Teen Mental Health and Mental Health Issues Dialogue
We have established that teen mental health is an issue in our society.* How should schools or the government address these issues? Maybe churches or social institutions should become involved. What are some ways that we can promote mental health awareness in our schools and communities? You may include possible solutions to mental health awareness for the general public. Check the stats out for school shootings and the connections to mental health–no correlation is not causation–however, mental health for all American citizens is an issue that needs to be addressed.
Also don’t kid yourself, economics is a key factor in any societal issue. So yeah consider the costs.
*I am working on the premise that the common good of society is dependent on mentally healthy individuals working functionally in society, so if you don’t believe that then this not the blog for you. So, no trolls.
When it comes to mental health in our society it’s definitely on the decline and it’s going to have a very negative effect. There are so many things that can be done to solve this problem but the issue is all these things cost money and creates political disagreements. Personally, I think there needs to be more monitoring on social media. There’s no doubt that social media is the number one catalyst to our mental health crisis, which means it’s the one thing we need to fix first. I think there has definitely been a lot of improvement on the monitoring of social media, I’ve seen it first hand with peoples comments being taken down and such. I think these types of actions need to keep improving but also not overstep into violating peoples right to free speech. There has to be a balance between keeping things civil on social media but also not limiting peoples liberty of free speech. Also, it’ll cost a lot of money for these companies to do all this extra monitoring which in turn could raise the prices of the apps or simply make the company not want to monitor. A possible solution, all though there are definitely flaws, is to have to government regulate these companies and force them to monitor there cites. This topic is really hard to solve and requires a lot of effort but it’s definitely necessary to monitor social medias to help halt this growing mental health crisis.
I agree with your statement that mental health in our society is having a negative effect. Social media is a big factor on a teens mental health and I agree that it needs to be more monitored. I like how you mentioned our rights to free speech and how we shouldn’t violate those rights. Social media should be the first thing that needs more restrictions on to better a teens mental health.
I agree with and I think social media plays a huge part on teens mental health. There definitely needs to be more monitoring so it can at least fix teens mental health a little bit. I like how you said that there has been improvement because there definitely has but we just need to add a little more improvement for people to still have the right of free speech and not have to worry about mean comments.
I completely agree that mental health now is declining and having a negative effect. Social media definitely has a large impact on the mental health of teens and young adults, I agree that it should be government monitored and shouldn’t violate our right to free speech.
I agree with your statement when you say that mental health in our society is on the decline. I don’t think the government forcing companies to monitor there cites will actually work. I think everyone has a different definition on what can be crucial to someone’s mental health. I really like how you said something about freedom of speech, I think that plays a big role if the government ever decides to step in. Mental health shouldn’t be something we take lightly and it’s sad seeing that it’s such a hard thing to solve. Great work!
As we read in an article a couple of weeks ago, the mental health crisis in the United States is at an all time high. There are many factors that contribute to this including; social media platform, the pandemic, schools and even toxic friends as family. Social media platforms have a major impact on our generations mental health. People promote things that should not be promoted and their is so much bullying going on. Teens spend way to much time on their phones and this contributes greatly to teen depression. Recently social media platforms have been removing content that could be harmful to viewers. Sadly people still tend to find content that is damaging to their mental health. I think that it is amazing how our school and many other schools around the country have started the Hope Squad program. This is a program that can help students feel comfortable reaching out, which is a big part in dealing with mental illnesses. I believe the pandemic had a drastic affect on the mental health crisis. We were made to self isolate and couldn’t go outside and interact with people. Mental health diagnosis increased this past year and I feel it will only increase the longer this pandemic prolongs. As a society we need to encourage and help others to reach out and get the support they need. Opening up free support groups would be a great idea for churches and other small organizations to do. Our mental health is very important and we need to try and stay away from things that could trigger things or make things worse, and chose to hang around people who are willing to help and be there for you.
I agree with you, and I like how you related back to an article we read a couple week sago. There are many different factors that go into a kids metal health, and you did a great job explaining some of them. I remember my mom talking about how thee was this one video on Tik Tok that was just a random video at first, and then it switched to a disturbing video after a few seconds. Many kids have seen this video and it can drastically effect their mental health. I like that you mentioned the Hope Squad, and what they do to help students that don’t know how to express themselves very well.
