Mental health is just as important as physical health. Having a mental illness like depression or anxiety can result in a decline in quality of life. Alancia King ‘19 says “mental illness is a very real problem in our modern day society. And it is not at all made up. There are physical symptoms of mental illnesses which allow doctors to diagnose their patients.” People with depression could feel hopeless, alone, tired, withdrawn, or sad. There are of course many other symptoms but in order for it to be classified as depression, at least five of the symptoms must be present for two or more weeks. Mental illnesses can be treated with medication just like physical illnesses. But medication is not the only answer. There are also many different types of therapy programs available which can help a person talk through their problems. There is one-on-one therapy, group therapy, outpatient programs, inpatient programs, and so much more.

But what is it that causes these mental illnesses? It could be biological. Maybe someone in that person’s family had a mental illness and those genes were passed down. The largest cause may be  mainly environmental. The United States has the highest rates of mental illnesses and there is a reason for this. Our country cares mostly about productivity. Katie Reznar ‘22 says “the way high schools are structured is very depressing. We come to school and we sit down for 8 hours while listening to teachers lecture us. And then they assign us many hours of homework.” When a young student can’t focus or acts out in class, they are diagnosed with ADHD and they are put on medication which makes them productive. So if a student cannot succeed in a productive environment they are considered an outlier and they are put on medication which makes them productive.  But who can really focus in an environment where you have to sit still for 8 hours and listen to boring lecture all day.

The schools also do not care about the students well being, they just care about how productive they are. There is an exception though. When the student’s mental health gets in the way of their productivity, then the school starts to pay attention and “care.” Of course there are many other environmental factors to explore but I just wanted to focus on school because children spend most of their childhood in school which means school has a greater influence on our mental health. Ana Gore ‘20 says “the world in general is depressing and we just have to deal with it.” I wish this were not true but after high school there is college and after college there is work. All of these things rely on productivity. I think that the first step to curing mental illnesses in our country is actually caring about the well being of people and not just whether or not they are productive.