School of Thought 2.0 (Logo by Parkersburg South High School student Rayna Short)

STUDENT INTRO: School of Thought was written by Parkersburg South High School sophomore Riley Kerns. Riley is a member of the Creative Writing team and enjoys drawing, reading, traveling, and spending time with family.

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Mental health is a topic that has not always been easy to talk about. It is just within my generation that we are starting to acknowledge and speak up about mental health. Twenty, forty, and as much as sixty plus years ago, people didn’t take talking about having things like depression or anxiety seriously. Many people don’t realize because it’s still not a very easy topic to talk about, but kids struggle with mental health issues every day. More than 2.7 million children are living with severe to major depression. 60% of youth with major depression receive no mental health treatment.

Depression and anxiety can really take a toll on not only the brain, but also the body. These things can drain a child’s energy. They might put less effort into school than before and even doing small tasks can feel like too much effort. These kids seem lazy or like they give up easily, but in all reality it’s their body and brain, telling them that they’ve done too much, and they are truly exhausted. Sometimes by not taking the child seriously or not noticing the signs, they mistake them as lazy or a troublemaker. Several things can lead to depression or anxiety in children. Traumatic events, or poor parenting are the leading causes of depression, and most of the time things like this get brushed off.

Bullying is a huge problem in today’s generation because of the internet and resources we have access to. People can and will single-handedly ruin a person’s reputation just by saying or posting things online. Kids that experience bullying are two to nine times more likely to take their own life than someone who isn’t bullied. Most kids tend not to speak up and talk about what is bothering them, leading them to push their feelings aside and not address them.

People have this preconceived image in their head of what people with depression are supposed to look like. Sad, not taking care of themselves, crying all the time, having suicidal thoughts etc. But sometimes people with depression smile all the time, they laugh and know how to have a good time, take care of themselves and act like nothing is wrong. Although every person is different, it’s important to not just brush someone off because they don’t look the part.

Let’s talk about males and mental health for a second. Just like everyone else, men and young boys also struggle with depression however, they are often looked down on and called weak for having such feelings. Stereotypically, men are supposed to be tough, and have no feelings, but this is far from the truth. It’s terribly sad that people refuse to normalize men’s mental health. It was estimated that in 2022, 19.7% of men in the U.S. had some type of mental illness. The most common mental health problems in men are anxiety. In research reported by Newport Institute, 77% of the men surveyed reported having experienced symptoms of typical mental health issues such as sadness, stress, or anxiety. 40% of males have never discussed their mental health with anyone. 20% claim there is “negative stigma” around the topic, and 29% say they are “too embarrassed” to talk about it. These men have been taught that feeling any emotions, such as being sad is embarrassing and not okay, but I’m here to tell you it is okay to not be okay. Stand up for yourself, and to get the help you need and deserve.

While there is not yet evidence to support this, some people claim that depression goes through stages similar to grief. Millions of individuals throughout the world suffer from depression and other mental health disorders that should be taken more seriously. Children take their lives every day due to something they can’t control.

Make a difference in someone’s life by making sure they are okay and not hiding behind closed doors. To all the kids out there struggling with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, and the thousands of other mental health problems, if you’re reading this, you’re not alone.