Minds Matter: Mental health resources should be available for all young teenagers

Mental health is a serious issue that society needs to recognize to really get people the treatment they need. It is as important as physical health problems.

Many people fail to understand that mental health is an important issue among young teenagers and as a whole. Mental health can affect your day to day life, it can affect your relationship with your family, friends and yourself. This can make people feel hopeless.

There are many different mental health issues like anxiety disorders, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders and more. We need to do a better job to get the help people need as a result of these various illnesses. If this is left untreated it may bring complications in personal and professional life.

This is why it is so important to not frown upon people with mental health issues but instead support and encourage them to get help. People need to feel comfortable being able to go to a doctor or a therapist to speak about their problems and not have to worry about how others perceive them and not ignore the symptoms they are feeling.

Every year around 9.8 million Americans will experience a mental illness that is serious enough to affect major life activities, according to the National Institue of Mental Health. Also, another 21.4% of Americans between the ages of 13-18 years old live with a severe mental health issue, according to NIMH.

Most people who have mental illnesses, specifically 80% of children with anxiety, are not getting the treatment they need, according to the 2015 Child Mind Institute Children’s Mental Health Report. These numbers are alarmingly high considering how much they affect people who have these illnesses. The mentality of just them complaining or wanting attention does not help at all but instead helps contribute to the number of people not getting the help they need.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 46% of people who commit suicide have a mental health disorder and around 45,000 people commit suicide every year. 1.3 million people every year attempt suicide. Every 12 minutes a person commits suicide, according to the CDC.

This is why they need more resources and information on mental health to know they are not alone. 

Students need to be able to get the help they need. They need people to talk to to get help such as teachers, parents, friends and anyone they can trust and support their effort to seek help. They need to feel that they are not alone and not feel ashamed of who they are and how they feel to get the support they need.