Mental health is one of the most understated aspects of modern student life, acknowledged in theory, yet often dismissed in practice. It is not merely the absence of mental illness but the presence of inner stability, a state of emotional, psychological, and social well-being that helps a person feel at peace within their mind and body. In a positive mental state, individuals enhance emotional resilience, cope with stress effectively, and perform better in professional domains. However, the dual nature of mental health means that both positive and negative experiences can significantly impact it, and when pressure outweighs passion, the balance begins to crumble. 

I. The Unseen Pressure of Legal Education

Among all academic disciplines, law remains one of the most mentally taxing. It is an intellectually rigorous discipline as it requires persistent review of constitutional amendments, an extensive understanding of legal provisions, and the evolving application of laws. For many, law school becomes more than an academic pursuit; it becomes an identity test. Research indicates that 96% of law students experience significant stress, compared to 70% of medical students and 43% of graduate students in other fields.  

Since the beginning of their first semester, students are advised to build their curricula vitae (CV). Internships become less of an opportunity and more of a social obligation. Places that were meant to be substantively learned often turn into checklists that are meant to demonstrate sufficient engagement. Besides, the pressure to perform in moots, write scholarly writings and ensure high academic results worsens this pressure, triggering the emergence of a significant number of students who start to fall apart under the pressure.

 Apart from these demands, the financial strain makes it worse. The rising cost of legal education drives an increasing number of individuals to take on student loans, which in turn encourages them to seek out jobs with high pay, like part-time or paid internships, just to be able to make ends meet.

Alongside regular classes, law students also undertake preparation for specific career options, such as corporate law, criminal law, litigation, judicial exams, or further studies. They're often pressured to pass the bar examination on the first attempt and secure a postgraduate job offer while still completing their course. 

II. The Comparison Trap

Beyond institutional stress, the culture of constant comparison adds another invisible weight. Law school thrives on competition for ranks, internships, clerkships, and validation. Every time that the achievement of a peer appears on the screen, it instils personal self-doubt to a slightly greater extent. 

Platforms like LinkedIn amplify this cycle. Every notification of peers winning moot court competitions, publication, and landing top-tier internships becomes an unspoken measure of self-worth. The supposedly shared triumph thus becomes the exaggeration of personal insufficiency. And behind every carefully edited LinkedIn profile, a student tends to grapple with fatigue, trying to create the impression of being composed. For many, this quiet mental race significantly contributes to burnout, imposter syndrome, and emotional withdrawal. 

According to a 2021 survey, 68.7% of law students sought mental health assistance, a staggering rise from 26% in 2014. The report suggests exacerbated levels of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm, and suicidal ideation. Women students, especially, were statistically more likely to seek help, which may be due to the societal stigma which discourages male students from revealing their psychological distress. 

The consequences can be even worse in the case of first-generation law students, who do not have any legal exposure. Without timely intervention, these emotional challenges can be detrimental and lead to long-term mental health consequences.

III. Skill-based evaluation of self-worth 

Law students often undergo a profound identity transformation during their academic journey, wherein personal value linked to academic and professional accomplishments constitutes a primary driver of distress amongst them. In an overly competitive environment, comparison between peers without acknowledgement of the distinction and diversity in interests, performance, talents and personalities compels students to exceed their own reasonable personal limits.  Such a decision is not driven by internal self-motivation but by external forces to perform better than others. Thus, the witnessed correlation between academic success and self-esteem contributes negatively to their psychological state as students internalise the belief that their personal value is contingent on their achievement in law school.

The outcome of all this is both emotional exhaustion and inefficiency in the work. Effort when not motivated but executed through coercion turns into compulsion. This leads to most students feeling socially withdrawn and isolated, hence unprepared to face failure or disappointment. This sense of identity change contributes to another perception that academic and co-curricular achievement are the only accurate means of self-assessment, and in order to preserve these, students opt for an unbalanced lifestyle driven through excessive caffeine, late-night workload, isolation and unhappiness. Such practices do not develop as a choice but as a perceived need to keep up. The lack of systematic advice, goal-setting, and planning, especially in first-year students, leads to a situation where they try to do everything at once, thus undermining their mental well-being in the process, and those with poor management skills find it more challenging. 

