Mental Health Recognition at GV: ‘Safe spaces and people who care’ on campus remind students they are ‘never alone’
GROWL Center offers a warm welcome
Mental health recognition is an important focus in the Golden Valley community– knowing teens need it now more than ever.
According to The Mental Health Associations, 20% of adults experience a mental illness, 50% of adolescents have had a mental health disorder, whether it was diagnosed or not. Not only that but every one in three high schoolers experienced persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness. According to the CDC, more than a third of high school students (37%) reported poor mental health and 44% said they felt persistently hopeless and sad during the past year.
This past Monday was World Mental Health Day, which not many people knew about. October is also ADHD, Depression, and Mental Health screening month.
While it is a topic that nobody really talks about, it is very important to bring awareness to these days and months that are designated for mental health disorders. It is honestly crazy how many days a year are to bring awareness to mental health for everyone in a way.
Mrs. Navia, the wellness counselor, gave great insight on how she feels about these specific wellness days throughout the year. She said, “Yes, just because I still feel like there’s still a stigma on mental health, and people are like “it’s not cool” or” it’s not okay”, and people will look down on you”.
As a high school student , it is most important to bring awareness to all of these days. Not only because it is important, but also because most students and people in general have or will go through it. It is definitely scary going through anything alone. Everyone on campus wants to make sure our students know that they are not alone.
One amazing thing about emailing your counselors at GV is that at the bottom of their emails they have a handful of resources for mental health. They are there, calling to you so you can reach out and get help when needed. Like the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Crisis Text line, and the Trevor Text line. Not only that but we also have the Student Careline, and the Wellness Warmline, or to talk to our peer counselors.
The real question is: why don’t we ask for help?
According to Mental Health America, It’s scary to share anything, let alone something that feels so personal, which is all very true. As humans, most of us like talking but when it comes to personal things, we freak out and don’t tell anyone.
Mrs. Navia wanted to remind students that, “There are safe spaces on campus and there are people that care. You are never alone”. If you or someone close you know is dealing with mental health problems, reach out and do not be afraid to ask for help. It is totally okay for you to need support even if it is something that may seem small.
Haylie Celeste Adame is a Managing Editor for Community News, and is a junior here at Golden Valley. Though she doesn't have much experience with campus involvement, she continues to spread positivity while in GV. She is passionate about writing stories on Community News Team because of the huge potential and range of stories that can be written. Also, she is very passionate about learning the reason behind things rather than the topic itself, and finds it very interesting.
To her, being a student journalist is having fun, giving information on serious or interesting topics, and being able to be flexible while being collaborative. This really matters not only because it is a good skill to have but also because it’s something new to be in and experience. She loves baking, her family, and school (sometimes). She has the best boyfriend in the world who she is so crazy about. She is going to be having a little brother in about two months.