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Unfortunately, the simple truth of mental illnesses is that they are much more prevalent than the majority chooses to admit or outright confront. An estimated 20% of teenagers in the United States suffer depression, one of the most common mental illnesses in the world, and illustrates the abundance of the many mental disorders and illnesses that plague the teenage population in America today.
One of the most frequent reactions individuals have when confronted with a mental health issue is to ignore it or to disregard it, claiming that it is not your responsibility or concern; however, this is something that simply encourages the negative ruminations in the minds of those who are affected by these illnesses. A common misconception, as well, is that a mental illness holds less significance than physical illnesses. In reality, mental illnesses can lead to self-harm, suicidal thoughts, or even suicidal actions. In a generation where a teenager may feel an immense amount of pressure to be portrayed as, to act, or to be a certain way, it gets extremely difficult to cope with those unrealistic expectations, because one cannot expect anything more than being their true selves. Mental illnesses, shortly, are deserving of social, medical, familial, and economic attention and assistance. The communal handling of mental illnesses, especially in the school environment are far too ill-skilled and inadequate to tend and assist with mental health issues in the youth. It is easy to feel misunderstood, to feel anxious or upset often, to get stuck into a tunnel of seemingly endless stress when you are a teenager. The only difference that society has not yet received is that a message needs to be sent to those who feel relations to those statements. That lacking message should be preaching that they're going to make it and be okay because high school does not determine their entire lives. There is so much more to a single fascinating human being surpassing their grades, extracurricular activities, or body type. A drastic translation must be enacted upon to actually improve all of these issues, in addition to many others pertaining to mental health. Everyone, whether they pertain to a mental health issue or not should educate themselves of how to act accordingly and considerately to others because we really don't know what's going on in the lives of each and every other human being. The overall moral is to be kind, to spread love, and to be equal with one another. Mental health issues deserve to be addressed on a large scale, globally for the sake of the safety and maintenance of well being of the precious human beings that make up this world. A message to those who don't believe these illnesses are real: Stop being ignorant, and take it seriously. -Aislyn Nihan VP of Campaigns and Events Co-VP of Journalism and Publication
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