Hey student, how are you?

’Student, how are you?’ is the theme of this year’s Students’ Mental Health Week. Through this theme, Nyyti association, which promotes student mental health, aims to highlight students’ experiences with issues that burden and support their mental health. The goal is also to emphasise the importance of consulting students in decision-making processes.

I also asked myself this week’s question: ’How have I been during my studies?’

I have experienced success and happiness, friendship and a sense of community, joy and laughter, but also overwhelming anxiety and loneliness. My anxiety was very pervasive, and I was afraid of falling completely off track. I tried to balance my energy between my studies, work, friends, community, family, and myself.

And I was not alone in that feeling of anxiety. According to the Finnish Student Health and Wellbeing Survey (THL 2024), more than 17% of higher education students have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in the past 12 months. This figure has increased by more than four per cent compared to the 2021 survey.

Part of the reason for these figures may be that an increasing number of students have sought out mental health services. I was able to do this myself, although only after a long struggle on my own. According to the Finnish Student Health Service, the demand for mental health services has tripled compared to the period before the coronavirus pandemic. However, the current service resources are inadequate. Of those who have received help, two-thirds feel that the mental health services they received were insufficient (THL 2024). As students’ lives become more unstable, we must remember to invest in our mental health services.

However, I also hope that students would look out for one another. Let’s make sure that at least we remember to ask one another: How are you?

Katariina Kokkonen
AYY Board Member