According to studies (Leahy, 2008), the average high school student has the same anxiety levels as an average psychiatric patient in the 1950s. Mental illness is a serious health condition today, yet schools and jobs just disregard people with any kind of mental illness. They say things like “that’s not an acceptable reason to go home,” or “you’re fine, get back to work.” Some of the youth of America are struggling with some type of mental illness. Most of them aren’t even getting help and are dealing with these things by themselves.
Dealing with a mental illness is a really hard thing to do, especially depending on what kind of mental illness(es) people have. There are so many mental illnesses that one could deal with. Anxiety, depression, OCD, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder are all examples of mental illnesses. People may not be aware that they have a mental illness unless they go to a doctor, but they are usually aware without going to a doctor. Other people might be aware that they have a mental illness, but they also might not be able to understand the symptoms or afford to go for help. After a while they could think that it’s gotten better and avoid finding help.
Someone with a mental illness has to become good at smiling and being in a good mood; otherwise, people start to wonder what’s going on. People have to learn to deal with these illnesses, and it’s a lot harder than one would think. There are many medications that could help, but some people don’t like to take the medications. The medications have side effects, such as nausea, dizziness, weight gain, sleepiness, and even more! Medications aren’t the only thing with side effects. In a way, you could say that the mental illness could give someone side effects. Random spurts of crying, self harm, panic attacks, insomnia, mood swing, and many others are all ways that someone with a mental illness could act. She or he might not try to act like that, but a lot of the time it’s not the person’s fault.
Mental illnesses are ignored. What about the people you pass in the hall who are hiding their problem(s) and are having panic or anxiety attacks from all the stress and pressure that they are going through? What about the kid in class who is defiant? He could be getting over a breakup or a death. What about the kid whose parents are divorcing? No one knows what’s going on in his head, and most people usually don’t care. Others are sleepy and don’t respond, due to the medications that they have to take. No one understands or cares, so the sleepy and unresponsive people get into trouble for things they can’t control.
We may not be doctors or may not even know much about mental illnesses and what they do to people. We can be kind and compassionate to the people that do need help and be willing to take the time and effort to encourage them to find help that they need and want. Anyone could become a victim of a mental illness during any time of our lives. If that happens, you’d want someone to care enough to understand and help you get through it.
Leahy, R. L. (2008). How big a problem is anxiety? Retrieved at https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/anxiety-files/200804/how-big-problem-is-anxiety.
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