When students arrive at college, they have enough thoughts that are running through their minds and adding stress. What if I don’t make any friends? What if I embarrass myself? What if I disappoint my family and don’t get good enough grades or worse, fail a class? Whatever they may be worried about, it is all valid because that is what is important to them, however, if they were not taught the proper coping skills, such stress may at some point develop into a mental health disorder. I know because that is what happened to me. While there are various factors for each individual in which it does develop into something like anxiety, it does tend to boil down to a fundamental element: they were never taught about mental health. How can one maintain something if they were not taught to do so? Just as we are taught in schools about our physical health and how to stay healthy by eating right and exercising, we should be taught the same self-care mechanisms to maintain a healthy socio-emotional state.
Especially in a very media-driven era, suicide has become the tenth of the leading causes of death in the United States according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Data and Statistics Fatal Injury Report for 2017. An even more gut-wrenching statistic was posted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in September 2019, that every 40 seconds, one person dies from suicide worldwide. Some of these statistics can probably be linked to the fact that the individual may not have known how scary and alone and numb a mental health disorder can cause one to feel and may not have known that with proper treatment and support, one can truly overcome their disorder.
Generally, there is already an existing gap in access to mental healthcare as therapy and psychiatry can be costly. Therefore, education during the K-12 years can play a big role in shaping the student’s future. Those that push back against introducing mental health education into the earlier years may say how does it benefit those without already identified mental health disorders or why should money be allocated to this? Well, it is important to understand that mental health education is not just for those with mental health disorders. Just as schools do not teach healthy eating to students who have trouble doing so, the same should apply. There are so many levels of mental health such as mindfulness, self-love, confidence, self-esteem, that will allow individuals to be more mature and the best versions of themselves.
In 2019, over three hundred bills were introduced into forty-two different states and the District of Columbia, including New Jersey, and at least 49 bills were actually enacted into 26 states, again including New Jersey. The bills both introduced and enacted were to improve what is commonly referred to as “School-Based Mental Health Services and Supports,” which funds counselors and other health care professionals and evidence-based mental health programs. There is also what is called “Teacher and School Staff Training” which allows for better training for those that spend most of the weekday with students and during that time, are more likely to see the signs of a student struggling or is able to enforce wellness-based practices. The last category of legislation that was either introduced or enacted is referred to as “School Curricula,” which funds numerous programs, one usually working to eliminate mental health stigma.
