Every day students walk through the halls between classes, passing each other by. However, what people may not think about is what goes on inside each individuals’ head. It may be as minor remembering an after-school chore, but it may be as important as persistent anxiety. Normalizing mental health is vital so as to allow students who may struggle mentally to feel comfortable reaching out for help.
Poor mental health can be caused by different factors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Harsh parenting and physical punishment is known to undermine child health and bullying is a leading risk factor for mental health conditions.”
Harsh parenting is one component, but other causes include school, drugs or relationships with peers. Someone struggling with mental health may struggle with school, but end up doing better with extra curricular activities. However, there are also people who are the opposite and succeed with school, struggling more with extracurricular activities. “There is no one size fits all with somebody who is struggling with mental health problems,” social worker Alexis Branham said.
Oftentimes, mental health is ignored because initial symptoms are usually not visibles, but mental illnesses can eventually lead to unhealthy physical symptoms. According to Time Magazine, “Depressed people are less likely to take their medications or practice healthy habits, for instance, so they get sicker.”
Mental illness can go unnoticed, and can result in people thinking it’s not something to worry about. Contrarily, mental health is just as important as physical health and should be talked about more commonly. According to Time Magazine, “Previous research has linked depression with an increased risk of conditions like stroke, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, and a 2016 study found that depressed mood — which included symptoms such as anxiety and fatigue — was as strong a predictor of heart disease as well-known risk factors like high cholesterol and obesity.”
When struggling with mental illness, reaching out for help is crucial. However, some may fear seeking help because they fear becoming a burden or being seen as weak. “I always say to people if you were to break a leg, you would go to the doctor, so if you’re feeling mentally unwell, why wouldn’t you go to the doctor?” Branham said.
Checking up on your friends and the people you care about is important in helping anyone who may struggle to feel comfortable opening up. According to Time Magazine, “Treating depression and other mental health conditions (either with medication, talk therapy or a combination of both) may help improve physical symptoms or reduce the risk of future problems.”
Addressing mental health when you are young is important in preventing mental illness in the future. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), “One in five adults now live with a moderate to severe mental health condition.”
Staff at this school are available if you are struggling with mental health. Social worker Alexis Brahnham is a great person to go to and can be reached at [email protected]. Another person you can contact is school psychologist Labria Weaver at [email protected]. The counselors, teachers and administrators are all available resources for you as well.