Although it is seemingly impossible to eradicate every source of stress in this field, it is still possible, and indeed necessary, to plan strategically in order to cope with it. A skill-based concept of self-worth will help the person to perceive competence as a process of collective growth, rather than as a comparison process.⁶ 

IV. UGC, BCI and Institutional Initiatives 

The University Grants Commission (UGC) took note of the alarming issue and issued a Framework Guideline on Emotional and Mental Well-being of Students in Higher Educational Institutions in May 2025. The framework facilitates collaboration between Universities and Student Service Centres and focuses on the sensitisation of the faculty members through programs under Human Resource Development Centres (HRDC), Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya National Mission on Teachers (PMMMNMTs), and Teaching Learning Centres. It further promotes a link-chain model of mentorship for freshmen through the assignment of academic mentors, typically in senior years.⁷ 

The guidelines also guide Higher Educational Institutions to enter into Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with specialised psychiatric organisations and government departments, including NIMHANS, HBAS and RINPAS, to provide professional counselling and psychiatric interventions. It also suggests a third-party evaluation mechanism for initiatives undertaken by the institution for greater accountability. In addition, UGC has recently issued a directive to further mandate the 15-point guidelines given by the Supreme Court in the case of Sukdeb Saha v. State of Andhra Pradesh, strengthening the institutional duty in the mental well-being of the students.

On the contrary, the Bar Council of India Legal Education Rules (2008) does not explicitly state any specific provision regarding concern for the mental health of law students. The rules are mainly concerned with academic compliance and attendance regulations, and thus, there is a loophole in the regulations, and institutions can easily exploit it to avoid accountability. In 2024, the Delhi High Court intervened to direct the BCI to make amendments to the attendance policy subsequent to the tragic suicide of a law student in a suo motu writ petition, which is another such instance. Nonetheless, the Legal Education Rules have not included comprehensive mental health provisions, and this indicates a lack of interconnection between professional regulation and student welfare.  

However, several leading law schools have independently established robust mental health programmes such as, 

• NLSIU Bengaluru: It has partnered with Maarga Mindcare, a psychiatric hospital, to provide on-campus counselling services.
• NALSAR Hyderabad: It has established a dedicated counselling centre that ensures complete confidentiality for students seeking help.
• WBNUJS Kolkata, in collaboration with Over a Cup of Tea (a psychological wellness centre), offers free, anonymous counselling appointments.
• NLIU Bhopal’s Project Saarthi, under its Legal Aid Clinic, extends free psychological counselling as part of its community outreach.
• O.P. Jindal Global University operates a Centre for Wellness and Counselling Services in partnership with YourDOST, providing both in-person and online assistance.

Such endeavours are an indication of positive changes in institutions and create a space in which mental-health issues are destigmatised. However, they also highlight a disturbing fact that these programmes are still largely concentrated in the Tier-I, very expensive institutions. Tier-II and Tier-III law schools, in contrast, continue to grapple with serious infrastructural and financial setbacks, thus depriving students of sufficient psychological assistance.

V. Constructive Pathway for Students

Law students must opt to develop academic coping skills for better response to stress, rather than resorting towards an unhealthy lifestyle and mismanagement in work. Maintaining a balanced schedule, which includes rest and nutrition, exercise, and communication with others, is an essential protection against the worsening of mental health. Unfortunately, many students normalise these abnormal behaviours and symptoms, such as disturbed sleep patterns and social isolation, associated with these issues. They rationalise intoxication with excuses of law school being demanding and stressful. Instead, students should build a healthy community of family and friends. Here, the role of support from seniors and networking becomes crucial, as it provides help to find the right opportunities and feel less alone in the journey.  

One should hold on to their identity and passion. It is essential for students to remember their purpose. Dependence on how a person fares in law school is not an evaluative criterion of value; students should allow themselves to fail and try multiple times, because those who fail often learn the most. Students should build resilience by viewing challenges as opportunities for growth. However, it is also important to set realistic and attainable goals to avoid burnout and discouragement.  

Although the systemic flaws in legal education are certainly one of the causes of mental health struggles, change may also be a process that starts within the student community itself. However, these individual actions have to be complemented by the institutional system that will proactively focus on the psychological well-being. It is essential for law students to understand that a solution need not be searched alone, and assistance such as professional support can make a significant difference in long-term well-being. These practices can help students respond to mental health issues much more practically and with better outcomes.