Over the past two years, students all over the country have struggled intensely with mental health problems. Many people ay the cause was the isolation during the Covid-19 Pandemic, some say it’s “Because of those dang phones”. The fact of the matter is kids are hurting, some are dying. So, what can we do to fix this?

“Mental heath needs a great deal of attention. It’s the final tabo and it needs to be faced and dealt with.”-Adam Ant

   According to www.thezebra.com, 1 in 5 American’s suffer from a mental illness, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness says that most people start showing symptoms by age 14. AS a student at Weir, I know friends, loved ones, and myself have struggled. As corny as it is to say, you truly never know what’s going on in someone’s life.

Everyone is dealing with something, and as hard as the hurting is, the healing is harder. How do we, as students, help not only our friends, but ourselves to heal?

I had the privilege of interviewing our school counselor, the lovely Mrs. Charlton. We spoke about the problems the students face, and the stigma of mental illness in teens.  When asked what she think’s are good coping mechanisms for when you notice yourself struggling, she said, “Writing in a journal, coloring, drawing, listening to music, eating good foods, meditating, exercising, and above all, prioritizing time are good things you can do.”

While being out of school last year and the year prior, we all lost our sense of routine. I know I speak for myself and others when I say I notice myself spiral when I don’t have a routine. When I don’t have anything to do and there isn’t some sort of schedule I follow, such as going to school or work every day. I struggle with finding motivation to do easy things, like showering or brushing my teeth, drinking enough water, and taking care of myself. That is the ugly truth about being human. Life isn’t always easy, and when someone asks you, “What’s wrong?”, you might not even know the answer. I think I’ve found that as hard as it may be to hear, you might not ever know why or have an answering to that question.

We as friends, brother, sisters, and everything in between, need to help each other.  We need to be there and love one another. Even if you don’t know how to approach someone about their mental health, it costs nothing to be there for them. To say to them, “Hey, I know things are bad right now, and I know you may not wanna talk about it, but is there something I can do for you?” Some people may just want to feel like someone cares. “I know that my friends made me feel like I didn’t matter. They assumed I didn’t want to talk about whatever was bothering me, and it made me feel left out. All I really wanted was for someone to just care about me.” John Doe said.

At the end of the day, we need to show love, we need to show compassion. We truly need to follow the golden rule, and treat other’s how we want to be treated. We need to give what we wish to receive. Then, and only then, can we start to heal.”