Mental health is an important conversation and crucial to student well-being. We aim to create an empathetic environment which is receptive to student needs. ‘Bloom’, our wellbeing centre focuses on the psychological, physical and emotional wellbeing of the students and inculcates positive values in the community.
According to the reports published by the National Crime Records Bureau, one student commits suicide every hour. In 2018, about 28 such suicides were reported every day making it 1,03,000 lacs in a year in India alone. This was almost an eight per cent increase from the previous year.
According to another study, 37.7%, 13.1% and 2.4% of students suffer from moderate, severe and extreme depression respectively. Depression can be triggered by multiple reasons such as inability to cope with the existing environment, lack of understanding of concepts, language barriers, cultural differences and many more.
At Anant, we believe in creating a supportive and stigma-free atmosphere in the varsity. Through workshops, seminars, webinars and in-house counselling support, students do not have to face challenges alone. We have dedicated wellbeing warriors, who work with the centre, to identify mental health issues, direct them to appropriate channels of communication and create awareness.
Lifestyle, sleep-cycle, healthy diet and exercise contribute towards physical fitness. We believe that physical fitness plays an important role in improving mood, reducing stress and preventing mental illness, thus making students happy, confident and productive. To this end, Anant offers various initiatives like yoga sessions, workshops on physical fitness, sports and recreation to ensure that our students stay active and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Besides, our canteen provides nutritious meals to ensure that students get healthy food. The overall wellbeing of the student is a top priority and our dedicated team of wellbeing warriors, and resources ensure that students stay physically fit.
Anant has partnered with YourDost, an online platform, to make counselling and emotional support services available to our students 24×7. They can anonymously connect with experts like psychologists, psychotherapists, counsellors, life coaches and career guides among others for guidance and confidential counselling sessions.
Supplementing round-the-clock online support, Anant has two trained in-house counsellors to support our community members with intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts. Individuals gain a rich understanding of themselves, including their pattern of thought, behaviour, feelings and ways in which these may have caused an issue in their lives. Our community is further supported by various stakeholders to identify and tap existing resources or develop new ones to enhance their lives and relationships.
Anant has always partnered with a leading hospital in Ahmedabad to bring primary medical services and preventive health care tips to our students, staff and faculty. The on-campus infirmary is equipped with basic medical facilities and a full-time nurse. Anant community can also avail services like periodic health-checkups, workshops and health camps for free.
YourDOST is online counselling support designed to foster mental health. It anonymously connects individuals with the right experts, comprising psychologists, psychotherapists, counsellors, life coaches and career counsellors who understand and guide individuals through a completely confidential one-on-one session. Visit : yourdost.com
We believe that wellbeing is something that needs to be practised consistently for an individual to feel happy and engage to their full potential. Anant’s wellbeing warriors are student representatives who work towards creating a supportive, stigma-free, engaging ecosystem throughout the University.
Our wellbeing warriors are working towards:
Faculty are the closest to students and are in the best position to support their overall wellbeing. Therefore, we have initiated a Faculty Support Group (FSG) to act as a resource hub for all our faculty members in identifying and supporting students through their challenges. The FSG meets regularly to discuss systemic changes as well as individual-level support, necessary for our entire student body to flourish. Besides, the FSG also acts as a platform for faculty members to discuss and talk about their wellbeing to avoid being overwhelmed in the process.