Mental health has grown to have more importance in the United States in recent years. Every day, people are recognizing the need for appropriate mental care and the importance of taking care of one’s mental state above everything else. However, one place that does not allow for appropriate care or modification is in public high schools, in Texas in particular. A physical illness is cause for modifications to one’s day to day activities in school, but for some reason, mental illness is not. Severe anxiety and depression, as well as other mental illnesses can have drastic effects on someone’s ability to do certain things. The state of Texas lacks the policies and procedures to ensure the recognition of mental illness in high school students,
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In Clinical Psychiatry News, Whitney McKnight states that in a nationwide survey, only a quarter of people “in the throes of a mental disease felt that they were treated compassionately” (1). This is especially the case in teens, as most often they are told their mental illnesses are merely a result of their hormones or that they are lazy. However, the truth is laid out in Scientific American by Jay Giedd, who says that because of the teen brains exceptional adaptability, they are very vulnerable to mental illnesses (1). Because of the uneven maturation of the pre-frontal cortex, which houses impulse control and networks in the limbic system which controls emotions, teens encounter “mismatch years” in which they are susceptible to mental illnesses (Giedd 1). In order to help the students who are struggling in school as a result of a mental illness, it must be made known that mental illnesses are very real. They are not simply something that a teen encounters because of hormones or laziness but because of their very unique …show more content…
Anxiety disorder causes unusual nervousness, shyness and fear and can cause one to avoid places or activities (Anxiety and Depression Association of America). Depression can cause lack of enthusiasm, problems with authority and hopelessness, as well as coming in other forms such as bipolar disorder (Mental Health America). Because both of these disorders can cause students to withdrawal from activities or perform poorly in school, it is most likely that these two disorders will be the first to be recognized appropriately within school
In Clinical Psychiatry News, Whitney McKnight states that in a nationwide survey, only a quarter of people “in the throes of a mental disease felt that they were treated compassionately” (1). This is especially the case in teens, as most often they are told their mental illnesses are merely a result of their hormones or that they are lazy. However, the truth is laid out in Scientific American by Jay Giedd, who says that because of the teen brains exceptional adaptability, they are very vulnerable to mental illnesses (1). Because of the uneven maturation of the pre-frontal cortex, which houses impulse control and networks in the limbic system which controls emotions, teens encounter “mismatch years” in which they are susceptible to mental illnesses (Giedd 1). In order to help the students who are struggling in school as a result of a mental illness, it must be made known that mental illnesses are very real. They are not simply something that a teen encounters because of hormones or laziness but because of their very unique …show more content…
Anxiety disorder causes unusual nervousness, shyness and fear and can cause one to avoid places or activities (Anxiety and Depression Association of America). Depression can cause lack of enthusiasm, problems with authority and hopelessness, as well as coming in other forms such as bipolar disorder (Mental Health America). Because both of these disorders can cause students to withdrawal from activities or perform poorly in school, it is most likely that these two disorders will be the first to be recognized appropriately within school