Before you step into college...

It’s a big day when a young adolescent embarks on the journey from school life to college life. The heady mix of challenges and opportunities probably make it one of the most significant and stressful phase of life.

Needless to say, this rapid transition from childhood to adulthood is fraught with several dangers too: spoilt academics, troubled relations, addictions, depressions, crime, suicide and other serious psychological issues. We all falter temporarily. Most of us get back on our feet, some of us fail to do so. It is in these cases that awareness and help is needed from all possible sides, to avoid permanent damage to the career and personality of the individual.

Here, we take a quick look at the nature of challenges faced by a young student who is out to take on the challenges of becoming a college student. What are the sources or triggers associated with the early days of college life which starts the downward spiral toward psychological difficulties for adolescents? Here’s a list:

Academic
The most significant challenge is academic. Often, the new curriculum is nothing like what you had honed your skills in. The competition increases. English suddenly assumes – and quite unfairly, at times – a central position as a medium of communication – professional, social and personal.

Social
Peer pressure is an everyday reality of living in a large community. It needs training and maturity to stay balanced whilst being surrounded by people who seem to be doing better than ourselves - academically, socially, financially etc. The need for social acceptance is natural in late adolescents. The strong urge to belong to groups they consider elite often leads youngsters to overspend, get into bad habits as drugs, smoking, and or alcohol, risky behaviour (e.g. rash driving) and even petty crimes.

Emotional
Some of us have to move away from home for college. In such cases, homesickness can prove to be nerve-racking. It also demands a lot of adjustment between the roommates and among the classmates. The sudden freedom from a controlled environment in a home or school atmosphere to that of higher education poses the danger of wanting to test the boundaries (perhaps by indulging in drugs, alcohol, bad company). Additionally, physical, mental and logistical changes must be dealt with, which is not easy.

Indicators
How do we know that all may not be well with our young friend, ward or student? There are several tell-tale signs which an observant eye will catch:

Failure to cope with pressures of the times may start showing up as a lack of motivation. Initially, what may start off like signs of laziness often turns into a morbid lack of energy to anything, whether it’s work, eating, exercises, or daily chores. In extreme cases of drained motivation, students may show an inability to keep basic hygiene. Internal void experienced by a person may lead him or her to seek reassurance from the outside world. This results in attention-seeking behaviour. A person speaking often about impending doom, death, futility of life and such depressing thoughts is probably on the verge of ultimate despair. If not helped, such a person may secretly be harbouring plans of suicide.

Please note that the presence of the above indicators is not necessarily a sure evidence of a troubled case. The duration, frequency and intensity of indications are important parameters to consider before raising alarm. Also, not every indicator is visible to everyone. Some are first seen by peers, while others may reveal themselves to parents and teachers.

Guidelines
The stakeholders in the life of a young student could be broadly put in four groups: self (student), peers, teacher and parents. In the following few passages, we discuss guidelines for preventive and corrective steps.

• Students: Identify your weapons. Successful people learn the trick of playing to their strengths, learning from their mistakes and managing the impact of their weaknesses on their work and life. Personal organisation is a key life-skill. Routine, prioritisation, discipline are its key elements. Socialisation is important. Identify friends, acquaintances, colleagues and keep-offs among your peers. Limit virtual social networks.
  
  Connect with yourself. Your way of spirituality may be through religion, meditation or contemplation, and study or through service. Finally, when you feel unable to handle any pressure or stress, never hesitate to seek help. Start with a trusted friend, teacher or parents. If needed, approach a professional counsellor.

• Parents: Your quality time with your children helps them develop a strong emotional security, which in turn instils self-confidence to face challenges from any corner. Help them with suggestive solutions. Try and provide a controlled freedom that respects your son’s or daughter’s personal space. Instil values from a young age. Very importantly, live the values yourself. Accept the changes in their outlook.

• Teachers: A teacher plays an equally important role as a parent in developing a child’s emotional strength by instilling and reinforcing firm value system to help them differentiate between right and wrong, ethical and unethical behaviour. Kindle their curiosity. Keep a behind-the-screen watch on their behaviour. Do keep an eye on indicators like absenteeism, bad grades, tip-off by peers and any sudden change in their attitude and behaviour. These may indicate that the student is struggling with stress and pressure, and may be in a need of help. Be available to listen to them and gain their trust.

• Peers: Peers are privy to many details which parents and teachers are not. Keep yourself alert about indicators popping up either in yourself or among your peers. A helping hand from a peer goes a long way in averting serious problems. If you feel that you don’t see things looking up despite your honest attempts, it’s time to raise alarm, by taking trusted peers, teachers and counsellors into confidence. In any case, don’t bully. Ragging is known to be a social evil and is a cognisable offence in India. Resolve conflicts amicably. For situations going beyond your control or against mutual resolution, do approach the authorities for reconciliation.

All these elements must act as a team to see the fresh college students through the crucial transformational phase of their lives. The bedrock of this teamwork involves awareness, alertness, responsiveness and communication between the four elements.

With effective coordination in this team, a majority of incipient psychological issues can be nipped in the bud. For cases which shoot beyond the normal deviations, professional help must be sought promptly to prevent permanent damages and disasters.

(Sujit Kumar is assistant professor,IIIT-B & Nalini is consulting psychologist, IISc and IIIT-B)