A Teenager's View On Mental Health​​ ​

The content on this page is written by members of the Senior Council, an external advisory board to the Humana Foundation composed of leaders from the communities we serve. These articles are shared for their relevance to our mission but are not authored by the Humana Foundation.​​ ​

Youth mental health is an important topic to raise awareness of as depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts have risen within recent years (CDC, 2024). This story maintains a focus on the emotional health of highschoolers and how they may receive help by telling the story of a student named Hannah. Hannah’s story not only reflects thoughts that many students within the world face but also reveals more insight into what a teenager may believe is beneficial to support all students struggling emotionally within schools.​​ ​

Hannah is a junior in an all-girls high school in Kentucky. Her whole life she has struggled with anxiety, especially surrounding health. During her childhood years, she was terrified of throwing up, and as she grew older, it didn’t go away. When she became a sophomore in high school and her stomach was often bothering her, she began to convince herself that something was wrong. She believed that she would possibly need to undergo surgery or that she would pass away from whatever illness she had, but her parents attempted to reassure her. Despite this reassurance, she had such a grave fear that she insisted ongoing to the doctor for a consultation. However, the doctor stated that nothing was wrong with her physical health and instead referred her to meet with a therapist. It turned out that the stomach pain was caused by her anxiety, which was a problem that occurred when she was in first grade as well.​​ ​

When she told her friends this story, they were all very empathetic. She recognized that there was a safe atmosphere between her friends and her where they could tell each other their troubles without judgement. Oftentimes, she feels as though talking about mental health can be hard to describe because feelings are very volatile and it is difficult to tell whether you are simply sad or depressed. At school, it is hard for her to talk to teachers about her emotional wellbeing because of personal roadblocks. She feels embarrassed talking about such somber topics; however, she believes that teachers at her school are open and inviting, working to ensure students feel welcome wherever they may be and feel comfortable with whomever they are with. Regarding students, she only feels comfortable communicating with her friends, who, in fact, are the people she talks about her issues the most with.​​ ​ 

To help with her anxiety, she began sorting out what had made her nervous or anxious into different categories within her head. The two categories she used were situations she could control, and situations she could not. This is a great coping mechanism that everyone, especially those dealing with anxiety, can use to help calm themselves. Using coping behaviors, such as spending time outdoors or a mechanism similar to Hannah’s, have been found to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms and can be beneficial to those struggling (Fortea et al., 2024).​​ ​

Hannah feels as if most of her anxiety stems from personal reasons while others stem from school. Although it is not her school's fault, she seems to make comparisons with other people because of the constant messages and expectations that you must be going above and beyond in every subject area, forcing her to have incessant thoughts roaming her mind, telling her that she is not doing enough all the time, which is a feeling that many students encounter throughout their high school journey.​​ ​

Conversely, she feels as though her school has done their best to help with these problems. Teachers are available to talk to, and every student has access to a counselor at all times.​​ ​ 

At her school, there is even a room in the counseling wing called the "Mindfulness Room” where students can go when they feel stressed or need a mental break. Along with this, there is also a grief group that is offered by the school counseling aimed for students to gain support and guidance following the loss of a loved one. Much like Gilda’s Club’s aims, the grief group allows for a support group to share individual stories and talk to others who are struggling as well. In 2023, 40% of students were found to have “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” and 20% of students had “seriously considered attempted suicide” while 9% attempted suicide (CDC,2024). Having support groups like the grief group and Gilda’s club not only helps those wrestling mental health issues but also paves a way for a rise in awareness of these issues.​​ ​

Hannah expressed that it is important to raise awareness for mental health because you never know what somebody is going through. When you raise more awareness around this topic, people will feel more comfortable to come forth and talk about their struggles. She claims that working together can help heal people from the troubles they are dealing with. She also states that schools will be a very valuable place to raise awareness for mental health because of the bonds built between a student and their friends, teachers, and faculty members. These bonds help a student fighting mental health to have somebody to talk to in times of hardship.​​ ​

If struggling and in need of dire help, students, and anyone throughout the world, can call or text 988, The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Never be afraid to reach out to someone.​​ ​