Mental health is a prevalent and important issue in teenagers and adults alike. Often times these problems are swept under the rug, labeled as insignificant, or ignored completely. This is unfortunate considering twenty percent of our population will experience mental health issues at some point in their lives, and an even greater number will have a loved one affected by it.
There are many different ways the government and psychiatrists can deal with this. One of the biggest ways is for the government to spend more money from the healthcare budget on mental health research. Learning more about these disorders will inevitably help with the eradication and reduction of them; more campaigns to promote awareness and remove the dogmatic qualities that these issues bring forth would also be invaluable.
Psychiatrists often prescribe medication to people with mental illnesses which are often addictive. The medication can be useful, but prescribing them to teenagers and even adults can cause so many other problems like drug addiction which can make things much worse than necessary. Medication should be a last resort as natural healing is often the best course of action, if not the easiest.
Most people believe that teenagers can’t have mental issues. They’re “too young” or “too naïve” to have any dark clouds sitting on their shoulders. This is not the case. Teenagers are just as susceptible to mental health issues as adults, and most of the time they don’t get the help they need because of these thoughts. In order to rectify this problem, schools should boost awareness by participating in more campaigns focusing exclusively on this issue.
Nobody’s life is perfect, so why should people judge those who are struggling through rough times? There is a lot that the government and schools can do for teenagers and adults alike but the real change that must take place is an individual transformation. A higher awareness and less reliance on addictive, synthetic materials are amazing ways to help lower the number of people suffering from these disorders, but opening our minds and hearts to those who need support is quite possibly the most helpful thing we can do.
