By: Dr Pavan Kumar – Public Health Researcher/Senior Health Officer at Thar Foundation
Email: pawanlumhs@gmail.com
Published By:ANI News Agency
A child can sit quietly in a classroom, complete assignments, and even achieve good grades while struggling with fear, loneliness, anxiety, or sadness. Adults may see a well-behaved student, the child may be experiencing distress that no one has thought to ask about.
This is why, on World Mental Health Day, observed on 10th October, Pakistan must look beyond examination results and attendance registers to understand what children are experiencing emotionally.
This year’s theme, “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change,” offers an important reminder: children should not merely be the subjects of mental health policies. Their voices must help shape them.
A global concern with a local reality: The World Health Organization estimates that approximately one in seven adolescents aged 10–19 experiences a mental health condition globally. Anxiety, depression, and behavioural disorders are among the leading causes of illness and disability in this age group. Yet many difficulties remain untreated.
Pakistan cannot afford to treat this as a distant international concern. A study published in the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences in 2022 examined 400 high-school students from government and private schools in Karachi. It reported that 53.2% of participants experienced symptoms of anxiety and depression according to the study’s assessment. This was a study-specific finding, not a national prevalence estimate, but it highlights the need for further investigation and timely support.
For Sindh, the question is particularly important. Children in rural and underserved communities may face additional pressures linked to household financial insecurity, limited educational resources, family stress, gender-related barriers, and the effects of climate-related emergencies and displacement. However, reliable, representative data on schoolchildren’s mental health across Sindh remain an important research priority.
When distress is mistaken for disobedience: Children do not always have the words to explain what they feel. Anxiety may appear as repeated stomach aches, fear of attending school, or difficulty concentrating. Emotional distress may be mistaken for laziness, poor discipline, or a lack of interest in education. Bullying, social exclusion, excessive academic pressure, family conflict, disrupted sleep, and harmful online experiences can further affect well-being.
When adults respond only with punishment or criticism, a child may learn to hide distress rather than seek help. Silence should never automatically be interpreted as proof that everything is fine.
Schools are therefore more than places of academic instruction. They can be important settings for early recognition, emotional learning, supportive relationships, and appropriate referral. Teachers are not expected to diagnose mental health conditions, but they can listen without judgement, recognise concerning changes, protect children from bullying, and help connect families with qualified professionals.
Listening must lead to action: The 2026 theme challenges institutions to move beyond awareness campaigns towards meaningful participation. For children, this means creating safe, age-appropriate opportunities to explain what makes them feel supported, what causes distress, and what changes they believe would help. Their privacy must be protected, and they should never be pressured to disclose personal experiences publicly.
Pakistan’s response should include mental health literacy in schools, training for teachers and school counsellors where available, clear referral pathways to qualified health professionals, and constructive engagement with parents and caregivers. Particular attention is needed for children facing poverty, disability, discrimination, displacement, or limited access to services.
Research must also go further. Sindh needs stronger district-level evidence, locally validated assessment tools in relevant languages, and studies that include younger children, rural populations, children with disabilities, and those outside formal education. Programmes should be evaluated not simply by the number of awareness sessions conducted, but by whether children feel safer, receive appropriate support, and can access care when needed.
From being heard to real change: A meaningful response does not require every school to become a mental health clinic. It requires schools, families, health services, and policymakers to recognise that emotional well-being is part of a child’s right to learn, grow, and participate in society.
This World Mental Health Day, let us ask children a simple question: “How are you really feeling, and what would help you feel safe?” Then let us listen carefully and act on what we hear.
Because a child’s struggle should not have to become a crisis before an adult takes it seriously.
