Stigmas In Schools

Schools need to educate parents and children about mental health and illness. According to an article published by the Association for Children’s Mental Health, “1 in 5 children and youth have a diagnosable emotional, behavioral or mental health disorder and 1 in 10 young people have a mental health challenge that is severe enough to impair how they function at home, school or in the community” (Problems at School). Schools could hold educational meetings on mental health to inform and aid parents and children to determine when they need to address mental health. Additionally, incorporating a stronger mental health aspect in the state required health

Teachers and staff will be trained to tell the if a student is experiencing symptoms of any type of mental health disorder. For example, if a student is having irregular mood swings or a fluctuation in weight, which are common symptoms of anxiety and depression. In the article, “Why Schools Should Screen Their Students' Mental Health”, it says,“If we made mental health part of the usual health system of a school, then it becomes more normal…”. If a student sees a positive outlook on mental health they would be opened to getting help. On some media platforms, mental health is portrayed as something to be ashamed of or a evil quality to posses. Mental health isn’t evil, it’s how the person deals with it that's important. Yes, if not treated it can cause negative effects but with the help from the community these children can live relatively normal lives. Children and adults struggle to comprehend the severity of mental illness, which causes them to avoid any form of treatment. In the future, mental health should become a thing not to be ashamed of. A person who broke a bone would go to the hospital right away, not wait for it to heal on its own. If you wouldn’t wait for a physical injury, why would you wait for

Imagine living with a mental illness that affects your everyday life but has no physical aspects to it. Waging a war within your own head and not being able to control your own thoughts or feelings. Millions of adolescence throughout the United States are currently sick, living with a mental illness with no idea how to treat it, or even the idea they are sick. Mental Health services on campus may be the answer to treating the diseases many children are suffering from.

It is estimated that one in every five youth experience mental illnesses that interfere with their everyday routines (“NAMI”). Mental health in the United States is a growing epidemic that needs to be solved. Youth with mental illnesses may never know that they have one; screenings for mental health are not something a lot of people take advantage of. Schools are a place where youth develop the most. In order for this to happen, society needs to make schools feel welcoming and provide support for those who need help. While some people do not believe mental illnesses exist, schools should require mental health screenings in order to prevent future violent situations, educate their staff, and do more to make students feel comfortable.

There has been a decade-long spike in the awareness of mental illness and suicide ideation among teenagers and young adults. Accordingly, researchers have determined, based on the results of numerous studies and trials, that there exists the possibility of dramatically reducing mental illness, suicides and suicidal behavior, thereby raising the potential of promoting overall wellness among young people. Many political leaders and mental health professionals, encouraged by the results of the studies, have asked school administrators and community leaders to enact awareness and prevention programs in their jurisdictions, while requesting that program leaders take responsibility for program results (e.g., No Child Left Behind, 2002).

Mental health issues are on the rise, especially among the youth, 6 out of 10 young people do not receive mental health treatment for major depression. Currently, there are over 40 million Americans are dealing with a mental health issue and 56 percent of them are not receiving proper treatment. (mentalhealthAmerica). In addition, 33 percent of all homeless individuals have a mental illness and do not receive treatment. With the rise of mental health issues, the funding for mental illness should also increase to meet the need. If additional funds were put into mental health care, no or low-cost mental health care treatment and early detection screenings could be offered to those who

Some who are resistant to mental health screenings suggest that schools only require screenings for students who show external signs of suffering. The problem with this idea is that many students would receive treatment for their mental illness, but those who do not show symptoms would not. For example, if schools used academic performance as an indicator

During the “Change Direction” mental health event, First Lady Michelle Obama said, “At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health in this country. ... Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there should be no distinction.” Unfortunately, there is a difference in the way society views mental illness compared to other ailments in the body. Stigma around mental illness has had immense adverse effects on the willingness of undiagnosed suffers to seek treatment when they need it. As a result of this, one in five people with a mental illness will not get the treatment they need (Abrams). This has led to significantly higher suicide rates. In an effort to reduce stigma around mental illness, so that more undiagnosed sufferers seek treatment, schools should devote more time to increasing awareness of mental illness and its effects.

