I wanted to take time in today’s blog post to cover something a little less whimsical, and more serious. Regarding recent events, and as we move into November, I think I’d like to talk about something that’s super important to me: mental health. I know this topic may seem a little too personal or too out there for an English class blog post, but I think it’s vital that we break the stigma around mental health, and more specifically, mens’ mental health. November is national men’s mental health month, so I thought that it would be a perfect time to break out this prompt. If you were assigned my comments this week, I’m sorry that this may be a little heavier than other prompts, but I still think that it is important.
Mental health is defined by one’s emotional, psychological, and social well being, but if you were to compact that definition into a more descriptive one, I’d be content to say that mental health is the strength of your mental fortitude, how you combat stress and annoyances, and how you overcome negative emotions like grief or sadness. I think that even if somebody has never had serious issues with their mental health, they can relate to a time in their lives when they felt helpless, like nothing they did mattered, even if it was for just a second.
I’ll admit that I’ve had my own struggles with mental health in my life, and if I were to describe what if feels like, I’d say that if feels as if you’re at the bottom of a hole that you can’t climb out of, and you see thousands of people with rope to pull you out, but you’re so deep in the chasm that they can’t hear you. When I was at my lowest, I was self conscious about my appearance, my ideas, my hobbies, and most of all, I was terrified of failure and disappointing the people around me. Those feelings were enhanced by the stresses of schoolwork, extracurriculars, and a poor sleep schedule. I, like many other American teens today, felt stuck, and were incapable of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I spent every day going through the motions, and did my best to keep a smile on my face to seem okay, when in reality, I was struggling to find a good reason to not stay in bed all day. I recently saw a video that resonated with me, so I’ll share it here.
It’s vital, especially after recent events here at NNHS, that you check up on your friends. I know you’ve seen it all over Instagram and Snapchat, but it’s true. People around you could be suffering silently but be the most chipper of all your friends. Unfortunately, men are especially bad at talking about their feelings, as part of some ancient outdated notion that men should be powerful and commanding at all times. Men find it difficult to reach out with their mental issues because often they feel like their problems don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. I know that personally, I’ve felt depressed, and instead of reaching out for help, I would shame myself for feeling bad for myself because I could think of so many other people who had it worse than me.
This idea is super common in people struggling with mental health, and specifically in men. Our generation needs to set the precedent that all people deserve to feel whatever emotions they are feeling, and have a support system to talk about their problems. If we keep all of our problems to ourselves, and bottle them up, we’re just asking for the pressure to build, and at some point down the line, for the bottle to burst.
The best way to cope is to release the pressure on a regular basis, never fully emptying it, but always coming close. If you release the pressure in the bottle on a regular basis, you’ll find you won’t be stressed, and you’ll feel more in control of your life. That idea of regularly venting the pressure, my friends, is called THERAPY (dun dun dun). So many people hear that word and get scared, worried that they’ll be characterized as the “therapy” kid. On the contrary, I think that every single highschool student should see a therapist at least once a month, even if they feel completely secure in their mental health. These people literally get paid to listen to you yap, regardless of if you’re relaying what’s causing you stress in your life or if you’re arguing that there are more doors than wheels in the world. The beauty of these sessions, from my personal experience, is that you never feel cornered. Sometimes, you feel like nobody will listen to what you have to say, but in a therapy session, you can’t vent what you’re feeling, and get an outside perspective on what you can do moving forward.
If every student were to engage in therapy, not only would it help the mental health of so many struggling kids, but it would all but shatter the stigma around mental health. We don’t live in the 1950’s anymore; people are allowed to not be okay. The best thing we can do now is to guarantee that every person, whether they want to or not, can be heard in their problems and have a support system. Sorry this post was more serious, but it was important to me. See you next time.
Gabe, I thought this was an incredibly insightful and prevalent blog post. I feel like mental health is such an important issue that can never be advocated for enoough, and we must strive to do everything we can to make a positive impact on our community and those around us in regards to this topic whenever possible. I loved the point you made about coping by “releasing the pressure”; that was a different way to look at mental health struggles in a way that I’ve never really thought of before. As you went on to talk about venting, I really emphatized with that tactic. I personally love venting, whether it be to a friend, family member, my dog, or even myself. I find it so relaxing and freeing, as you are able to get nearly every ounce of doubt and worry off of your mind. It’s so important to talk about mental health, and I love that you used you blog as a catalyst to do so!
Gabe, I appreciate how you address this issue. Mental health is often overlooked, and for most people, effective therapy is difficult to find. Overtime, pressure can deteriorate your mental fortitude to the point where one small push can override one’s rationality to where they think of taking their own lives. I’m glad that you were vulnerable and showed what many of us are experiencing but scared to express. I agree that therapy is the best way to relieve some of this pressure and improve someone’s mental health. I was once stuck in depression Sophomore year, but I was able to dig myself out with the help from my friends and family. I encourage everyone who’s experiencing emotional distraught to find therapists in those around you, and seek help if you need it. Thank you again for addressing this issue, Gabe.