Bulach 1

Michelle Bulach

Professor Hunter

English 1201

23 March 2021

Society Against Mental Health

Many people of all ages, particularly adolescents, suffer from mental illness at

some point in their lives. I have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. This has

affected my relationships, school work, and future, along with many other parts of my

life. Society affects everyone differently, but due to the extreme tasks that people face in

their everyday lives, teenagers are often depressed, nervous, or facing some other

mental challenge. Many of these mental illnesses go unnoticed to others that aren’t

affected by this. People are constantly affected by a wide range of mental disorders,

some of which are more common than others. The way society approaches and

responds to topics like social media, COVID-19, adolescent sexual activity, and the

atmosphere in our schools is among the main issues that affect teens' mental health

problems. While there are many causes for mental illness, these influences listed above

should receive the most attention.

Affecting both physical and mental health, mental disorders are a common

occurrence in teenagers. The most common mental illnesses seen in teenagers are

depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and eating disorders.

Depression is typically a treatable condition. Teens that have been diagnosed with this

illness consider the symptoms to severely impact their social or academic life (Amy

Morin). This is treatable by medicine, counseling, or other coping skills.

There are two types of anxiety: social and general. Teens can also find coping

skills for their anxiety by going to therapy or taking medication to help them overcome

their fears (Amy Morin). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is usually diagnosed as

early as the age of four, although it can manifest itself at any point in a person's life.

People with this mental condition have trouble keeping still and concentrating, causing

them to often struggle in school. Medication therapy is sometimes used to treat ADHD

(Amy Morin). Anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorders represent just a few

examples of eating disorders. People with this diagnosis are negatively affected both

physically and mentally. Eating disorders generally require both clinical evaluation and

treatment (Amy Morin).

Social media is a common factor as to why these disorders develop. Social

networking has been considered as a technical breakthrough in the field of

communication (Matthew Jones). Several popular social media platforms have come

about in popularity and slowly, sometimes drastically, became less popular.

Six-Degrees, Friendster, and MySpace are three basic examples of sites that have gone

through this routine. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat have gradually

replaced these networks (Matthew Jones).

There is a lot of social media use by today's teenagers and adults. This can

exacerbate negative mental health symptoms such as depression and low self-esteem.

Eating disorders are primarily caused by poor self-esteem. People, especially women,

make judgments regarding themselves based on what they've seen on social media.

Negative aspects of social media, such as indirect bullying and abuse, are common. It is
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recommended to limit yourself or your child to one hour of social media a day, or none

at all (Ghaemi).

Self-esteem issues brought about by social media can lead to more serious

mental health problems. Many people form a negative view of themselves based on

personality or physical characteristics. Self-esteem concerns can also be caused by

being in an abusive relationship of any kind. When people are victimized, they often

blame themselves and feel that they are worthy of their treatment (Anne Gold).

Self-esteem problems have the potential to lead to substance abuse. This is extremely

likely if the use of different substances were found in their childhood environment.

Sexual behavior can have yet another negative effect on a teen's mental health.

Adults frequently believe that teenagers engage in sexual activity, even though this is

not always the case. According to this belief, peer pressure is a common factor in these

people's actions. When people are subjected to sexual harassment or agree to it and

then regret the sexual act, it can be emotionally challenging. Teens and adults

sometimes end up regretting their adolescent sexual behavior.

After being sexually assaulted, victims may find it extremely difficult to embrace a

healthy relationship and may have flashbacks from their assault. They may feel guilty

and blame themselves for what happened to them (Adult Survivors of Child Sexual

Abuse). According to statistics, females that are sexually active are three times more

likely to be depressed than sexually inactive females, and males are two times more

likely. This type of behavior is emotionally and psychologically draining and causes

physical distress (Rector).

Our society today makes teens feel as if they need to participate in sexual

activity. However, the fact that it is considered to be a common thing, makes other teens

feel pressure to participate in these certain activities. Meg Marker, a doctor in

adolescent medicine, stated that emotional turmoil and distress are effects of sexual

activity. This means that if you have performed a sexual activity, it often leads you to be

confused and stressed.

