Mental Health Student Survey Responses
The 2017-2018 school yearbook covers a story about mental health on the CAHS campus. This yearbook story included statistics gathered from an anonymous survey offered to CAHS students.
The end of the story told students they could visit the Crimson if they wished to see some of the student free responses to the survey. The following student responses may not be error-free or consistent in style. They do not represent the opinion of the Journalism staff.
Student Responses
“apathy among teenagers when it comes to standing up for their “friends” and lack of greater motivation in life besides having friends/swag”
“Look out for each other”
“Encourage students to ask for help, and assure them that it is okay (and not shameful or weak) to do so.”
“We need to be KIND! Everyone needs to realize that this issue is real and much larger than many people think. Love, forgivness, and kindess is very important. It is everybodys job to include and love it is not an option.”
“The internet has done a LOT to both contribute to and combat the growing issue of mental health in this generation”
“Talk about it in school, make it more known and have students learn about it more so people take it more seriously. Advertise that help is here more often, and MAKE SURE that there is someone to help you at all times.”
“I think that students need to feel like they are wanted in life. So many people judge each other instead of reaching out to help. So many lives could be saved if students created an atmosphere where no one would feel alone or hated. Why can’t we break out of this judgemental shell and give people the love that we would want to receive if we were in a bad place?”
“This isn’t a cure-all, but I feel people need to be more observant of others and reach out to them if they notice someone looking overwhelmed or withdrawn. There have been many, many times where I haven’t felt like I could get help because I felt nobody cared — nobody reached out. So yeah, just be kind, observant, and willing to be supportive of others, even if the people who are struggling aren’t ‘normally’ the ‘type’ of people who suffer from these issues.”
“My sister deals with mental health issues so I’ve seen it up front and personal. I think the one thing people need to know and hear is that it’s okay if you have issues, if you need the help, never and I mean NEVER be ashamed of needing support. You’re not alone and never will be, so put out a hand and someone will grab hold and help you out.”
“I think that mental health is incredibly undermined in our society today and many people aren’t aware of the growing seriousness of the issue escpecially for young kids and high schoolers. Throughout high school today I have seen people constantly joke and make light comments about being depressed, wanting to die, or telling one another to kill themselves. These comments should be warning to signs to anyone with common sense in that the easiest way to cope with depression or anxiety is to “act cool” or make jokes about it. I am seeing this more and more as I progress through high school and I 100% believe in the increase of awareness of mental health.”
“I think students are so worried about how other see them so they are stressed on how to look or act and that can lead to bullying and depression”
“There is a lot of pressure on this generation to do better and succeed and a lot of people strive for that without any clear idea of where they really want to go and do. I also believe that social media and music play a huge part in many peoples mental health. And honestly some people do just have mental health problems, but the way society has addressed it or the way it is viewed can often make the individual feel as if they are supposed to suffer through it alone. As a student body we should strive for a positive environment and encourage anyone who may seem like they are having a hard time, no matter how small the issue. If you see someone who you may be struggling from any mental health issues I think it is important to help them in any way possible, whether its getting them help, or just being a light of encouragement and happiness for them when they see you.(I didn’t double check any of this so sorry if there is a bunch of mistakes, and sorry for the 50 paragraph essay.)”
“There is a considerably larger emphasis on doing well in high school = doing well in life. Phones and computers make us feel lonely.”
“I believe our constant knowledge of everyone’s situation through social media causes serious cases of fomo and gives us a feeling that we are not good enough.”
“There is a huge problem with the glorification of self harm and suicide on social media and in TV shows.”
“I think it’s growing because people bully others but nobody does anything about it. It can make people feel weak to seek out help so instead they try putting it to the side but it still affects them. I think the school really does try helping with this but students are just scared to seek out help”
“Everything is fricked up man both biology and society is working against the positive mental state of our current generation. I suppose refining techniques used to care for mental health problems and making them cheaper and more accessible. We also need a surplus of puppies.”
“i think social media is a big contributor to this.”
“No one focuses on it.”
“I personally believe that technology and phones as well as social media contribute to mental health issues involving depression and anxiety also just flat out loneliness. All these mental illnesses can keep the people suffering from speaking up and can also make people more and more antisocial, so I think as a whole we should reach out to people who maybe are a little more quiet than the rest. Social media being a cause of poor mental health is sort of ironic since it’s supposed to bring people together and be “social”. But after a while of communicating through a screen you get uneasy about speaking in person. (Or at least I do ) anyway, that’s just what I think.”
“I feel like there is a lack of a genuine support sysytem for people to reach out to. Many people, including myself, who deal or have dealt with mental health issues feel scared to reach out in fear of rejection or awkwardness. I feel as a student body, we need to create an atmosphere that diminishes taboo’s about mental health, and makes people feel like they can confide in people around them if they need help in any way when dealing with these issues.”
