Mental Health of Children

Imagine a disease that 1 in 5 children suffer from, but it has no cure, no vaccine, but only treatment. If it was cancer, any parent would drop everything and do whatever it takes for their child to be okay. In reality, it isn’t cancer that a great number of children are suffering from, it’s mental illnesses. There are currently 74.5 million children in the United States, but 17.1 million of them have been diagnosed with some form of mental illness (Child Mind.) The mental health of an individual is the what dictates one's mind, emotions, and well-being. For a person, mental health is important because it is the bridge that allows people to maintain daily productive activities and allows them to have fulfilling relationships with others, but when unprioritized, it could be very dangerous for an individual. As a result of untreated mental illnesses, this impacts the individual’s growth, future, and potentially the safety of other students. It is absurd that something so large affects so many individuals, yet schools still fail to address and prioritize the mental health of students.

School in the United States often stigmatize the topic of mental health which results in students refusing to reach out for help. When untreated, the mental health of a student will start to deteriorate, which in turn will cause more problems to arise such as lack of attendance, inappropriate behavior, and eventually, dropping out. Only 40 percent of students with emotional, behavioral and mental health disorders graduate from high school, compared to the national average of 76 percent. Over 50 percent of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities ages 14 and older, drop out of high school (ACMH). Often times, mental illness isn’t something obvious and, in most cases, a lot of individuals disregard their condition and assume it is caused by something else entirely such as stress. Although constant reoccurring deadlines and the overload of school work can take a toll on the mental health of an individual, it is something that cannot be easily changed but doesn’t have to be ignored. With school being the place where youths spend more time at aside from their homes, it is absolutely despicable for a student to feel alone in an environment where they should have the freedom and opportunity to express themselves.

Children who suffer with mental illnesses through adolescence grow into developing much more destructive impairments such as chronic depression, severe anxiety, and anger. Nelson Mandel once stated, "Children of today are the leaders of tomorrow and education is a very important weapon to prepare children for their future roles as leaders of the community.” The onset of mental disorders often begins at the ages where students enter a stage of school such as either junior high, high school, or college. The impact it has on students result in behavior problems, difficulty in learning, but the consequences of untreated mental health of an individual are just as devastating as when they were first diagnosed. The lack of awareness in schools causes teens and parents to both stigmatize mental illnesses and view it as a “phase” or “a part of growing up”, when in reality, it is something that is much more serious. With such little mental health promotions within educational institutions, students have the tendency to feel stuck or trapped. It is not only frustrating for the student who needs help, but it also limits them from reaching their full potential. As a result, students flounder their way into adulthood and struggle to overcome simple obstacles. An individual with a constant state of frustration and anger can only tolerate so much before they lose their mental stability.

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