More times than not teens regret their initial sexual activity. People of all ages

have the possibility of being sexually assaulted which is very harmful to one's mental

health. At the moment that someone is being sexually assaulted, their nervous system

kicks in and reacts with either a fight, flight, or freeze response. This causes an

overwhelming feeling and causes the person to remain on edge.

After this occurrence, people can suffer from illnesses such as depression,

anxiety, or even post-traumatic stress disorder. According to recent surveys, one of

every six women in the United States have reported being sexually assaulted (Victims

of Sexual Violence: Statistics).

Teens' mental health was on an ultimate low this past year due to COVID-19.

COVID-19 is a disease that has spread all around the world. This disease caused the

United States, and multiple other countries, to go into quarantine towards the beginning

of 2020. Our president, Donald Trump, announced this as a national emergency.

Schools were shut down and forced to do online schoolwork, businesses were closed

unless considered essential, and many people were scared of what this disease might

bring. Businesses that had to stay closed and people that had been unable to work from
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home were having no type of income, therefore President Trump created a pandemic

aid plan to help those who needed it.

Since it was a newly discovered illness that was spreading faster than we could

find information on it, we were unaware of what could happen. Borders were shut down

and the United States took the lead in the number of active COVID-19 cases (Erin

Schumaker). Recently, people began getting the COVID vaccine. It is slowly becoming

available to the public. Hopefully, this will help to let things open back up and people

can begin to live their normal lives again to reduce mental illnesses.

Ekau Hagan wrote, “Fear of getting sick, the loneliness that accompanies

quarantine, and a fragile economy combine to create complicated challenges to mental

well-being” (Ekau Hagan). This quote is a good summary of what has been going

through people's minds this past year. This disease has caused an incline in the number

of teens with depression, anxiety, and other mental health illnesses (Ekau Hagan).

While being in quarantine, many people turned to social media to either stay

informed about the disease or to distract themselves from being stuck at home, which

as previously discussed is not a good option. Teens had to do all their school work

online which made it overwhelming and stressful and parents had to work from home

while helping their kids keep up with their schooling. Insomnia, which is a mental health

condition when it's hard to fall or stay asleep, was also a rising illness during this time.

All of the stress had the most impact on the increase of insomnia. The symptoms of

those diagnosed with COVID-19 also caused sleep problems because of the discomfort

it caused. COVID-19 was definitely a difficult test on many people's mental health.
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School is an environment that all teenagers have to experience, even with the

negative effects it has on their mental health. Different aspects such as homework,

testing, and social integration have the greatest impact on mental health (Marko Fowl).

This can lead to things like anxiety, depression, fatigue, and even panic attacks. The

pressures of taking and getting the results of a test that could affect someone's grade or

future career make teens' anxiety rise. Homework causes high stress levels due to

students feeling the need to get homework done and turned in on time while doing good

on the assignment (Marko Fowl).

When teachers assign homework, it often piles up and makes it hard for students

to have lives outside of school. Many students may need to work to provide for their

families or be active in sports, preventing them from getting the rest that they need.

Both homework and testing can often cause panic attacks. Multiple other things could

trigger these panic attacks. People react to situations in different ways causing this

panic disorder to be hard to pinpoint the cause of each attack.

Social integration in schools can lead to bullying. Bullying, when face to face, can

make students feel unsafe at school which should be considered a safe environment

(Makro Fowl). A lot of the time, if someone is bullied, they find themselves debating

whether to tell a teacher. Students often feel too intimidated to stand up to their bullies

or to go to an adult about their situation (Marko Fowl). Bullying can extend to mental

health issues including depression, anxiety, or low self-esteem. What many people don’t

realize is that those taking part in the bullying of another also face mental health issues.

These students often face some type of substance abuse and tend to show delinquent
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behavior (Brennan Davis). Bullying has a negative effect on both the victim and the

oppressor.

Social interaction with others is also very important. If a student doesn’t

participate in activities with other students, they are more likely to experience social

anxiety. When people grow up and are not pushed to be involved with other children

their age it causes them to stress when they are forced to socialize with others. Social

anxiety is a hard topic to deal with because it is usually treated with talking therapy but

that is a difficult idea for people with this illness to pursue.