“i don’t think it has grown as much as we perceive it to because we are now more accepting towards it, so more people admit to it. But i do believe the stress received from school and the pressure to go to college has increased the amount of adolescents with anxiety and other mental disorders.”
“I think it all starts with how each individual starts to view these prevelant issues which translates to how the student body as a whole will view these issues. If we view them in a negative light as they are often portrayed that will serve only to heighten the issues and make the cycle continue. We instead need to promote love, acceptance, and the belief that people can and SHOULD be met exactly where they are at.”
“Mental health is a common struggle with teens in this day and age most likely due to all the pressure put on us. There’s pressure to be the most popular, the smartest, the one handling the most rigorous courses, etc. I think it’s important for teens at this age to have an outlet where they can take their minds off of those pressures and just relax. I think functions like barbecues, dances, etc really help to alleviate that pressure and create a harmonious community.”
“No one asks if your ok. You always have to be the one to ask for help why can the counselor ask how you are for once. The school counselor doesn’t even see me anymore”
“I think social media is a big factor in why many teens today are suffering from depression or anxiety or other mental health issues. Social media can send the message that everyone else’s life is amazing and wonderful and it can fail to show the struggles and hardships that everyone goes through on a daily basis. That can make teens feel disconnected from their peers, lonely, and hopeless.”
“Because high school is harder than ever, as are standards, parents, and media imaging.”
“i don’t think so, because in our generation, people have trouble opening up. if we were to make it an open issue that everyone knows about, that can cause labeling, & most of the student body won’t take it seriously.”
“There are many reasons why a person would be mentally ill, and those reasons range from isolation to a lack of worth. I believe it would help greatly if only we would take action instead of just showing compassion. It would help enormously to genuinely connect with our struggling peers.”
“It’s a growing issue because our generation has so much more to worry about. It’s so difficult to get into colleges, it’s almost impossible to get a job without tons of experience, we are on the brink of nuclear war, and the world is dying right before our eyes. Because of all of this, many kids from this generation are complete nihilists because it feels like there is no point in trying to achieve anything because we’ll probably all be dead in 30 years anyway”
“Because we are constantly on social media and things like that, we see a lot of negative things and people are often very mean to each other. This can affect a person’s mental health. I think as a school we are very divided. If we could come together as a student body and all be there for each other as one, then people might not feel so alone.”
“I think that as a student body, we need to become more supportive and more compassionate toward others and realize that everyone struggles. I can’t think of one person I know that doesn’t struggle with mental health. Too often, I see people becoming disillusioned by how “perfect” their peers’ lives seem on social media and at school, and I think that has a lot to do with our school’s culture as a whole. There are a lot of people at this school that look down upon anyone that acts different than they perceive to be normal, which spreads through the school like wildfire. We need to be kind. We need to reach out. And, more than anything, we need to lift each other up. I think something we can do to help combat the problem is normalizing asking people how they are doing and meaning it. I feel obliged to reply that I’m doing well every time I’m asked, but it’s rarely true. I would say that there is a stigma around verbalizing your true mental state—one that shouldn’t exist in the first place. As a student body, we also don’t have reliable access to a counselor. Unless we say something, there is no way to talk. We have to come to her, and even when we do, it’s not uncommon to be waiting for 20, 30, 40 minutes to see her in the middle of a class period. There are a lot of people that need help at our school. And the truth is, we don’t have enough resources to help us during the school day.”
“I believe mental health is attacking our generation through many means including social media, access to world news, and social pressure from peers and parents. Making school feel more safe for people with anxiety, as well as giving them a way out of stressful/loud situations such as group tests, pep rallies, and other situations would help tremendously.”
“Kids are really mean and conservative. Big amount of stigma.”
“Be there for each other. Stop judging people for being different. And just be kind to everyone.”
“Treat mental health just like any other health. If people cared about themselves mentally just as they do physically, ‘our’ generation would be much healthier, and that’s caused by a good (and bad) part of society that condemns unhealthy people. It is important to help unhealthy people, destigmatize discussions about mental health, and to encourage physical and mental exercise.”
“Lately, there has been a rise in the ‘focus on yourself’ mentality used encourage others. By telling someone to invest more deeply in themselves, a selfish mentality builds up and people focus more on THEIR problems and why THEY don’t wanna be somewhere/do something. It is proven that volunteering or going on missions trips (really any methods of serving OTHERS) does WONDERS for mental health.”
“Bullying is a big part of it. Kids judging and teasing each other (even playfully), stereotypes, expectations, family life, etc. School also plays a large role in this as well. Don’t get me wrong, I love school, more than the average student. But it is often incredibly stressful and I and others agree that we’re not even learning as much as we are stressing out about getting excessive work in in every class that often will never help us in the future, or is just over-looking into something just to create a project around it. I believe that we need to be learning more and doing less extensive projects and papers. I also believe that those are important, but not to the extent that we are doing it. I like being pushed hard to do my very best, but not everyone can do their best in this. Thank you for reading this.”
