The Cornerstone of Mental Health

People struggle with mental health each and every day but it’s not talked about enough. High school students are partial and subjected to more mental health problems. Students struggle from overwhelming amounts of work and the stress of everyday life. 

In the school building, mental health isn’t emphasized as much as it should be. For example, students feel like teachers don’t care about it. An anonymous student said, “I feel like it’s not a safe thing to talk about. I feel like they [teachers] don’t really care.” Mental health doesn’t feel like a safe thing to talk about because of concerns about CPS getting called on parents, or ending up in a mental hospital that isn’t beneficial to the student. 

However, some teachers really try to make their classroom feel like a safe space, and in doing so they have created an environment where students know that they can talk to their teacher. They feel heard and seen and want to be able to talk with that teacher about what they have  going on. 

Kennedy Ward, a teacher at Riley High School, makes her students know that their feelings and emotions are valid in the classroom through mental health check in’s and posters hanging around her classroom. “I do mental health check ins with my classes every Monday. I also hang nice posters around the classroom that encourage them.”

Students that struggle with their mental health do have options available to them that they might not be aware of. Riley social worker, aka Girl Boss, Mary Dunn, is located on the 3rd floor in the guidance office. She has many mental health outlets that she can get you in touch with, like the suicide hotline, and counseling groups.

Dunn also takes in students of her own to talk to. She sits down with students and talks through what they have going on. There’s a multitude of ways that you can see her. One way is by seeing if she’s in her room at the time you’re having your problem, and another way is by being referred by a teacher or an admin. Dunn’s primary objective is to look out for the well being of her students. “My primary role is to help kids with their mental health issues. My overwhelming role is to do some kind of preventative work.”

If you’ve ever felt like your problems would just get you in trouble or like you can’t talk about the things going on in your life, you’re not alone. An anonymous student stated, “I don’t want the school to know my problems and knowing that they can call CPS on my parents. It’s just not in my interest and I don’t want my parents knowing everything I have going on.” The feeling that you might get in trouble for how you are feeling is false. You’ll never get in trouble. 

Homework is a major contributor to poor mental health. It causes stress, anxiety, and a sense of academic invalidation. When asked if homework affects mental health, Dunn replied “For those that are anxious or depressed, I think it’s overwhelming for them. For my kids that have trauma, like PTSD, or have home lives that are very taxing, it’s overwhelming for them.”

Many students are worried about getting reported for their mental health, but that’s not always a bad thing. “If I’m going to report a student, I’m very concerned about them. And if I’m concerned enough that I needed to report it, that means that in my mind, they are not okay,” Ward states. 

When a student gets reported to the school by a teacher or another administrator it can lead to a positive outcome. Students can finally get the help that they need. Reaching out to the school or getting reported can seem really scary but it's a good way to be able to talk to someone about what is wrong. Getting reported doesn’t mean that you’re going to get in trouble for your mental health. Getting reported is one of the first steps to you getting the help that you need. 

If you need help or are struggling with your mental health but don’t know how to reach out email me at maddiering929@gmail.com. You can also contact mdunn@sbcsc.k12.in.us who will provide you with the help that you need. 

Suicide hotline-  800-273-8255

Domestic abuse hotline- 800-799-7233

Crisis text message number-Text HOME to 741741

Domestic abuse text message number-88788