With the increase of mental illnesses among teens, the rate of attempted and

completed suicide has risen. Multiple statistics prove that the percentage of teens that

attempt suicide is higher than adults, and the females' percentage is higher than males

(Nassir Ghaemi). States suicide rates were constantly rising around the time of the

national quarantine due to COVID-19. According to recent studies, approximately 90%

of those who committed suicide had been diagnosed with a mental health illness, and it

is 3.5 times more common for a man to commit suicide than a woman (Hermina Drah).

Suicide is a hard topic to discuss, but it is an idea that people have to confront.

Society needs to focus on mental health issues to help decrease the number of people

with these harmful thoughts of suicide. There are many different hotlines and people

that you can reach out to if someone needs help. People, such as mental health

therapists are trained to help in these specific situations. This is something that isn’t put

out there enough and if it was, it may help decrease the rate of suicide.

Many people might disagree that these are not the biggest factors that affect

teens' mental health. They may believe that substance abuse is a bigger issue that
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influences mental illness. Teens when suffering from a mental illness often turn to some

type of substance abuse hoping it will help, when in reality it makes it worse. They begin

to use the different substances as a form of medication (Mental Health and Substance

Use Disorders). Substance abuse has many different side effects. Therefore, this may

cause people to show negative behavioral changes, physical changes, and social

changes.

Behavioral changes may be difficult to notice compared to the other changes that

could occur. These changes may consist of trouble sleeping, mood swings, change in

appetite, or even an unexplained drop in a student's grades. Physical changes are

easier to notice. These changes could consist of weight loss or gain, tremors, slurred

speech, or lack of personal hygiene. Social changes may include an irritable attitude,

adrift from friends and family, or even a loss of interest in their involvements.

Even though social media, COVID-19, school, and sexual activity are the main

causes of mental health issues among adolescents, people might argue that things

such as substance abuse or genetics are larger factors. Substance abuse has negative

effects on relationships. People may infiltrate into a new friend group for no known

reason. They tend to fall into the wrong crowd that may act as a bad influence. A lot of

the time, these people will have a constant need for money without an explanation,

usually to feed their addiction to substance abuse. This could also lead to negative

effects within their relationship especially with a significant other (Mental Health and

Substance Use Disorders). Stubstance abuse and mental health combine to make a

harmful relationship.
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Clinical psychologists often ask patients if the mental illness runs in their family.

This is a possible factor in one's mental health issues, but it is more likely to be

diagnosed for some other reason rather than genetics.

About twenty to forty percent of people that have been diagnosed with anxiety,

PTSD, or depression have been due to genetics (Emily Deans). Although this seems to

be a large percentage of those who have been diagnosed, it is not enough to be

considered one of the main influences on someone's mental health even though some

people may disagree. Scientists continue to research in order to figure out a way to

decrease the chances of mental illness being passed through parents' genes. The main

goal of their research is to be able to predict or even prevent these mental illnesses.

Social media, the spread and uncertainty of COVID-19, stress from school, and

teens' sexual activity have all had a heavy impact on everyone's mental health. The

majority of teens experience a mental illness at some point in their adolescent and

young adult years. There are many kinds of mental illnesses and everyone has a

different reason for why they go through it. If someone is diagnosed with a short-term,

or what might be considered a minor illness, it should still be taken just as seriously as

an intense mental illness would be treated.

Society has made the struggle harder for teens to avoid getting a mental health

issue. People with a mental diagnosis often feel alone during the time they go through

these issues, but that is not the case. There are so many people that can help

understand what others are going through and provide them with hope. When our

society starts to prioritize each other and their own mental health, teens will stop

becoming just another statistic.

Parents' ignorance combined with teen adolescence, school environments,

hormones and events such as COVID-19 all make life tougher on teens. Things should

be monitored closer on social media to stop spreading so much negativity and sexual

activity needs to be thought through and consensual before participating in it. Parents

should try to be more understanding and notice how their school affects them. These

are all little things we can do in order to help the rate of mental health illnesses

decrease, not only for teens but for people of all ages.
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