The Question We Ignore: Mental Health Awareness. By: Seth Carnes

        I'm sure we've all been asked the question when we were younger, “If all of your friends

were to jump off a bridge, would you too?” Hearing this question come from my mom one day

on the way back from school was so odd to me. I thought it was so weird and randomly

prompted. I said what I thought to be the obvious answer, no, and then later followed up with my

own question, why? Why are kids asked such a gruesome question every day, and what does

their answer reveal about them? I later found out that this simple yes or no answer was intended

to imply the mental health state that we were in as kids. But I mean, come on, how many of us

actually answered truthfully, and if so, what were our parents supposed to do if they heard a

response they didn't like?

 Mental health can be described as an illness that affects a person's

biological and chemical bases of their brain, causing a disruption in a person's behavior, thinking,

or handling everyday life. Incidents of mental illness often get ignored due to people neglecting

treatments for the disorder. There isn’t a major class revolving around mental health that every

human is required to take. At best, flyers are posted up in school hallways or work offices that

depict a frowning person with a “you aren’t alone, call this number to seek help” at the bottom.

We are told to be aware of signs of bad mental health, but what are they? And what can we do to

stop the deterioration? Society's normalization to ask the question but never act on one’s

response has led to a worldwide downplay of the severity that mental health actually is.

As mentioned before, struggling with mental health can profoundly affect a person's

overall well-being. People who struggle with mental health also struggle with feeling their

emotions, the ability to learn new topics, social isolation, and more. Because our mental health

shapes our social relationships, daily functioning, and physical health. Doctors argue the

importance of caring for one's own mental health. Signs that you or someone you might know is

facing challenges in their mental well-being include: sleeping problems, emotional outbursts,

being more silent than usual, or substance abuse. If this frequently asked question were given to

all of us as children, then I’d assume that having a mental illness is more common than society

recognizes it to be. According to Jean Holthaus, struggling with mental health is a very common

illness faced by many. In the article, “The Importance of Mental Health Awareness”. Jean

Holthaus states, “Mental Illness affects 19% of the adult population, 46% of teenagers, and 13%

of children each year” (Holthaus 1). When I first read Holthaus' article, I was in shock. I, along

with the majority of my classmates, fall under the teenage age range, meaning that out of 100

students within my grade, it is possible that 46 of them experience a mental health condition. My

realization of how closely linked I could be to someone who lives with a mental illness prompted

me to do more research into the different types. Some illnesses consist of anxiety, PTSD,

depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and more. After gaining a greater understanding of

what mental health truly is, a little bit more, I also began to see why society neglected to educate

everyone more on this matter. With there being article after article titled about a new physical

disease storming a town, or the life expectancy age diminishing each year, people have forgotten

about a disease that so many of us suffer from. Our decision to overlook such an intense

condition that is commonly experienced by people each day has allowed for a negative

connotation to grow whenever the mere thought of someone expressing their frustration is

brought up. The truth is that society doesn’t know what to do when responding with a yes to the

commonly asked question. Our default reply is to acknowledge it and move on.

But clearly this hasn’t been working. The posters have done nothing but add fuel to the

fire of how mental health is perceived. I want to have an impact on our world that leaves a

positive mark, as I'm sure many of us do, and I believe that it starts from within. So, to answer

the question of what we can do to not only raise awareness of mental health, but also improve it,

are small, simple habits. Conveying a mindful and accepting persona for those around us,

constantly educating ourselves on how mental health is taught in today's standards, and

advocating for the illness to gain an equal amount of attention that other illnesses receive all help

push against the conformative agenda of diminishing the representation mental health deserves.

So the next time you see a poster on your school walls or office bathrooms, don’t forget that

awareness means nothing without actions. Real change begins when we choose to listen,

respond, and care beyond the question.

Work Cited

Staff, P. R. (2023, October 10). The importance of mental health awareness - Pine Rest

Newsroom. Pine Rest Newsroom.

https://www.pinerest.org/newsroom/articles/mental-health-awareness-blog/