Mental health is a state of mental well-being that allows people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. Mental health is important because it affects our everyday life, for example, how we learn, react, interact with others, etc. Mental health is just as important as physical health, especially for teenagers, “half of all mental health conditions start by 14 years of age”. Many students struggle to keep up with school work and balance social life & education, as well as character development and physical changes.
Students face a lot of pressure to keep doing good, especially with their grades. Academic stress is a cause for a lot of teenagers’ mental cases. Social media can be one of the causes too, as well as peer comparison, family expectations, financial problems, bullying or discrimination, lack of sleep, and more.
As we went around asking students about some topics that can be affecting their everyday mental health, most students seem to have an issue with the timing of school and lack of sleep. Some students also said that their social circle requires a lot of their energy that could possibly be put into schooling. Most students are comfortable with their teachers, some said that school offers them a person they can trust with their mental health, some said they would rather not share that part of them with people.
Most schools provide help by creating safe space and offering mental health education. However, some people are not comfortable talking about their mental state with people. Here in Lakota, all buildings at Lakota have an in-school therapist available for treatment. I asked students here at West if they have a safe space to talk about their mental health and most said that they usually talk to their friends and family, some said their trusted teachers are their go-to for help, and some said they speak to their counselors.
Everybody should pay much attention to their mental health, some people try to help others around them but don’t pay much attention to themselves which they need to do. Everybody deserves someone to talk to, be comfortable with, we all deserve to have a safe place because we all need help understanding ourselves at some point. Don’t be afraid to seek help, even with simple issues, to get it off your chest. Practice quality time with yourself, like self-care, physical movement, and more. Also spend time with people that fill you up with positive energy.
