People are slowly gaining more awareness about mental health and its importance, but why is it so crucial to talk about?
What is mental health?
Mental health is psychological and emotional wellness. Keeping your mental health in check is extremely important in order to have good judgment, make good decisions, maintain healthy relationships, and to just have an overall well-functioning life. Mental illnesses can also pose risks to physical health. For example, depression, a very common mental disorder, can heighten the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
Since 2021, the mental health in adolescents and teens continue to worsen. A contributing factor to this may be the COVID-19 pandemic, where isolation increased stress in schools and homes dramatically.
Mental illnesses should be viewed like physical illnesses--both can tremendously affect a person's life. There are many stigmas related to mental health. People may see a mentally unwell person as dangerous or crazy, and that is not the case for most. Asking for help regarding mental wellbeing should not be seen as weak or embarrassing, and rather, just as a way to improve quality of life.
Statistics:
There are more than 200 types of mental illnesses known, and one person could be affected with multiple of these illnesses at once. Mental illness is much more common in the United States than most people think; in fact, it has turned into an epidemic. About 1 out of every 5 children aged 9-17 have a diagnosable mental illness.
As for adults, the National Institute of Mental Health stated that 22.8% of adults ages 18 and over had some type of mental illness. Only about 47.2% of these people sought out mental health services or some other form of help.
This epidemic is also prominent in schools and minority groups. 42% of students reported continual feelings of hopelessness and sadness. Students that are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as African-Americans, are also much more likely to have feelings and thoughts of suicide.
Resources and ways to help:
There are many ways to manage mental health. Schools can help students by speaking out more on this topic to spread information and awareness to their students. Guidance counselors are also great resources where students can speak out about their feelings. Families and parents can be more open and non-judgmental, providing a place where adolescents can feel safer talking about their struggles. In general, there needs to be an environment where people should feel okay to ask for help without feeling judged. Adults are role-models for their children, so promoting positive parenting and healthy relationships positively impacts the child. Therapists and psychiatrists are the best resources for people struggling with their mental health. They ideally provide the perfect, safe environment where people can open up about their struggles, and also provide more resources and tactics to deal with their concerns or illnesses. Because of this, therapy should be more accessible to everyone, and it should be normalized.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, it is important to ask for help. Mental illness is a big problem in the US and the rates are only getting worse. This problem needs to be addressed in order to help people recognize their illnesses and seek the help they may need as soon as possible.
Sources:
Comentarios