As the board exams are just around the corner, mental health experts are seeing an increase in the number of stress and anxiety cases. According to clinical psychologists, the pressure of scoring good marks impacts the students’ minds.

In a recent incident, a 15-year-old girl, who will be soon appearing for her board exam, visited a clinical psychologist as she was feeling the pressure of scoring good marks as her elder sister. During her preliminary test, she fell sick, and she could not appear for exams. There was an instance where the 15-year-old Colaba resident, froze just at the beginning of her test paper, and could not remember what to write.

After talking to her, the psychologist concluded it to be a very panicky response, where the student felt like, she could hear her heartbeat thumping. Due to her anxieties, and continuous negative thoughts, the student often freezes during the exam. While the parents were very confused as to why this was happening, they didn`t realize that the parental pressure to score high is not helping their daughter out.

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According to health experts, parents should not put pressure on their children to study hard as it may impact the students` minds. Mehezabin Dordi, Clinical Psychologist at Sir H. N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, said, “While parents want the best for their children, they should also keep in mind that pressuring them to excel in academics may have an adverse negative impact on them. The parental pressure does not lead to success, but can cause stress and other negative effects.”

She added, “Many studies conclude that parental pressure can often make children prone to stress and anxiety. Many studies also found that children who said their parents pushed them to excel in academics showed elevated signs of depression, anxiety, lower self-esteem, sleep deprivation, behavior problems, and further lowering of grades, sending out a clear message about how parental pressure can impact a child`s mental health.”

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Explaining how one can help students, she said, “Let the students decide and work on their goals. If the children make mistakes, rather than criticising them, the parents can guide them.”

Hiranandani Hospital psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty, said, “The board exams do not test the abilities of students of life. Parents should motivate the students to study hard rather than asking him/her to score high.”

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