“Make sure that people know how to discern signs of mental illness; maybe do an assembly on it, make sure that it is known that its not something wrong with them and they’re not alone”
“Take mental health seriously. Don’t dismiss someone, or allow someone to dismiss themselves for having feelings of depression or anxiety or anything just because they’re feelings ‘as bad’ (or strong) as your emotions or someone else you knows emotions. Make sure to not use words like “retarded” when describing someone:)”
“Some people feel left out of the things others are doing and don’t want to admit it. They like their privacy but if someone came up to them with a smile it would brighten their day.”
“encourage students to treat others how they themselves want to be treated. sometimes all it takes is smile to make someone’s day.”
“The media, movies, and social media are releasing content that is extremely depressing, violent, and hopeless. A steady diet of this constant darkness can warp any mind. We should be filling our minds with things that make us feel good and empowered with a strong, bright future.”
How should we resolve mental health issues?
“Care, make an effort to care. Don’t bring a reason to break us down more.”
“It’s a growing issue because the avenues for mental stimulation have increased exponentially over the past 30 years. You no longer just have your school work as a teenager, you have thousands of apps that can take thousands of hours of your time. You have social media that can eat away at your insecurities, and above all of that we are still expected to perform as responsible, mature, young adults. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it had to be understood that in order to be mentally healthy you have to look at the problem from every perspective. Because nothing regarding mental health is cut and dry.”
“We need to be more open about our mental health. It’s always considered as something that shouldn’t be talked about, but more often than not there’s someone within a 5 feet radius of you who is suffering. People don’t choose to be depressed. People don’t choose to be bipolar. Mental illnesses aren’t a “you” problem, they’re an “us” problem.”
“I think social media is a big deal. Whether through cyber bullying, or just feeling left out, social media can evoke strong feelings of sadness, uselessness, anger, and even depression in a person. Every time I go on social media and see my friends having fun, and I’m not in the picture, I’m put in a bad mood. I don’t even go on social media very often, so I can only imagine how someone who is constantly on Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter might feel. Another big issue is the social stigma against talking about this kind of thing, and I think the more we talk about mental illness with each other, and start a dialogue, the better off we’ll be.”
“There should be no stigma in coming forward or being emotionally vulnerable, but that seems to be the case. We should, as a generation, be able to support each other.”
“The way people so easily immitate those with mental health is so discouraging. They pretent to be “mental” and peers think it is funny but is seriously offensive to those with mental disorders. We should teach people to stand up for mentally disabled people at school and I would recommend joining Caiman buddies, a club I am a part of at school to give people with mental health disorders to have a friend at school to eat lunch with, talk to, play games with or just turn to when they want a friend.”
“As a student body, CAHS should assess and normalize mental health issues in a way that won’t be uncomfortable for students.”
“I feel that as a student body we are trying to balance to many things and we need more down time”
“This generation is so much different from the last so its hard to say for sure what is messing it up, but as students it is important to make people feel like they have a reason to stay in this world”
“I’d say mental health is an issue these days because social media allows people to do their worse anonymously. This allows for so much more cyber bullying.”
“I think stress of school and society expectations are very effective in the world and our generation.”
“asking for help”
“We as a school should be talking about mental health issues rather than keeping silent about them as if they aren’t there. I feel that an assembly would be beneficial to the student body and get word out that there is a problem. Not to mention, people might not even understand what mental illness is, even if they might be battling anxiety or depression. Education. Is. Important.”
“People worry a lot about the future, and we should try to relieve that stress.”
“I think mental health isn’t becoming an issue but it’s just being brought more into light. People need to know and need to be aware that people struggle with issues like this and they need to know that they aren’t alone. As a student body we can bring this into light and be open to talk with anyone who is dealing with this.”
“There’s a lot of pressure in the world to be a certain kind of way. Society places a lot of that pressure on people and then on top of that many kids feel like they need to perform perfectly in school for colleges and all that stuff. There’s not a whole lot student body could do because it’s society, but maybe try and provide resources to students.
A challenge is good every once in a while. Making it to were you’re pushed a little bit past your limits every once in a while helps you to grow as a person. But when you’re constantly pushed way over your limits. Consistently being overwhelmed by work and equation and notes and people. …well, that’s when a challenge turns into something unhealthy for anyone to do. When we have kids coming home crying because they are to overwhelmed by their work, when we have kids coming home, depressed, and exausted by their School work, when these same kids have to resort to cheating just to pass there classes, then the small challenge thay school is suposed to bring, has to greatly overcrossed the boundaries that our friends and loved ones shouldn’t have to cross on a daily basis.”