I agree with you on every factor you mentioned as a cause to bad mental health. I like that you mentioned hope squad and how that helps students with their mental health. I also agree that the pandemic and all of the closings is one of the biggest factor to the decline of students mental health. Your reasoning is very strong and I agree with all of it as a whole.
I agree that social media has made a negative impact on our generations mental health. However, I think that we can try and use Social Media in a positive way to bring awareness and educate teens. We can take advantage of the platforms large audience to further extend our message. This could also include rescores to help those effected.
I agree that social media has had a major impact on our generations mental health. Social media is where most of the bullying and depression begins and it continues to build more and more as teens and young adults continue to spend the majority of their time on these platforms. I like that you mentioned Hope Squad and that students are able to reach out for help comfortably. I also agree that the pandemic has had a large effect on mental health because for months the entire US was shut down and no one could go out and spend time with other people and do their normal day activities. Also, as people were cooped up at home they turned to social media to help time disappear which was a negative impact on mental health.
Covid has affected students mental health in a very negative way. Mental health has been on a very steep decline since covid and quarantining has started, according to a past article. There are many reason, besides the pandemic as to why mental health has gotten worse such as, social media, family problems, and school. On almost all social media platforms there is a way to contact someone, either through messaging or commenting. I have seen multiple people turn off their commenting because of cyber bullying and/ or hate comments. Their should be some limitation as to what you can comment under someone’s videos or pictures. Some will say that is a violation of freedom of speech, but it gets to a point where all respect and civility on social media is gone. It would cost more money for companies to regulate what is being said in comment sections, but that is one of the only ways to start pushing for better mental health.
In schools, Hope Squad is a great thing to have because those people who are struggling know they have someone to reach out to. I looked at the statistics of mental illness and it’s relation to school shootings and found that there has been a ton of shootings by people with bad mental health. We need this number to start decreasing because gun violence anywhere is a terrible thing. The start of the solution to that would be to try to increase students mental health. Churches and social institution could definitely start to help with the mental health crisis. Just like Hope Squad, maybe churches could open up support groups or meetings to talk about feelings. Schools, churches, and social institutions all could make an anonymous website where students could explain their problem, and then someone certified to give advice could write a response to try and help their specific situation. Mental health is a very important thing in everyone’s life, therefore there needs to be a strive to help people with it.
Emma, I agree with you that mental health is very important and needs to be taken care of especially after Covid-19 quarantines and online learning affecting how much we could see each other. Another factor is social media’s affect on mental health because of how we compare ourselves to celebrities and other users or the cyber bullying that happens within it. I also agree with you that there should be some sort of limit to what people can comment when it has a clear purpose of damaging and tearing others down. I also like that you used the example of our school which has Hope Squad who can help struggling students and give them the outlet to talk to someone about what they’re going through. It’s important that our schools and public places have outreach programs like this to help youth struggling with mental health because in the long run it will only make a positive difference. School shootings, for example, would definitely see a decline if we focused more of our energy on helping people instead of brushing it off or judging others.
The mental health crisis is on a sharp incline, especially in teens. There is no clear solution to this problem, but there are multiple ways schools can work to ease it. Schools should make resources on mental issues readily available, such as information on different types of mental illnesses, therapists nearby, and self care tips. All schools should also implement a Hope Squad, which is a student led suicide prevention group. This would allow for students to seek help easily and talk with fellow students. Both these options would be relatively cheap while also being effective. Communities could also hold small groups for people to get together and talk through issues in more laid-back environment that would be much cheaper than going to a licensed professional.
Teen mental health is on a sharp incline, and I agree that there is no “perfect” solution to this problem. I like your idea about schools making resources for mental health readily available, but I would add that schools also need to make it a priority to promote these things. Many schools have therapists and counselors students can talk to, but schools need to take more steps in letting students know these resources are available. I completely agree with your idea about all schools implementing Hope Squad. It’s a great way to help those who need someone to talk to, some advice, or a friend. Your idea about involving the community is great. Not only would it be cost effective, but people would feel more comfortable talking to those who are a part of their community and who know them. Overall, I think your idea are well thought out and could help immensely in bringing awareness to teen mental health.
I agree with your claim that there is not clear solution to the mental health crisis, Emily. Hope Squad is a good alternative for schools that will keep students an outlet for the support they need in their journey. I especially like how you included how your improvements are low cost because that is a big factor to schools and communities. In addition to your claim, churches should also provide a outreach program to allow those within their community to seek guidance and support through their religion which can be beneficial to some people.
