Mental health affects teachers and students

By Karennalyz S.P.

Airport High School teacher Ms. Piersten (pseudonym) and her students' daily lives are being put to the test by mental health. This ongoing situation tends to take a hold on teachers and students' work ethics and mindsets .

Mental health is a very misunderstood and confusing subject mostly due to the reason that people who find themself on the cross-roads of mental disorders tend to close off due to how traumatic the event was, or sometimes the person isn’t comfortable enough in doing so. This tends to make it more difficult for teachers and students at Airport High School to find common ground on understanding and helping each other.

For some reason teenagers, or in other words students', mental health is always taken into very little consideration. In fact mental health often is viewed as an adult issue, but in fact, almost half of adolescents in the United States are affected by mental disorders. This leads to students struggling in a school environment making it difficult for them to learn and communicate with an adult within a school environment.

Mental disorders can pose a huge problem for students in terms of academic and social success in and out of a school environment which is why teachers take it into consideration to educate themselves on a students background and any current mental illnesses.

Mental health is a very delicate and difficult topic that leaves many wondering and asking themselves questions beyond understandment, so much that Ms. Pierstin said, ‘’Mental health is like an unsolvable puzzle with parts continuously being added to it’’. It's an unsolvable problem that leads to many outcomes and may misleading facts and truths about mental illnesses.

Ms. Piersten also stated, ‘’Our emotional state is constantly impacting our lives so much that we are not functioning’’. This lends many teachers and students to find it funny how the brain and body are so connected, to the point that mental health affects a person's actions and interests.

Mental health is a very hidden and misunderstood subject so much that even Carnel, a student that attends airport high school states, ‘’Technology and social media have negatively impacted’’ our way of seeing and understanding mental illnesses. Social media tends to give so much false information that it has literally impacted students' minds into thinking that shutting people out and not seeking help is the correct way to cope and deal with their mental illnesses.

This current generation comes with a lot of difficulties not only for teen students but for teachers as well. Our economy is constantly in a state of flux that in any given moment it can all crash down like nothing. This affects students and teachers' daily lives due to the fact that not all teenagers are generating a stable income to sustain themselves when prices are constantly changing in the school environment. It's all connected, everything affects everything.

In our current generation, teachers and students are trying to find better ways to communicate and help each other better understand the wide spectrum that is known as Mental health.

If ever struggling with ur mental health don't be scared to reach out for help.

You can find this information on the of the AHS id:

National Suicde Prevention Lifeline: 988

Crisis Text Line: Text HOPE4SC to 741741