Almost every resource used for the prevention and the intervention for children’s mental health is scarce relative to both need and demand. The governments and practitioners across nations, therefore, face difficult decisions in allocating scarce resources such as school-based screening programs,

Students and parents alike believe that the questions asked are too personal and fear the social stigma of mental illness. The Citizens of Commission on Human Rights or CCHR, a nonprofit mental health watchdog group that has helped enact more than 150 laws protecting individuals from abuse or coercive practices, says that, “Mental health screening asks young students embarrassing, personal and potentially upsetting questions that psychiatrists have worded in such a way that no student could escape being labeled mentally ill at some point during their education… questionnaires can result in psychological or psychiatric intervention…” (CCHR Editors n.p.g.). Since these questionnaires may be misleading, parents and students fear the validity of these tests. Pharmaceutical drug companies are thought to take advantage of the mentally ill. “We hear so much these days about how psychotherapies can help people with mental health problems. But the most recent figures tend to suggest that as many as 57% of people with mental health problems are being treated solely with medications without any form of psychotherapy. And that figure is not going down—it’s going up!—up from 44% to 57% between 1998 and 2007” (Davey n.p.g.). Drugs are society's answer to problems that require more effort and

About 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 experiences a severe mental disorder at least once in their lifetime. Over one-third of students with a mental health condition, age 14­–21 drops out—the highest dropout rate of any disability group. With these statistics, it shows how many people are not gaining support and are just giving up because they cannot find convenient help. If this issue is shown in the classroom, then the awareness rates will rise, making more establishments for support and treatment.

During a mental health event the First Lady, Michelle Obama said, “At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health in this country. [...] Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there should be no distinction.” This shows that mental illness stigma in society is based on mental illness being perceived more negatively than other physical illness when it should actually be seen as the same. Stigma around mental illness has had very immense adverse effects on the willingness of undiagnosed suffers to not seek treatment when they need it. As a result of this one in five people with a mental illness will not get the treatment they need which has the effect of high suicide rates among the untreated sufferers. In an effort to reduce stigma around mental illness, so that more undiagnosed sufferers seek treatment, schools should devote more time to increasing awareness of mental illness and its effects.

There are many stigmas, or misconceptions and misperceptions in our society which need to be shattered. I believe that one of the worse possible effects of stigma is that it causes those affected by psychological disorders, or mental illness, to crawl more deeply into themselves because it provokes a sense of shame. Stigma thrusts those suffering with mental illness into a sense of isolation, social exclusion, and discrimination. “Stigma can lead to discrimination … It may be obvious or direct … Or it may be unintentional or subtle…” (Staff). Stigma is often as big as the illness itself and I confess to having been a perpetuator of this dreaded thing, although not consciously aware and without the intent of furthering the harm of someone.

Stigmas are unhealthy and destructive judgements based on discrimination and, sometimes, fear due to misunderstanding. Stigma can be defined as “a sign of disgrace or discredit, which sets a person apart from others (Byrne, 2000). PTSD has many attached stigmas, especially when the disorder is not combat related. People with non-combat related PTSD are deemed “weak” or unable to let go of negative circumstances. Due to a misunderstanding of the disorder, people are labeled “dangerous and violent” or “crazy”. Additionally, there is an overwhelmingly common believe that the victim is responsible for having PTSD (Mittal, D., Drummond KL., Blevins, D., Curran, G., Corrigan, P., and Sullivan, G., 2013). Stigmas affect individuals with this diagnosis

Mental health issues have been an ongoing hot topic in this country for over a century. Though many strides have been made to increase awareness and lessen the stigma, there continues to be a barrier to mental health care, especially for our nations’ youth and young adults. I will be discussing the history behind mental health care, current policies regarding it, how the presence of stigma reduces the likelihood that youth and young adults are receiving the adequate mental health care they require, how mental health awareness decreases these stigma, and how policy changes can lead to overall acceptance and mental health treatment of youth.