Opinion: We need to prioritize mental health, now more than ever
By Stephanie M. Submitted to Mr. Dinh’s English 9 Honors class as part of the Advocacy Essays 2021 Unit.
The current COVID-19 Pandemic has affected so many people mentally, economically, physically and emotionally. It has caused many people to feel anxious or stressed about what might happen tomorrow. According to a report titled, “Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia: New Study Reveals COVID-19 is Having an Impact on Americans’ Mental Health,” 70% of Americans are distressed over physical health, 90% are concerned over the economy and 72% are worried about the ability to purchase their necessities. All these concerns lead to a major imbalance in someone’s mental health. Personally, I have experienced feeling very downhearted, and anxious of what might happen. One reason why this issue is so important is because if you don’t manage your mental health stress, anxiety and more can lead to a serious mental illness. I want to change this because all this anxiety, loneliness, depression, and stress can become more threatening over time. This is why mental health is such an important issue facing young people today.
Many concerns have been raised about mental health during this COVID-19 pandemic that became a global emergency on January 30, 2020. A lockdown took place everywhere around the world. There have been many cases of mental illnesses caused by stress, environment both mentally and physically and even from family genes. Imagine how much stress someone had for losing their job, staying inside their home for the most part, even having to do online classes and be in front of a screen everyday. According to a report titled “Us job losses due to Covid-19 highest since the Great Depression,” “The country has lost 20.6 million jobs since mid-March, resulting in an unemployment rate of 14.7%, a level not seen since the Great Depression in the 1930s.” Losing a job not only affects one person but the whole family. The stress accumulated because of not having enough money to pay for expenses and bills is immense. This is when an issue that some people believe is greatly important in society arose even more than before. Many people had a drastic change in their life. This change impacted greatly our brains and brought an unbalance to our mental health especially the lives of children and adolescents.
Another reason why mental health is a major concern is because many adolescents who are attending school start losing focus or interest in school and even tend to commit suicide. These negative actions are sometimes results of a mental illness. Some types of mental illnesses that are common in children and teens are anxiety, depression, mood, attention and behavior disorders. According to the Mental Health Infographic by Danielle Poole, 90% of the kids that committed suicide had a known or possibly not obvious mental illness. This is extremely important because many adolescents and kids don’t seek help or know how to manage their mental health which can influence them to have a more serious mental illness.
An article entitled, “Trends in suicide during the covid-19 pandemic,” says, “Widely reported studies modeling the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on suicide rates predicted increases ranging from 1% to 145%, largely reflecting variation in underlying assumptions.” Based on my own experiences, I have heard on TV how teens commit suicide, are diagnosed with a mental illness, and have an unbalanced mental health that affects greatly their life. I would want to change this because it’s not fair that so many kids suffer with these mental illnesses or even die. Sometimes it’s because people don’t bother to ask someone how they are and help them.
There was nothing we could do to avoid having this current pandemic that affected greatly someone’s mental health but what we can do is begin to learn how to manage our mental health during a difficult situation. If many kids receive the opportunity to learn about mental health then there is a possibility that the statistics of young people being diagnosed with a mental illness can decrease. One solution that can be put in place is providing classes on mental health in schools. Teachers can talk to students about current events and ways to manage mental health that will help students in a great way. As the article entitled, Supporting the Emotional Well-Being of Students, said, “Teaching children positive preventive measures, talking with them about their fears, and giving them a sense of some control over their risk of infection can help reduce anxiety.” It is more difficult to communicate with others during online classes but teachers can try to engage with students by doing fun activities related to mental health such as, kahoot (a game-based learning platform), videos, creative presentation slides and more.
Another solution can involve the help of parents. Taking some time to talk to children about activities or things they can do to manage their emotions can help. Parents are an important part of mental health since parents have a big role when it comes to their children. According to the article entitled, Your child’s mental health, “You can promote good mental health by the things you say and do, and through the environment you create at home. You can also learn about the early signs of mental health problems and know where to go for help.” Sometimes it’s hard to communicate a serious topic to someone you don’t interact with very well but there is always time to give it a try. An unhealthy mentality has damaged so many people in different ways and this is why it is so important. The two possible solutions mentioned above can be possible with everyone’s help. Having the knowledge that this issue indeed is occurring can help prevent children from having a more serious mental illness, dropping out of school, and even lead to suicide. Learning to manage stress and anxiety can help greatly the life of many.
In conclusion, we need to acknowledge how big this concern is and begin to take action. This current COVID-19 pandemic came to us in an unexpected way. Stress and anxiety can lead into something much worse like a serious mental illness. Mental illnesses can lead someone to do actions that can harm yourself or someone else. One example of this is suicide. If schools teach students about how to manage their mental health it could possibly help many students that suffer from anxiety, stress, and depression. If parents talk to their children to see if they are doing alright and letting them know what they can do if they ever feel a certain way then it can change many children’s lives. We are never prepared for what life has stored for us.
One thing we do have certain power over is our mind but we need to be aware that sometimes our mind tricks us to believe something that harms us and causes us to fall. So many lives can be changed if we communicate and send our knowledge to people that might not know. Imagine the world with children, adults, adolescents, and many more knowing how to manage their mental health and learn the ways to cope in difficult situations. The rates of people being diagnosed with a mental illness and how children lose interest in doing activities and school may decrease. It is up to us to make a change and fight for a better and happier world.
