this played a massive role in students mental health and wellbeing. A study by a team of psychologists in NUI Galway and Trinity College in February 2021, found that 40% of Irish teens “have suggested they are struggling with the impacts of lockdown and often feel lonely or alone”. We are still only emerging from this pandemic. It has had a massive impact on all our lives, and we now must help each other overcome these lonely emotions and realize there are people around us who are willing to help and listen. Especially for the students of Ireland.
But where do they turn?
There has never been more of an importance for mental health month. Regrettably, there is still little to no mention of the topic in secondary schools at this crucial, stressful and demanding time. It is a huge missed opportunity to essentially help the struggling and isolated students of Ireland. According to a study conducted by the Irish Times in May of 2022, “75% of those surveyed reported suffering ‘extreme’ stress over the course of the two-year Leaving Cert cycle”. The figures should speak for themselves. It is no wonder students feel so isolated at this time. The power of mental health month should not be underestimated, hence the strong need for it to be more widely discussed in schools and in the general media.
But where can students turn in these times of loneliness? Who can they talk to?
Reaching out to friends, family, or any person you trust is a great place to start. Letting your guard down and being vulnerable with others, and having an open conversation can help It is important to remember that no-one went through this pandemic alone. Although at times we all felt lonely, lost and afraid; that by no means meant anyone was experienced this events in isolation – we all had to grapple with the challenges of the pandemic.
The same can be said about exams. Be it a stressful and all-be-it overwhelming time for the young people of Ireland, it’s important to talk it through with someone who is having the same experience as you.
Loneliness is an isolating emotion – and isolation is something the students of Ireland have had to endure for too long; through no fault of their own. But now, we need some action. We need to get the conversation started in schools and help young people realize that talking about how they are feeling is vital. But what is also important to discuss is where they can turn to for this help, and who in particular they can talk to.
Exam season is important. But nothing is more important than your own mental health.
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