I agree with you completely that schools need to take action in this situation and that there are multiple ways to do it. I agree that all students should have access to a support group like Hope Squad so that they have someone to talk to at all times. I like how you mentioned that they would not cost a lot of money, which can convince the government since economics is a big issue when deciding solutions.
I agree with you on this. I think schools should be able to have a class or a day dedicated to learning about mental health. I think the students should be able to get together and talk about this. I feel as if our school is not very open about this subject. There is a stereotype that students that have a mental illness are faking it and everyone’s life is perfect. But everyone has something wrong going on in our life. No one is perfect and that’s what we need to honor.
I think you have a really strong piece on how to help to the mental health crisis. I think schools can play a big role on a kid’s mental health. To be completely honest, I don’t know how effective hope squad would be. Personally, if I was going through something I would not go to one of my peers. School is full of gossip and even though these students are trusted, I think it would be really hard on kids to talk about their problems with other students. I think school should focus on stating that the adults are their for them instead of just Hope Squad. Good work!
With the stress and pressure put on teens today, mental health has become less and less of a priority. On a daily basis, teens told certain expectations, whether it be to finish an assignment in a certain amount of time, to look/act a certain way, etc., and it takes a huge toll on one’s mental health. Social media and COVID are leading causes of worsening teen mental health. We live in a society consumed with social media. Teens spend hours everyday on social media, seeing things that harm their self-image/esteem and cause insecurities. Along with this, cyber-bullying and hate comments left on posts can cause people to shut-down or become depressed. With COVID causing quarantines and self-isolations, teens don’t have the opportunity to reach out to someone in-person and talk about their feelings. The isolation and lack of social contact puts a strain on one’s ability to connect with other people and makes it hard to remain positive. Teens are becoming surrounded with unrealistic lifestyles (on social media) and not seeing the real-world around them, which is causing mental health in teen to deteriorate.
Teen mental health awareness has not been a priority in our society, but, in the past few years, tragedies like school shootings and suicides have shown that it needs to be. In schools, administrators and students have become involved in the Hope Squad program. I think that this is a great way to reach out to other students who are in need of a person to talk to. Hope Squad works to bring awareness about mental health issues and I think it is a great start to bringing awareness about teen mental health. Schools should consider creating a time, during the school day, for students to take a break from classes and talk to others. It should be a time where students can do stress-relieving activities or maybe sit outside and talk to friends. Even if it’s for 15 minutes, it can alleviate some stress and help students feel more peaceful. Along with this, I think that the government should work to promote suicide prevention, mental health awareness, and crisis hotlines. Yes, almost everyone knows about these, but not everyone takes advantage of these phone numbers out of fear. It will cost the government more money to promote these hotlines and to promote mental health awareness, but it’s for the good and benefit of society, therefore these expenses should be made.
I completely agree that mental health is being less and less of a priority in our world overtime and how this is not ok. It is 100% accurate that teens see things on social media and then compare themselves to it when those people are famous and have a lot of money to get surgeries to make themselves look better or have more resources to help. I definitely see where your coming from with creating time during the school day for students to talk to one another. With this being said, I could see students just talking to their click of friends and other students just sitting and playing on their computers. Some people would be doing extra homework because they wouldn’t have time that night or be studying for a test. I think it is a great idea, but in order for it to work it would need some rules or I don’t think it would get the positive impact that it should. I also agree that the government should help promote important hotlines like the suicide prevention, but I also could see this coming from our pockets in taxes and it could cause a big controversial issue in our society. I don’t think it should, but in todays society I definitely see it causing one. Other than that I think these are very well written paragraphs with some really good ideas.
After reading the article of the week on teen depression, we know that the teen mental health is declining. Teens have a ton of anxiety for many reasons whether it is school, sports, relationships, etc. I don’t believe the federal government takes enough time to see actually how many suicide deaths there has been. I think there should definitely be more monitoring on social media. I have Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc. and I see cyberbullying everyday. Some things people say to others is disgusting and should not be allowed said on other posts. I think we should have more things like the Hope Squad, Leadership groups, etc. in each school so people know they have someone to talk to in case of doubt. I have personally seen some things removed on social media and that is great, but I still believe we should make it more of a priority. With COVID a lot of people are spending more time on their phones and we should prioritize that there is a majority of positivity rather than negativity being spread around. Teen mental health is not a joke and it will only keep declining if we continue to do nothing about it. If we make it our number one priority we will be able to save lives and make the world a better place.
I agree with your remark about how the federal government doesn’t take enough enough to realize how many suicides’ there have been in teenagers and the numbers are only growing. Social media platforms are big contributor to mental health across the globe, these platforms do very little in my opinion to help against bullying and even promoting certain behaviors that can due harm to people. Yes with COVID people spend way to much time on their phones and on social media, people just get sucked in. Social media in my opinion is an addiction. I agree with all your comments and how we need to make a change fast before its to late.
Kristen, I agree that cyberbullying is found in many places on social media platforms. I agree that no one should handle their mental health issues alone, federal governments need to participate more in awareness for mental health, and social media needs to do a better job of monitoring cyberbullying.
I completely agree with you and that there should be more things like Hope Squad so teens can reach out for help if they need it. Not all teens feel safe reaching out to adults so I think some of them would want to reach out to teens their age because they will most likely understand what they’re going through more then adults. I like how you talk about how social media is a huge problem with teens mental health. Social media is definitely a huge problem and really needs to be more of a priority to fix it where people can feel safe on social media.
Mental health has been shown, especially in teens, that it has been on a steep decline and many people struggle with it. Anxiety plays a huge role in many teens as well, regular people who don’t think they experience this may be severely affected and they don’t even know. I think it is essential for people to help those who they know are struggling, as it was mentioned, places like church groups, community groups, and schools could play an essential role in helping people who struggle. Mental health is no joke and can harm society as a whole. COVID-19 has also put a heavy strain on people’s mental health in our current world. Not bring able to go places and experience normal life can be heavy and hard to cope with, it is essentially like losing what we know as normal. For example, the Hope Squad is a good outlet for people who experience mental health issues, it’s nice to know that there are people there who are willing to listen. Economic status also plays a huge role in how people’s mental health are affected. The government should advocate about mental health issues and show the significance of the repercussions of those who we can’t save.
I agree with you that anxiety plays a huge roll in many teens mental health. I also agree strongly that with COVID-19 it really heavily affected peoples mental health, by not being able to go out, hang with friends, go to work and school. Even caused some people to lose jobs and that we lost our “normal” lives. The only thing I disagree with you is that I think teens mental health has been on a steep incline rather than decline.
I agree that it is essential for people to help those who are struggling with a mental illness and that school, church groups, and community groups could play an important role in helping those who are struggling by providing them an outlet where they can get help and support. I like how you talked about hope squad because they are becoming a great outlet for teens to go to to help them find ways to get more help and support.
Taylor, I agree anxiety plays a huge role in many teens today. The affect COVID-19 has on teens today is a heavy strain. I think it would be a good idea for people and communities to come together to help spread awareness for mental health. I agree economic status plays a huge role in peoples health as well.
I agree that their needs to be more done through the schools to help with mental illness. Hope squad is a good start to getting schools to open up to helping kids through mental illness, however it may not be as effective as it needs to be. Hope squad (at least at our school) is made up of students and teachers, and students may not want to go to their peers and teachers with their problems. I personally would be more likely to talk with my school councilor about things going on in my life than I would going up to a peer or teacher. Some kids may feel that their peers can’t be trusted with such a serious matter, and they don’t want their teachers to think of them differently. I think what you talk about with someone regarding mental health should stay confidential (unless it puts someone in danger), and that can’t always be promised when dealing with other high school students.
Mental health problems have definitely gone up in the years. There are many actions I think government and schools need to take. The government should be enforcing schools to at least have some type of way to help kids besides just having a counselor there to talk to. Schools should be more aware and bring it to student and teachers attention more often. Many students struggle with something due to mental health and many people are unaware. Lots of teens struggle with anxiety due to school, sports, friends, and social media. Having groups such as Hope Squad could help. Hope Squad is known to help prevent suicide preventions. Today times are harder with a pandemic going on, so it is important there are things schools should be doing to help with mental health.
I agree with you when you say that there are many actions government and schools need to to take to help teenagers with mental health problems. I also like that you said there are many factors that contribute to teens mental health like anxiety and the pandemic because they definitely are contributors. I also agree with you when you say having groups like Hope squad could help kids with mental health issues. I also think that churches or other social institutions should create programs like Hope squad.
I agree with your idea on how having groups at school at Hope Squad can help students. I think your idea on the government enforcing the groups at school can bring more awareness and also bring attention to the issue to help. I think your idea could really help.
I agree with the fact that schools need to do more to help those suffering from mental illness, and while hope squad is a good step, I can see why students may not feel comfortable talking to their peers or teachers. Students may not trust their peers enough to talk to them about something so serious, and they don’t want their teachers thinking differently about them. So I think school need to offer more councilors that are not teachers or principals within the school.
Right now, teen mental health in the United States is at an all-time high. One of the main factors that contributes to this is the pandemic. After reading the article of the week about teen depression a couple weeks ago, I realized that the pandemic has changed a lot of teenager’s daily lives. Some teenagers can’t go to school, or see their friends, or participate in sports due to the pandemic. This has caused a lot of teen depression. Social media is also another thing that causes mental health. Teens spend a lot of time on their phones instead of going outside or being physical active, which results in depression. There is also a lot of bullying that goes on through social media that affects a lot of teens mental health. Having said this, I think there are many ways schools can help teens with mental health issues. A great example is Hope squad. Hope squad is a suicide prevention program that schools are starting to have. I think this program is a great way to show awareness for mental health and I think it helps a lot of students who are struggling with mental health. I believe if all schools have programs like Hope squad, we will see a decreasing number in teens with mental health. I also think that churches and other social institutions should become more involved in spreading awareness for teen mental health. I believe that churches and other social institutions should create programs like Hope squad. In conclusion, if we continue to create programs in school and start spreading awareness about mental health, I believe we will save many teenagers lives.
Karlie, while I don’t fully agree with all the reasons you listed for why the mental health crisis is occurring, I do agree with your solutions that you think schools and churches should implement. Have groups of people to go will greatly help students to find the help that they need if they are suffering from a mental health issue. I also think that having a Hope Squad type of group in churches is a great idea, because many people find comfort in their religion and would be able to get the help that they truly need.
I agree with you that students are struggling due to not being able to see their friends and not being able to participate in sports because these things are essential to the development of todays teens. I also agree that clubs like Hope Squad is a great way to show awareness for mental health and that all schools should have them.
The pandemic has caused teen mental health issues to be on a steep incline. However, teen mental health issues have been around even before the pandemic and can be caused by a number of reasons. Some of these reasons include trauma, social media, and stress. There are a number of things that the government could do to address the issues. For one, they could issue mental health days that would allow students and staff to take a day to relax and focus on themselves. As a result, they might not be as stressed about school and work so they can come back at full strength. In addition to this, the government could normalize mental health issues in society so that people do not feel as isolated in their struggle and they will feel more open to reaching out and getting help. In addition, churches could get involved by providing more support groups for people dealing with mental health issues and bring people closer to the religion they do believe in. Schools can also take a part in mental health illness awareness by creating clubs that address the issues and provide for an outlet for those students struggling with the issues to reach out and get the support they need. In addition to this, the schools could educate the students about mental health and signs of it to keep the students informed about mental health and ways to help their classmates.
I completely agree with your reasoning and I feel that you wrote this very well. I agree that teen mental health has been evident way before the pandemic arose and that there are many factors to mental illness. I like how you gave a few examples of reasons such as trauma and social media. I also like how you gave detailed ways that the school, government, and church could fix teen mental health problems. I agree that educating students about mental health and ways to identify it can assist the problem by keeping the students informed and aware.
I agree with your point that the pandemic has worsened teen mental health, and that schools can help students by creating clubs to address student issues. I think another way schools could help with teen mental health is by educating students on the various issues they and their peers could be facing.
Over the past few years, mental health has become a serious problem with teens and kids in the United States. Because of the pandemic, mental health issues have increased juristically in teens. This is mainly because of lack of physical socialization with other people. This causes teens to go to social media for their socialization. However social media is full of expectations, haters, and standards that can really degrade someone’s mind if they feel they don’t meet them. Another cause could be school. Students these days can get overwhelmed by work and deadlines, and it causes them to stress out. This has happened a lot lately with the pandemic since a large portion of America is doing online school, which is very hard for students who need cant learn through a screen and it is much harder to ask for help. I feel like the government can solve the mental health issue by establishing mental health days within schools. These mental health days could be once or twice a month, and students could use these days to catch up on their work, or to just relax and unstress. Another way to solve it is to create support groups in all schools. For example at Harrison we have Hope Squad, which helps students who are struggling and gives them someone to talk to. I think if these groups are formed in all schools and are reminded to students that they are there, people with mental health issues will realize their not alone and could ask for help. I also believe that there should be a requirement, just like health class, that teachers must teach their students about mental health and how to identify issues in others and how to help it. This will make it so that everyone is aware of the situation and they know to help themselves if they are struggling, or others.
I like how you mentioned the Covid-19 pandemic and made connections with that to the mental health of teens. Teens who are choosing to do online learning could be struggling with school and are getting stressed out, but may be too scared to ask for help. I agree with you that social media has a big impact on someone’s feelings and their life. It will be beneficial to students who are struggling to have mental health days and I like how you said they could be catching up on school work and working on their mental health. These days could possibly change a teenagers mindset and benefit their mental health in the future.
Lexi, I agree with you that mental health has been steadily getting worse over the past few years, and then the pandemic happened which made matters even worse. When we couldn’t see each other and socialize like we were so used to, we didn’t have anyone to help us through that time or talk about it with our friends. I like that you included both social media and school as possible factors as well for decreasing mental health. Students are constantly overwhelmed with tests and assignments in every class, with school comes the sports that they want you to be involved in. That leads to practice on school nights and games or tournaments throughout the week. It is so stressful trying to keep up with this and then school and homework on top of it with such high expectations teachers hold us to. On the other hand, we try to relax online and social media, but we end up holding ourselves to impossible standards because of who we see online and how happy you may think they seem as compared to ourselves. I really liked your suggestion about mental health days to give students a chance to relax or catch up on their work. Others may argue that that’s the reason we have the weekend off, but how is that true when we are given more homework then too.
Approximately 1 in 5 young people suffer from a mental health disorder sever enough to impact their daily lives. With students spending majority for their days in school, Schools would be a great platform to bring awareness to this growing problem. My suggestion would be to offer a on campus wellness center to create a safe place for student can go. With the new technological advances in our society, teens are using social media as their primary scouse of communication. This would be another positive way to bring awareness and educate students and parents about teen mental health.
I agree with this. Our school has helped this problem by having a hope squad. We are actually having a spirit week next week for acceptance. I think our school could help more with mental health. If we could be able to take mental health days or have one day a month dedicated to having no homework and just relaxing it would help.
Over the past few years, mental health has become a serious problem with teens in the United States. Because of the pandemic, mental health issues have increased juristically in teens. This is mainly because of lack of physical socialization with other people. This causes teens to go to social media for their socialization. However social media is full of expectations, haters, and standards that can really degrade someone’s mind if they feel they don’t meet them. Another cause could be school. Students these days can get overwhelmed by work and deadlines, and it causes them to stress out. This has happened a lot lately with the pandemic since a large portion of America is doing online school, which is very hard for students who need cant learn through a screen and it is much harder to ask for help. I feel like the government can solve the mental health issue by establishing mental health days within schools. These mental health days could be once or twice a month, and students could use these days to catch up on their work, or to just relax and unstress. Another way to solve it is to create support groups in all schools. For example at Harrison we have Hope Squad, which helps students who are struggling and gives them someone to talk to. I think if these groups are formed in all schools and are reminded to students that they are there, people with mental health issues will realize their not alone and could ask for help. I also believe that there should be a requirement, just like health class, that teachers must teach their students about mental health and how to identify issues in others and how to help it. This will make it so that everyone is aware of the situation and they know to help themselves if they are struggling, or others.
Teen health has always been a major issue in our society. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the teen suicide rate has increased. Teens with previous mental health issues then being told they would have to stay at home and quarantined for months with no social contact has not benefited them, especially when all there is to do is look at social media. Social media has been one of the biggest factors into a teens mental health. We should address these issues by making these teens feel like they are not alone. There are groups of people who understand what they are going through and this type of mental health that they can get involved in. Surround yourself with people who love you such as family and friends. Trying to fight your mental health alone won’t make anything any better. Having yourself, a loved one, or even just witnessing a tragic event can have a major impact on your mental health. Tragic events can cause people to have depression, PTSD, anxiety, or substance abuse. Some teens who have mental health are too scared to get help or they feel like no one will understand how they feel or what they’re going through. The goal is to open up about it to therapist, family members, or just someone you trust. This could help gain control over a teens mental health and let them know they aren’t alone.
I agree with your reasoning. I like how you talked about how having the groups at schools can really help the students in talking to someone who understands them. I also agree with how you said addressing the issues an help students know they are not alone.
Teen mental health is getting worse, and social media, school, and other factors such as relationships with friends and family members have a huge effect on it. While regulating comments and content on social media can help lessen the negative effects of social media, there will still be mental illness and people need o become more aware of it and need to be more informed on the subject. Our school has created a hope squad to help people who suffering with mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, and have been raising awareness of the organization for people who need their help which is a great way to help, but I feel that there is more that needs to be done to promote awareness on how to help for everyone else outside of hope squad to help spread awareness. Due to the help of organizations such as hope squad mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression are gaining more awareness but other common disorders such as different eating disorders, PTSD, different addictions, etc. aren’t as talked about or well known to the general public. There should be an informational meeting at least once a year in schools where they discuss mental health, the different illnesses, ways teens with these illnesses can receive help and ways for others to help people dealing with these mental health disorders.
Teens mental health crisis is increasing a lot these days. While there is really no complete solution to this there still is ways that schools can help. Having resources for these students to possibly help them at school can be one way that they can reach out if they really need the help or guidance on something. Schools being involved and helping their students can allow them to talk to someone and also can let the students know they are not alone. After being quarantined and stuck inside many students could have gone to social media which is one of the many factors for a teens mental health. Letting students know they are not alone can help them open up to someone and if they are scared to talk to someone these groups at school can let them talk to someone they know they can trust. Sometimes just talking to someone can really impact their health and also let them know they are not alone. That can be the main goal for this all for teens is just letting them know they can reach out if they need someone to talk to and they are not alone.
I completely agree with your statement and reasoning. School involvement can definitely assist in teen’s mental health and can allow them to feel cared for. I also like how you mentioned social media and how it can negatively impact mental health.
It is evident that teen mental health is an ongoing issue in our society today. While there is no specific source of blame, changes and precautions must be made to better this problem. There are many factors which could be correlated to the poor mental health of teens, the pandemic being the most impactful currently given our situation. Quarantine and loss of normalcy could easily cause teens to feel lonely and abandoned. Additionally, school is another huge factor. The stress of school, both socially and mentally, could create a hate for school itself. This issue could be addressed through promotion; schools promoting awareness for the different types of mental illnesses and giving students comfort could potentially decrease the large numbers of teen mental health problems. Many teens feel uncared for or that their problems do not matter and spreading awareness will help these individuals feel loved and heard. Limiting social media could also be another way to solve this issue. Social media is proven as having a negative impact on mental health and limiting/monitoring this could be identified as a step towards bettering the mental health of teens.
Mental health is an increasing issue in our society. There are many things we can do to help spread awareness. I think schools should be more active in spreading awareness for people with mental health issues. For example, our school has a Hope Squad that spreads awareness for suicide and mental health issues. Schools should be more considerate, considering the impact COVID-19 has had on many teens. Being quarantined can cause teens to feel alone and stressed out. Bullying in schools can cause teens to become depressed and can lead to a negative impact on someone. Schools should try to become more involved in getting to understand our generation today, and try to reach out to people they think need help. In our society today, I think social media has had a huge impact on teens mental health. I think social media should be more involved in monitoring and stopping cyber bullying. Social media should take down things that can be harmful or toxic to someone’s mental health. Our society should be more involved in helping with peoples mental health issues, no one should have to go through it alone.
Mental health is an increasing issue in our society. There are many things we can do to help spread awareness. I think schools should be more active in spreading awareness for people with mental health issues. For example, our school has a Hope Squad that spreads awareness for suicide and mental health issues. Schools should be more considerate, considering the impact COVID-19 has had on many teens. Being quarantined can cause teens to feel alone and stressed out. Bullying in schools can cause teens to become depressed and can lead to a negative impact on someone. Schools should try to become more involved in getting to understand our generation today, and try to reach out to people they think need help. In our society today, I think social media has had a huge impact on teens mental health. I think social media should be more involved in monitoring and stopping cyber bullying. Social media should take down things that can be harmful to someone’s mental health. Our society should be more involved in helping with peoples mental health issues, no one should have to go through it alone.
