Tackling mental health seems like such a daunting task. With the combination of horrific news, the buzz of social media, and the fact that mental health is a silent battle, how do you truly make an impact? However, The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that one in five people live with some sort of mental disorder or disease. However, 70% of mental health conditions that appear in school-age children do seem to resolve with early intervention.
Before we get to how you can take action, why should you even care in the first place? The truth is, according to The National Alliance on Mental Illness, "One in six youth have a mental health condition, like anxiety or depression, but only half receive any mental health services." And sadly, many of these kids do not receive help in a timely fashion, which makes them more prone to worsened conditions and quality of life. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, suicide is the second leading cause for death in youth from ages 10-34, most of which could be prevented by integrated mental health education and awareness.
There needs to be awareness and action taken to identify students who need help, as well as ease of access for them to get it. As a student, there are significant steps that you can take to eventually get a whole of school approach to improving mental health care at your school, which simply means that everyone does their part to promote a safe learning culture. Things like starting a club, getting students to sign a petition, collaborating with the counseling team at your school, and kindness campaigns all do their part to show your school that mental health matters to their student body, which is only one step closer to change. I personally loved the kindness campaigns at my school, and to this day have kept the letters I had received as a result of them. You never know how a 1 minute note can brighten up someone's day!
All in all, we advocate for youth mental health because by improving their mental health, we improve children's wellbeing as well as their communities.
Feel free to contact Iclucy at iclucycompany@gmail.com for any collaboration or ideas you had in mind!
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