Student mental health can play a lot of factors in a student’s success in school. With the pressure of grades and social dynamics, the mental health of students can decline. Students walking through the halls, grappling with mental battles going from depression, to stress and anxiety under the radar.
The conversation of mental health is an urge, as students’ mental health can affect the academic success they deserve. It’s not all bad, though. Some students say that their past experiences with mental health inspired them to study it after high school. With the past generations having the same experience that students are experiencing in the present, they can now help in the student mental health crisis. Past experiences include schools being outdated, limited, or lacking education.
According to the American Psychological Association, it is said that more than one-third of students have been diagnosed with anxiety, 28% with depression, and 8% with PTSD. And that’s just in college. 44% of high school students reported feeling signs of depression within the last year (2023). This number of students is a big percentage to be concerned about. I think that some numbers might not be completely correct, since mental health can be a hard subject to talk about in some cases, it could be a bigger percentage than what is statistically said.
I asked different students about their mental health perspectives at La Sierra High School. “I think the best way to get help when you struggle with mental health is to talk to somebody you trust. I think that everyone says this but it’s true, it could be hard at first to talk to somebody, but it’ll be worth it in the end,” Larry Moreno (10) said.
Furthermore, mental health is an obstacle in people’s lives, but that doesn’t mean you should give up. Talking to somebody can help with releasing pent-up feelings. School is said to be one of the main culprits of teen depression, and high expectations of teachers and parents, all add up. The school environment can drastically impact the mental health of students. This isn’t always the case though, “I think some parts of school can help with mental health, such as joining a club like drama, key club, or acceptance club,” Axe Luna (12) said.
