Mental Health Should be Addressed in Schools

    School is what keeps most of students occupied. We spend up to 7 hours in school being educated on different topics, but we aren’t taught about other topics such as mental health. In elementary school kids are taught about changes that occur in our body as we get older, but mental health isn’t part of the curriculum.   
    Statistics show that 1 in 5 teens aged 14 to 24 suffer from a mental health illness. Only a third of those teenagers are getting the proper help and resources needed. Some students may not know that they are experiencing a mental illness because they've never been taught the warning signs to look out for. The lack of knowledge later on leads to questions which can’t always be answered. 
    As of 2018, anxiety is the most common mental illness in the U.S. that is affecting up to 40 million adults starting at the age of eighteen. Only 36% of those suffering with anxiety receive the proper treatment. That is only one example, but there are other disorders that remain untreated as well. The government and school districts spend thousands of dollars designing curriculum for students of all ages yet fail to address the growing epidemic of  mental illnesses in the United States today.

Reporter: Gisselle Suarez