Young kids can’t wait to go to school. The idea of meeting new friends, having new school stuff and learning a lot of things excites many young students. However, their enthusiasm wanes down over the years.

Peer pressure, problems with bullies, and increasingly difficult class lessons can put a strain on a student’s mental health. Add to that, parents have less and less time for their kids because of added demands at work and the desire to earn more to provide for their family.

As student’s progress through school, they face more and more stressors that affect their outlook on life. Gone was the bright-eyed child so full of excitement and curiosity to learn more in life. College proves to be the hardest hurdle of all as the pressure of rising tuition fees, relationship conflicts with peers, lack of funding for educational groups and the opposite sex and academic challenges leave students drained and mentally exhausted.

“Going to university coincides with a period of immense change and personal development. We know that one in four young people are going to have an issue with their mental health. I just felt it was important to break the stigma attached to things like anxiety and depression,” Connolly says.

Such is the prevalence of ­mental health among university students that increasingly institutions are being forced to focus their attention on it.

From puberty to their late …