IIT Madras Launches ‘Be Happy’ Website, Introduces Wellness Session Series for Students; Check Details Here

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IIT Madras Launches ‘Be Happy’ Website

New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has launched a ‘Be Happy’ website and introduced a series of wellness lectures for its students, which is a part of the institute's initiatives to provide access to the students for an environment filled with tranquility.

With the help of the national health mission, the department of health and family welfare of IIT Madras and the Tamil Nadu government, the programme was conducted for the students through speeches given by famous experts participating in supporting mental wellness programmes across the state. The goal of the initiative is to raise awareness about mental health issues and the numerous tools that students can use to address and manage stress whenever it arises.

Speaking during the event, V Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, discussed the numerous steps done by IIT Madras to reduce stress and enhance mental health in order to transform the IIT Madras campus into a "Be Happy" campus.

He announced the establishment of a new website, behappy.iitm.ac.in, which is largely dedicated towards the students' mental health. The website aims to promote regular and timely communication between academic advisers and students as well as a time-bound redress procedure. This website also offers additional "Listeners Option" initiatives that allow students to request assistance.

A Session on Wellness at IIT Madras

Dr. M. Malaiappan, Director and Professor of Psychiatry at Madras Medical College, gave a presentation on "An Introduction to Positive Mental Health" to kick off the wellness session series followed by Dr. M. S. Jagadeesan, Professor of Psychiatry at Madras Medical College, giving a thorough presentation on "Early Identification of Depression".

Later, the IIT Madras students actively participated in an interactive session to conclude the event. The speakers urged the students to pursue a stress-free lifestyle and addressed and clarified the students' questions and concerns about mental wellness.

The assistant programme officers Dr. V Divya and Dr. R. Karthik Deivanayagam contributed their ideas for maintaining mental wellbeing.

Speaking during the event, Shilpa Prabhakar Sathish, IAS, mission director of the national health mission for the Tamil Nadu government, emphasised the government's mental health programme and the various mental health initiatives started through the district mental health programme for the mental well-being of school and college students.

She also spoke about the“Tele MANAS Programme” (launched in Oct- 22) and the "Natpudan Ungalodu-Mananala Seva" initiative. Sathish added that students who experience a variety of difficulties in their academic, social, and personal lives, college represents a crucial maturation moment.

The mission director stated that while the majority of students succeed in overcoming these obstacles and realising their potential, some students need the assistance of their parents, professors, and friends to deal with stress and other problems.

Efforts to Reduce Students' Stress and Foster their Mental Health

According to a statement from IIT Madras, the Tamil Nadu government has implemented the "Mana Nala Nallaatharavu Mandram" (MaNaM) programme to address the urgent mental health requirements of students in schools and universities.

According to the statement, MaNaM focuses on improving students' mental health and wellbeing by enabling them to identify psychiatric symptoms quickly and give the treatment they need.

Tamil Nadu has been the most student-friendly state with initiatives like reaching out to 2,56,959 NEET aspirants and offering special counselling services to 1,524 students who had returned from the Ukraine.

The statement further mentioned that IIT Madras offers a similar programme named "MiTR," which is a student assistance initiative. In order to overcome the difficulties brought by emotional and psychological distresses, students should find inspiration and courage to confront life's challenges and odds with self-confidence and courage

They should never hesitate or delay in any way in seeking the appropriate help from the MaNaM-MiTR programmes. The Mental Health Tele Counselling Services (14416) will be offered to the students of IIT Madras through TeleManas (14416), which is a 24X7 Toll-free helpline that offers rapid Mental Health counselling services to the students in times of crisis.

Meanwhile, a 'Fellowship courses' will be made available to IIT Counsellors and Psychologists to enhance their counselling and psychotherapy skills.

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