High school. It can be the best of years and the worst of years. With school come papers, exams, extracurricular activities, and so much more. There can be a lot of pressure put on students, which can be crippling to mental health.
It's important to note that mental health issues and mental illness are very different. It's a common misconception to refer to mental illness in the same way as mental health issues. However, mental illness refers to a diagnosable condition like Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Schizophrenia and the like, that usually require medical treatment. A mental health issue is a more common struggle that may not require medical treatment, but can still affect day-to-day functioning.
Teenage years can be crucial for mental health development. Many students spend more time at school than anywhere else outside of their household. One in five teens between the ages of 13-18 have, or will have, a serious mental health issue according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. A lot of the time, students don't even realize they have an issue until they're close to self-destruction.
"A lot of the root problems are caused by trauma," Garcia said. "It can manifest in a lot of different ways in adolescents."
Miguel Garcia is the head of the Psychiatric Resource Center at Manual Arts High School. The Resource Center has a three-prong psychiatric service: universal, targeted and intensive. Universal services include classroom consultations, health fair presentations and providing general psychiatric education to teachers and counselors.
"We work with the teachers for psychological first aid because they're the front line," Garcia said.
Targeted services include evidence-based programs that provide generic support for students and families, whereas intensive services are more specific, providing individual sessions to families and their children. Garcia goes on to say that most students are diagnosed with "high-functioning depression." High functioning depression is when someone puts on a facade to appear okay on the outside, but on the inside, they can be severely sad.
It's very common for students to hide their mental health issues. Popular culture portrays a recurring image of depression: withdrawal, constant crying, and out-of-control behavior. Garcia said for students at Manual Arts High School, that's rarely what mental health issues take the form of.
"The irritability, the anger, it's more common in adolescents than adults," Garcia said. "There's a lot of depression, anxiety and there's a lot of underlying behaviors that come up as children process emotions."
Common warning signs of mental health issues for high school students include difficulty concentrating, trouble sleeping, withdrawal and irritability. The average delay between the onset of mental health symptoms and intervention is about eight to ten years. About fifty percent of mental health cases begin by age 14. That means a teen may start having issues in high school, and not receive help until they're well into their adult life at the age of 24 or later.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death in youth ages 10-24, so awareness is a big part of mental health prevention campaigns. Mental health is just as big an issue for students as it is for their parents. Resources like Transition Year provide tips for parents that have a child dealing with stress and mental health issues. Students struggling with mental health that are transitioning from high school to college can also utilize the site.
"When I get stressed here I sometimes worry about what my stress would be like when I go to college," Karla Hernandez said, a senior at Manual Arts High School. "I wouldn't know where to go or who to seek help from."
The JED Foundation also serves as a resource to protect emotional health and prevent the suicide of college and university students. Students can increase their individual knowledge about their mental health struggles before the transition to college with a JED professional, and schools can raise awareness about mental health by hosting a JED presentation on campus.
Garcia says the best way to help treat mental health issues is to assure students that they are not alone. It's very common for students to have mental health symptoms at some point in their life, and a lot of the time, conditions are treatable. Without speaking up, there is no way to receive help.
"I'm going to be better about asking for help in college," Hernandez said. "I know how things are now, and I don't want them to get worse wherever I decide to go."
"Instead of saying 'what's wrong with you,' we want to hear, 'what's happened to you,'" Garcia said. "To change the dialogue. That's the reason we raise awareness."
Students that are struggling with mental health and would like to speak confidentially with a professional crisis manager can call the Suicide Prevention helpline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The hotline is available for free, 24 hours of the day, to provide support and connect one to the help he/she needs.
Tiaira Muhammad is a reporter for Annenberg Media. You can follow her on:
