When someone is asked: what are some major issues going on in the world right now, there are a few obvious answers. One is technology and the way that affects our lives can be in good and bad ways. Also, cyberbullying and school shootings are big issues right now, and there is one other thing. That thing is mental health in people, specifically teens. Common mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression are the most well known; however, many other illnesses are not as known but still greatly impacted people’s lives. Yes, anxiety and depression are still very serious but I will show other peoples stories of other mental health issues and how they deal with it. This is very important to talk about because people raise awareness for it but in the end, there are still many with mental health issues. The things stated above all contribute to one’s health, mostly in negative ways which can be fixed if we do something about it. 

To start with the basics, we will define what mental health is. The definition of it is “a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being” (Oxford Dictionary). Notice the word “condition” meaning that a person may not have an actual illness but aspects of it. Also, some terms can’t be thrown around like they’re nothing. The word anxiety means: “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome” (Oxford). Yes, you can have aspects of this but it affects people all day, every day and it is not a joke. Being worried or nervous about a test is normal but having that all the time can cause changes in people’s lives that are not good. One in three teens will have aspects or be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder by the age of 18. Also, high school students are twice as more likely to have mental health issues than high school students in the 1980s. Many factors cause issues for students nowadays which we will talk about below. 

It is always different for every person, but usually, mental health issues are caused by a variety of factors, not just one. Things such as trauma during your childhood or even in adulthood, unemployment, abuse, and bullying are all factors that could lead to mental health problems. Another big factor that is common throughout teens is the influence of social media. The media shows off perfect people, ideal bodies, and teens can feel self-conscious about themselves. They can feel anxious about what they post, or get bullied from that. Even just mean texts and cyberbullying can hurt people and they can develop depression from it. Additionally, the people you hang out with and your friends have a large impact on the state of your mental health. Earning approval from peers, and doing things to fit in can cause stress on a teen, even more than they have gone through adolescence. Next, peer pressure is such a big thing, especially throughout high school. Whether it's acting a certain way or being pressured to do something that one is not comfortable doing, these can all lead to low-self esteem, anxiety, and depression. 

There is a novel that has thirty-three short stories within it that I read. Each story is an author who has or had a mental illness in their life and how they dealt with it. The name of it is (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and this book taught me lots about mental health and it gave a personal look of it all, not just all facts and statistics. First, there is an author named Ashley Holstrom and she talks about how she has trichotillomania. This disorder is when someone compulsively pulls their hair out. She started out pulling out her eyebrow hairs and then eyelashes too. 

“‘Is it an anxiety thing?’”

‘That’s what people think, but it’s not. It’s a mindless compulsion’

“‘Isn’t it a form of self-harm?”’

‘I guess.’

“‘Don’t you hate it?’” 

‘Every. Single. Day.’

This was a conversion that she had with someone and she is saying that pulling her hair out isn’t an anxiety thing but just a compulsion. A compulsion is just an urge to do something against your conciseness. Ashley talks about how she had to buy countless eyebrow pencils to fill in for all the hairs she pulled out. Somedays she would be reading and just see a bunch of hair in her book because of the trichotillomania. 

“Trichotillomania used to control me, but now it’s part of my existence. I can battle the effect, but the cause will always hang out in my brain somewhere. I’m still dealing with not being ashamed, but I'm getting there” (Holstrom). 

The good thing is that mental illnesses don’t have to take over your life forever. You can’t always get rid of them but there are ways to tame it.

It is not just anxiety and depression that people have, there are others that many suffer from. Some illnesses are more noticeable than others, with some, there is even a physical change that shows such as trichotillomania that was a compulsion of pulling hair out. Many other mental health illnesses are not as well known or people are just not educated enough on the topic of what they are defined as. One illness that was mentioned in the novel called Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is having trouble controlling your emotions and having unstable moods and behaviors. Others such as bipolar disorder affect many people and misophonia is a hatred or a strong reaction to one specific sound. This illness is not physical so someone else may not know that you are living with it. Finally, a disorder called OCD or obsessive-compulsive disorder is also a major illness that many deal with every day. It is “having a tendency towards excessive orderliness, perfectionism, and great attention to detail.” Some may only have aspects of this disorder, not a full diagnosis but it is still present. 

With all of the issues going on, mental health is one that you hopefully have more knowledge of now. Anxiety and depression are most common but with some more facts and statistics, you have a deeper awareness of it now. Factors such as trauma, social media, and peer pressure all affect people. Also, the book (Don’t) Call Me Crazy taught me lots of other illnesses and how actual people’s lives were affected by them. Finally, I believe that if we cut down on two out of three of them, then mental health issues will go down. Especially in teens right now, many of their issues are caused by social media and peer pressure. What do you think? If those two things were cut out the picture, would mental illness rates throughout teens go down? 

Works Cited

"Anxiety and Depression in Adolescence." Child Mind Institute, 2019, childmind.org/report/2017-childrens-mental-health-report/anxiety-depression-adolescence/. Accessed 15 Oct. 2019.

"Facts and Statistics." Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2018, adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics. Accessed 15 Oct. 2019.

Lexico. "English Dictionary." Oxford, 2019, www.lexico.com/en. Accessed 15 Oct. 2019.

Mayo Clinic. "Borderline Personality Disorder." Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20370237?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=abstract&utm_content=Borderline-personality-disorder&utm_campaign=Knowledge-panel. Accessed 15 Oct. 2019.

"Mental health problems – an introduction." Mind, 2013, www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/mental-health-problems-introduction/causes/#.XaXC6OdKjOR. Accessed 15 Oct. 2019.

Yael. "Peer Pressure and Depression in Teenagers." Sage Day, 19 Dec. 2015, www.sageday.com/blog/peer-pressure-and-depression-in-teenagers. Accessed 15 Oct. 2019.