Mental health is a popular and concerning issue among teens all over the world, and school has a direct impact. A student’s mental health affects their everyday life and alters their routine, emotions, behaviors, energy, work performance, physical health and more. Mental health can be an extremely hard topic for some people to open up and talk about. So how can we, as a community, help to improve students’ mental health?

As students here at Pottsgrove, we experience stress in our lives caused by a variety of reasons. For example grades, sports, scheduling, hormones, high expectations, lack of support, home problems, pre-existing conditions, bullying and more all can lead to stress and mental health challenges. I had the opportunity to talk to a few Pottsgrove students themselves and what they notice about other students’ mental health in our school. Adriana Kennedy states, “I think that sleep is a big factor in mental health, and when us students have a large workload it’s tiring.”. Personally, I notice that some students are overworking themselves and getting stressed out because of high expectations held by themselves or higher authorities. I also notice that a lack of a support group has a big impact on students’ mental health. When somebody does not have friends, family, or somebody trusted to reach out to it becomes hard for them to maintain good mental health. 

Sometimes you don’t notice when a friend or peer is struggling from poor mental health, but if you do notice or you are having problems yourself there are the right steps to getting help for yourself or a peer. An article from mentalhealth.gov lists ways schools, friends and family can provide support to others who suffer from poor mental health. Some include building safe environments for students, being prepared to listen, encouraging good physical health, expressing concern and support, and reminders that professional health is available. If somebody is not ready to talk about their personal mental health don’t force it on them, just let them know that you are there for them. So please remember to stay supportive towards your peers and think to yourself, “What am I going to do to help myself and those who are struggling?” Consider visiting, or referring a friend to SAMHSA National Health Hotline if you or somebody else is struggling.