•Title:

”MentalEase” – ‘Designing an Empathetic AI Assistant for Student Mental Health’

”Helping students manage stress, anxiety, and burnout through anonymous, AI-powered emotional support”

•Problem Understanding:

• Many students today silently suffer from mental health challenges but find it difficult to open up due to fear of judgment, lack of support, or stigma. This leads to a serious chain of emotional and physical consequences:
• Stress and anxiety become overwhelming without proper emotional outlets.
• Negative self-talk and self-criticism grow stronger, affecting confidence.
• In extreme cases, it may lead to suicidal thoughts or tendencies.
• Students start experiencing social withdrawal, avoiding friends and family.
• Communication skills begin to degrade due to isolation and low self-esteem.
• Focus and concentration become difficult, impacting academic performance.
• Prolonged stress leads to a weakened immune system and poor physical health.
• There’s a drop in motivation, pushing students into a cycle of burnout.

📉 The worst part? Most of this goes unnoticed because students suffer silently.

•USER PERSONA:

👤 Meet Raj – A 12th Grade Student Under Extreme Pressure •Age: 18 •Location: Kanpur, India •Background: Bright and ambitious Class 12th student preparing for board exams -Goals: •Score high marks to meet family expectations •Get admission into a top college

-Challenges: •Suffers from academic pressure and fear of failure •Has no one to talk to — feels isolated and emotionally overwhelmed •Despite trying hard, he didn’t perform well in exams and failed •Faced intense self-blame, disappointment, and hopelessness

-Emotional State: •Extreme stress turned into depression and negative self-talk •Felt like a failure in his family’s eyes •Eventually lost hope and took a tragic step

-What Could Have Helped: •A safe, non-judgmental AI assistant to talk to •Daily emotional check-ins to track mood •Coping strategies and affirmations to stay mentally strong •Encouragement to seek help before it was too late

•Solution Overview: