Mental health diseases can fall into a wide variety of divisions and categories, and those who have mental illnesses do not choose to do so. At least one mental health condition affects one-in-five teenagers(Covington). One's life and general well-being can be significantly impacted by having a mental health condition.
Youth mental health issues frequently coexist with additional health and behavioral hazards, such as a higher chance of using drugs, experiencing violence, and engaging in riskier sexual activities that could result in HIV, STDs, and unwanted pregnancy.
Did you know that the rate of high school students that have struggled with mental health has increased 13% in the past decade? Which surpasses the average for the previous 100 years.
Vanille Newman, a sophomore, elaborates on how education has had an impact on her mental health. “Since the start of my sophomore year, I have realized how much I worry about school. The quantity of homework I am given sometimes causes me to feel so stressed out and anxious. I believe I'm not the only person who struggles with this,” she says.
Statistics state that mental health disorders come from stress from school, loved ones passing away, or financial problems(Covington). Joyce Chong, who is a counselor for high schoolers, mentions how teenagers have mental health issues due to the fact that our society has changed as well as, constantly interacting with people you shouldn’t associate yourself with, trying to do too much, not prioritizing, stress, and pollution(Chong). There are multiple points of view that struggle with mental health disorders. But the real issue is why are high school students struggling so badly in our society now and not 20 years ago?
Are we seeing more high school students struggle after Covid-19? Do teens put more pressure on themselves now? Is social media a factor?
Vanille says, “I personally think people in today's society are under far greater stress and have daily concerns. We didn't have to worry about social media 20 years ago. High school students are unable to keep up with the rapid changes in our culture and this is resulting in anxiety and tension.”
But Mrs. Leoni, who is a counselor from ISB has other things to say about stress, “There are two types of stress, positive and negative. How people react to them makes them handle stress differently. For example, people are perfectionists and make sure to always get everything done but on the other hand, we have people who just try to avoid it.”
In modern society, stress is a very common occurrence. There are various types, such as acute stress, episodic acute stress, and chronic stress. Acute stress is defined as a month after a traumatic occurrence that could lead to a mental health condition and could manifest rapidly. A person who regularly encounters acute stress is said to have episodic acute stress. Episodic acute stress is when people feel as though they are constantly under pressure or that something is wrong. This can be mentally and physically draining. Finally, chronic stress is an enduring feeling of pressure over an extended period of time(Chong).
Students in high school don't worry about their mental health enough, and if anything, it has to be given higher priority(Chong). "If we want the percentages to go down, we need to be concerned about our young children and make sure they are okay in today's modern culture," says Chong.
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