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When the country was battling with COVID-19, health professionals and educators noticed a growing crisis among young adults struggling with mental health problems, including suicidal ideation, anxiety and depression. From being cooped up within the 4 walls to complete detachment from friends, teachers and peers, students were faced with several mental issues which they couldn’t understand or tackle on their own.
In such times, educators also have to don a hat of a counsellor and help students navigate through these tricky times. Dr Jaya Kumar did exactly that for her students. During the 2ndwave of the pandemic, she provided a safe space for the students to open up and talk about the internal struggles they were going through.
Key Initiatives On Mental Health Awareness
With parents busy keeping them safe and ensuring that their physical needs were met, students often felt lonely and ignored. During her sessions, she found that most students just needed a sympathetic ear that could hear their problems and consider them important enough to be addressed. She also conducted live and free webinars and sessions to address the challenges being faced by students and to provide the right counselling to help them sail through dark times.
Dr Jaya Kumar decided that the best way to help students deal with anxiety and depression is by spreading positivity among them. She produced a series of blogs and videos promoting a positive mindset and urged the students to use their mental strength to overcome challenges.
Facing exams when you have not attended school for even a single day in the entire year can be daunting for anyone, let alone young students. The annual exams which were being held in online or hybrid mode put a lot of stress and created anxiety among students. To ease the pre-exams stress and to help them put up their best efforts she held a Session on ‘No to Exam Stress’. On similar lines, looking at the several incidents of online abuse and violence, she also conducted a session for students on Non-violent communication and how to interact and deal with bullies in a constructive manner.
Click Here to Reach Dr Jaya Kumar’s YouTube Channel
Other Achievements
Dr Jaya Kumar’s work on Mental Health has been appreciated by several independent organizations. In 2021, she received the All India First prize by the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, in the Video Blogging Contest #AyushseJeevaniShakti. This video also focussed on Mental health which is also related to living a disciplined and healthy lifestyle.
She has also made a short film on Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) to spread the message about CAB, especially for the younger generation. This film was approved by the Madhya Pradesh Government to be showcased on social media.
Click Here to Watch Film on COVID Appropriate Behaviour
In the coming days, she plans to enhance her initiatives further. She will continue to conduct various live and free sessions so that more and more students get the benefit of her sessions. She also volunteers for various social causes and campaign initiatives by the Government of India like the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao programme, Short Film on Swatch Bharat Abhiyan and many others.
Dr Jaya Kumar is a finalist for Best Initiative (For Mental Health Awareness) Because...her purpose as a human being is to serve humanity and inspire the youth and spread the message of positivity in society. She serves as a role model for several students who look up to her as a friend, philosopher and guide.
To Reach the Information Dossier Shared by Dr Jaya Kumar Click Here.