I agree with Callie Ferguson when she says that more needs to be done to promote awareness for the lesser known mental health issues such as eating disorders and PTSD. Also I think that having an informational meeting about mental health every year is a great idea. That way students an be more informed on what is going on around them and it can help them to realize if they might have a mental health issue and they can finally get help for it.
Mental Health has always been a huge issue with teens and young adults, and now that the pandemic is forcing so many to stay isolated, any more crisis have come up. Mental health is often underrated and not really taken seriously. Asking for help needs to be normalized. It’s unhealthy to bottle up emotions and keep yourself in a bad place, which is why I’m really glad that I’m on Hope Squad. Even if you are not seeing the affects of Hope Squad in the school, we are helping so many people. I’m honored to get to help people in any way that I can, and its very unfortunate how many people are struggling. Mental Health awareness is the ultimate goal, so everyone can feel understood and safe.
I agree with Callie and Erin. It’s so discouraging to me when people joke about of misunderstand mental issues. It’s even more maddening when people try to romanticize mental illness. I have seen people self diagnose a “mental illness” such as depression, OCD, and anxiety and use it a a personality trait. Mental health is not a fantasy or a characteristic. If you are struggling with something real, of course speak out about it, but if you don’t really have a mental illness or disorder, don’t try and romanticize it.
Grace Carter – I completely agree with your statement. I like how you talked about the Hope Squad because I believe that it is extremely important to spread awareness about mental health. Many teenagers are too scared to ask for help and do not step forward, which is very damaging to both themselves and the people around them. I think it would be a good idea to organize meetings for anyone who feels they need help. This way, people can get the help they need, and by the school and other organizations spreading awareness about mental health, they will not feel embarrassed or weak, which are feelings many teenagers with mental health issues have.
Cameron Wilcox – I like how you mentioned social media. I agree that social media can have a wildly negative impact on teenagers, and by limiting it, we can work to help them. I think social media sites should be more diligent in handling posts that could potentially hurt someone. By social media creating these regulations, the amount of teenagers with mental health issues will decrease.
Mental health involving teens has severely decreased and is becoming a major problem. Schools and the government should be addressing these issues like their life depends on it, because honestly, some lives do depend on it. If more people are educated on mental health, maybe it wouldn’t be decreasing as fast, especially in teenagers. Some ways to promote mental health in our schools and communities are by creating social media accounts and small groups for people who are struggling so that they have some sort of shrink and can interact with someone, whether it’s through the phone or in person. Mass school shootings by people with mental health issues represents the relationship that person has with their victims. It’s a cause and effect. Promoting mental health will obviously not be cheap, but its outcomes are worth it.
I agree with Noelle when she says that the pandemic especially has taken a toll on citizen’s mental health. Just in the past two and a half decades, the United States suicide rate has increased 25 percent, and there were 15 suicides per 100,000 people in the US in 2020 alone. Mental health is an issue that needs to be taken more seriously by the people in power, so that we can develop better solutions to help people who are in a crisis. Locally, Hope Squad is a good first step to reach out to people in the school who need someone to talk to about their mental health, and may be too afraid to talk to an adult or professional. Seeing more things like this in Harrison or even Cincinnati as a whole would help shed light to the growing mental health issues in our country.
Teen mental health issues are a prevalent issue in our society. In my opinion, a leading cause of this is the amount of pressure put on students and the need to make decisions regarding their future. While I understand planning for the future is important at this age, I believe allowing high school students to act and think like high school students is crucial to mental health.
I agree with Sophia that education is one of the main causes of stress and mental health issues in general for younger people. A lot of students at Harrison can testify that school and homework is the main cause of stress, and many nights spent up doing homework until 2 in the morning. It is definitely important to allow high schoolers to have the opportunities to pursue harder classes while in high school, but it is more important that high schoolers get the free time to enjoy our lives as young people. Especially since a lot of kids in the high school work jobs, including me Monday-Friday every week.
Mental health will continue to be an issue within our country the more the conflict that occurs. However, schools and companies are already trying to assist this by getting programs to help people who are in need of assistance. One program is called Hope Squad, and it is a peer to peer program that teaches students on how to assist others when they seen signs of suicide or anything else bad in public. It allows students to help others and this program is a great way to assist this decline in teen mental health in our lives.