Mental health is a growing issue that over the last decade has been significantly more brought to light than ever before. However, being aware of the toll these issues have on every individual student across the world is much different than actively making changes and meeting the needs of all students across the board. Making a change takes time to be educated on the facts.
Reading these tactics should be very alarming. Knowing the people around us daily may be struggling on such an extreme level should make us all take the time to reflect. Reflect on the way we treat each other, reflect on the resources around us, and reflect on what we can do as a school to create change.
Instead of fact-dumping, it is important to ask some of the people around us, in our own SRA community, how their mental health is impacted by the school environment and how we as a whole can create change.
Change starts with self-reflection and it takes us all to take the time to sit down and reflect on how we treat the people around us, and how we interact with each other. It takes such a small amount of time and energy to be kind. To do small things in our everyday lives and to build an environment built on positivity rather than hate.
Change is being aware of the words that come out of our mouths. Going around school every day, whether it be in the classroom or simply walking down the halls, there are things discussed and talked about in such a glorifying and unsensitized way on topics often taken lightly that students don’t take the time to realize are far too real subjects to the people around us. Subjects that the people around us struggle with daily, subjects such as substance abuse, eating disorders, mental health disorders, forms of abuse, and so much more.
Jokes revolving around these topics can be extremely detrimental and triggering to the people around us whether we realize it or not. It takes a small amount of maturity, that all high school students should be able to amount to, to realize everything we say is impactful. As young people, and for some of us, young adults, we have the opportunity to make a positive impact on each other rather than a negative one.
Everyone in our school community should be able to feel safe and comfortable around each other. School should be enjoyable and revolve around learning, creating meaningful connections and memories that we can all enjoy for the rest of our lives,
These topics need to be discussed and change needs to be made. I implore you to take the time to reflect on the world around you, and the needs of others. Growing as a school and as individuals takes time but now is the time to take active steps toward creating the best school environment possible.