“To help combat this problem, we need to support our peers. I feel like with social media, everyone feels like they have to portray the best version of themselves, when that’s not how we feel all the time. If we support our friends and family, I think mental health issues would decrease significantly.”
“I think it’s a problem with our entire generation, our culture. social media, self image the pressure to get good grades can all be so overwhelming.”
“A lot of it comes from our generations sense of entitlement. Selfishness causes our generation to think they should have more than what they have, social status, or material things. Yes there are many people who suffer from mental health issues, and it is a real problem, but instead of focusing on how they need to make themselves happy, they should focus on trying to make others happy, because in the end, depression is incurable and the thing that often makes people the happiest is helping others and making someone else happy.”
“Social media fosters a window for comparison which may encourage negative feelings about personal identity. In addition, there’s a huge stigma in medium that everyone’s “depressed” which is unfair to those with actual mental health issues and decreases the seriousness of the issues since terms like depression, anxiety, suicide get tossed around so often.”
“The obvious Social Media, but also other more important issues, such as teenage hormonal changes, the stress of High School (AP and SAT/ACT), and finally the rebellious nature of Teens that they feel misunderstood by adults. This is an ironic statement, since, in Reality, Adults are misunderstood by teenagers. Teenagers don’t know what it means to be an adult, and don’t understand what kind of adults they are supposed to be. This is usually caused by stressing over parental expectations. The Future is very uncertain, and that seems to be the most scary thing for teens to come to terms with.”
“Just be more genuine and truthful about the state of your life.”
“Social media is causing great mental strife within my own generation. The amount of constant comparison steals any sense of self and joy that an individual may experience if not for social media. The promotion of the “perfect” life, filled with a perfect body, sunsets, beach walks, and a significant other, causes the average human to feel insignificant and unimportant.”
“The only thing our school can really do is fund raise to be honest.
One of the main reasons that mental health is such a problem is because of the equally fast-growing problem of teenagers’ reluctance to go to their parents or people of authority with their own issues, instead depending on their peers, who are not experienced in handling those matters. How can we combat it…? I’m not sure that we can.”
“I believe that mental health has always been an issue for every generation, but the greater accessibility of weapons has led to a more dangerous atmosphere for many students on campus.”
“Increased accountability and community connections are necessary
Just be nice to others! Don’t be rude to people for no reason. Mental health is a growing problem because people don’t know why they are having certain emotions, or how to help themselves.”
“People are becoming desensitized to issues that our generations faces almost daily, such as talk of suicide and the amount of shootings and tragedies that have gone on recently.”
“More people talk about mental illness as jokes and have developed them over time, there is social media which can cause people to compare themselves to fake people on instagram or snapchat and can become depressed over it.”
“I feel as a teenager that I am constantly being judged. Mental health is something you just don’t talk about. It’s frustrating for me to see people judging people with mental illness because I see when someone else is struggling because I’ve been in there shoes. I’ve dealt with major anxiety most of my life. It was something I kept it to myself for a very long time because of the fear of judgement. I got help and i want my peers to feel safe enough to get help too.”
“I suggest that the student body read some books by John Eldredge.”
“I believe mental health is a growing issue in the world and our school because of movies/tv shows/books that are about characters that struggle with mental health. While this raises awareness for suicidal prevention, it also romanticizes it.”
“Our phones and social media cause lots of stress on our mental health. Also, to go to college nowadays, you need to achieve more and more than you ever needed to before and everyone is trying one-up others.”
“I think loneliness and not really connecting with others with similar outlooks and interests is a factor. If everyone felt like they belonged and were supported it would make a big difference.”
“It all depends on your life situation. If you are in a bad environment then you are more prone to have a mental health issue. This isn’t always true though, you may still suffer from a mental health issue even if you are in a good environment.”
“I think a lot of it has to do with social media. Kids see adults on social media or a music video, or whatever the case may be, and the see the adult smoking weed or engaging in an adult act. This makes the kid want to be an adult and grow up faster. With that they buy weed and cigarettes and try to be adults. Also the smoking industry targets kids so this makes it easier for kids to buy it. This in turn gets them hooked on the stuff thus damaging their brain and cells thus leading to mental heath problems.”
“i believe that kids and parents create a distance between each other making it harder for healthy communication to occur. Today having access to the internet creates an easier way for negative information to be passed along and with out the care and communication of a parent the child will have a long hard road”
“I think that people who consider suicide have a personality that inclines them to consider it. Introverts, who tend to have high brain arousal, may overthink situations and make them larger than they truly are, while extroverts seek arousal through social situations. As a student body, I think the best we can do is encourage a positive environment because mental health is largely biologically predisposed.”
