Mental Health:

It’s All Around Us

Emily Tommasini

According to its official definition, mental health is defined as “emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.” In other words, mental health addresses the well-being of the mind. 

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For years, the topic of mental health has been a sensitive one. Mental health is treated similarly to the unpopular relative who must be invited to the holiday party. People have always been wary of speaking up about mental health. 

Why? The answer is simple. No one knows quite what to say or how to respond to what is really going on in their psyches. In fact, people who choose to speak up have commonly been labeled “weak” or “attention-seeking.” 

In the past, speaking up about mental health has held negative connotations. Although the stigma around the topic of mental health still exists, society is finally making progress, as people are finally beginning to speak up about their struggles with mental health. Humankind has begun to acknowledge and accept the discussion around mental health, for there is real courage in honestly speaking your mind. 

Mental health impacts more people than one would expect. In fact, “one in four people will be affected by mental or neurological disorders” (World Health Organization). What does that mean for the average high school student at Interlake High School? Just because mental health is not mentioned in the halls of Interlake High School does not mean that it is not present. What so many fail to realize is that high school students are commonly susceptible to issues involving mental health. 

Mental health issues in high school students can result from academic pressures. In addition, many students have to balance a job with school. Family commitments and social lives are also thrown into the mix. Furthermore, by the age of eighteen, students are expected to have a plan for the future. Do they go to college? Join the military? Choose an entirely different route? These overwhelming choices often lead to anxiety. 

We interviewed three students at Interlake about their approach to mental health. 

ASHLEY KU - SOPHOMORE

Q: Have you faced struggles with mental health? If so, what is one thing you wish more people would understand when it comes to the topic of mental health?

A: Yes, I have. One thing that would be important is just for people to have a greater knowledge in general of what it is and how it can affect your life because it is really easy for people to make generalizations of people who struggle with mental health issues just because they simply aren't educated enough, and also I think it is important for people to know how to be helpful to people who struggle with this; to know how to act with them in an appropriate way and just in general how to be helpful and in general just have the base knowledge to be able to interact with people who struggle with mental health issues.

Q: What does mental illness look like to you?

A: For me, people who struggle with mental illness could be anyone who struggles on a biological or mental level that it affects them throughout their daily life; so, it keeps them from what they want to do, or it keeps them from doing things that other people around them are doing. Interviewer: Who can experience mental illness Ashley: Anyone can. It's very, very common amongst teenagers and young people because your brains are developing and you also experience so much stress and pressure in life, and I don't think a lot of people realize how much pressure a lot of teenagers are under, and how much that has increased from ten years ago. I think it can affect anyone but it’s really prominent in high schoolers and middle schoolers.

Q: How important of a topic is mental illness in your opinion?

A: I think that people should be educated more about it more; it isn't something we should feel entirely uncomfortable talking about because it is something a lot of people struggle with, and being able to take it with context and be able to have a constructive conversation about it is super important and if people knew more about it, that would be a lot easier. 

ANONYMOUS - JUNIOR 

Q: Do you struggle with mental health in general, if so, what is one thing you wish more people knew when it comes to the topic of mental health?

A: I think I struggle with mental health on a smaller side of the spectrum where it doesn't affect my day to day life, but I wish people knew that mental health can be a huge part of someone's life, or it can be on the smaller side. For example, I just deal with anxiety and depression here and there. A lot of people don't see it as kind of like something that everyday people deal with on a daily or weekly basis.

Q: What does mental illness look like in your opinion?

A: There is a huge spectrum. For some people it does take a toll on their physical ability, some people, it takes a toll on them just being able to do activities. For some people it's not noticeable. For a lot of people, I know it's not noticeable in their day to day life, but they've told me that at times they have anxiety attacks in the middle of the night, or they can't sleep because they have insomnia. It's always a lot more personal when it becomes physical for the majority of people.

Q: Who can experience mental illness?

A: It can be anyone. Personally, since I am a teenager and there is a lot of teenagers around me because we're in high school I feel that teenagers are most affected by mental illness, but it can still portray into adulthood, and sometimes it can start earlier like in childhood there is a lot of children who have anxiety and ADHD. These days it's becoming more visible in children because there are tests for everything. Interviewer: How detrimental to our health is mental illness? ANONYMOUS: Again, there is always a spectrum with anything in particular with mental health. It can be extremely detrimental if someone doesn't take care of it or doesn't know how to take care of it. For example, when I deal with a lot of stress or go through an anxiety attack, I have techniques that will calm me down or relax me or in general go away for that moment because it's so extreme In that moment. It depends on how you know how to care of it and sometimes it can overwhelm you and it can become worse because you're not taking care of it. 

AMY TADESSE - SENIOR

Q: What does mental illness look like to you; what do you picture?

A: Someone that's unhappy with their life, they don't have a lot of people to talk to, they don't have a lot of people to go to for help so they kind of just sit there, going through what they go through alone. What I personally picture is someone that appears happy but in the inside they're not. You won't be able to tell by just looking at a person if they're struggling with mental illness which is why I think mental health is serious in theory because you can't really look and tell. 

Q: Who can experience mental illness? A: I feel like students experience it more than adults because they have a lot of pressure, obviously school, and parents, or whoever their guardians are put a lot of pressure on them, if it's school: to do good in school; if it's sports: to good in sports. Seniors it's college. That kind of all just goes together.

Q: Amy as a senior, have you at any point in your personal life or school life gone through mental health issues.

A: I would say yes, not to the point where I had to get diagnosed, but especially during junior year, I went through a lot, not just with school but at home too; I didn't have that support system, so it was hard for me to be in school taking a bunch of hard classes; there was a lot of stress, and not having enough time. I had to get a job on top of that. It was really stressful, but I didn't go to anyone to talk about it so that kind of built up a lot of stress and caused a lot of anxiety.

Q: How detrimental to our health is mental illness

A: It's very detrimental. I would say it's more important than physical health; if your mental state isn't stable, nothing is going to be stable in your life. 

Referring to the scientific definition listed at the beginning of the article, “mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.” 

Many groups of people can experience struggles with mental health. As a student at Interlake, it is important to know that avoiding the topic of mental health in high school could lead to further harm as you enter adulthood.

The first step begins with acknowledging difficulties, as it is important to refrain from suppressing frustration, sadness, and uncertainty. It is only human to express feelings. 

Therapy is an amazing option if you are simply looking for a way to release everything you have kept to yourself. Talking to a mental health professional allows you to keep everything confidential (to an extent). If talking feels uncomfortable for you, you can try writing about your feelings. The best part about writing what your mind is struggling to  voice is that only you can see it! 

Exercise can be beneficial as well. It is the mind's way of releasing endorphins, which are also known as “happy feelings.” 

These are just a few suggestions.

Regardless of the activity, you deserve to do something you enjoy for at least twenty minutes a day. Through self-love, you can work towards mental wellness. 

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Remember that mental health does not define who you are. Today, society is changing the stigma around mental illness by raising the voices of individuals. Yours, just as much as anyone else’s, deserves to be heard. 

The times are changing. So is the stigma on mental health.