With May being Mental health awareness month, it’s important to pay attention to people’s mental health. There is oftentimes a lot of stigma associated with the idea of mental health, making it hard for those suffering with mental disabilities to come forward and seek any help they might need. “People sometimes joke or minimize it, or think it’s not real.” Senior Noah Carrera explained.

Media helps portray the idea that mental illnesses are a negative thing by throwing around words such as “psycho” and “crazy.” Part of the stigma around mental health comes from the idea that people with mental disabilities are perceived as violent. In cases such as Columbine, the shooter was claimed to have a mental illness which was supposedly the reason behind their actions. However, only 3-5% of overall violence is caused by people with mental illnesses, and people with mental disorders are more likely to be the victim rather than the perpetrator.

School also has a huge impact on student’s mental abilities, hindering their energy level, concentration, dependability, mental ability, and optimism. “[Teachers] expect you to be able to do all this homework, but they assign three to four hours of homework sometimes, and it’s crazy.” Senior Lexi Eason explained. The number of high school students who have seriously considered suicide has increased 25% since 2009. We need to change the stigma surrounding mental health.