Mental health week at GCU

LAHORE: The annual mental health week (MHW) celebrations began at the Government College University (GCU) on Tuesday with an inter-university poster competition on the theme of peace psychology.

About 70 students from different universities participated in the competition and presented posters condemning terrorist attacks, violence, Islamophobia and wars around the world and especially in Pakistan. The posters highlighted the key values such as tolerance and love that helps people staying positive in life.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Hassan Amir Shah said such events provided a platform to the students to show their innovation and creativity, which they could not get much in formal education system. He said the topic of the MHW i.e. ‘Peace Psychology’ was highly pertinent as the world had seen so much bloodshed in the recent past. He said Pakistan valued peace because it had been one of the biggest victims of terrorism.

The GCU-MHW celebrations, organized by the university's Dr Ajmal Society Physiological Society and Psychology Department, also includes seminars and workshops on topic related to tolerance and stress management.

Department of Psychology Chairperson Dr Syed Shahida Batool said they all faced social and interpersonal constraints, stress, and security challenges.