Stress, Anxiety, Depression. These are the most common forms of mental behavior that has been prevalent to show up in teens these days. As a community, mental health is often a discussion parents have with their children to make sure they are ok. The community has taken many actions to ensure that they attack this issue head-on to help out those who are in need. With mental health becoming an uprise in the nation, we need to get ahead of it.

Mental health can be explored in many ways. Through studies done by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), they have discovered that 1 in 5 American Teens have some sort of mental illness. Due to today’s issues arising like technology abuse, keeping up with the social norms, and the stressors of their environment, teens are very easily seduced into the pressure of mental illness. With the feeling of no-one to turn to, they most oftenly never get the help that they need.

The recent Patriot Time presentation of Mental health came out on Tuesday, February,  25th. With the presentation of the video by the wellness warriors, they tackled issues on mental health awareness and how to go through it. With the outsourcing of information sophomore, Brady Weiss felt it was a great presentation. He loved to understand the different aspects of mental health and how to help his friends if they were in need. Weiss also liked to know that the community was taking the initiative to talk about the mental health issue. “It led to a lot of great discussions between the classes,” Weiss said.

Another student who enjoyed the video was Freshman Jolie Graham. She enjoyed listening to alternatives in how to reduce stress and help herself out. Graham heard ideas from her classmates like yoga, working out, and painting that they use to reduce stress. Also with her teacher sharing information and passing out papers she felt that it was a great way to get additional information and help. “I felt that the students were really involved,” Graham said.

Stories were shared throughout the videos of teens who had gone through different mental illnesses. Issues like depression, suicidal thoughts, and alcohol and drug abuse had come up. With the teens sharing their emotional stories, they also provided warning signs into what common mental illness signs may be. Relying this information was vital for the video to try and tackle the common data of 1 in 5 teens having mental illnesses. The video expressed details like the sucide line to call and other people that someone can go to in times of crisis.

Reaching out for help can be hard if knowing you are going through something. With the abundance of resources expressed during the informational session, getting the help that someone needs can be as easy as ever. Talking or starting the conversation is the first step to self-help or helping others.