May is “Mental Health Awareness Month.” A critical time to stop, reflect on, and talk about the importance of mental health, especially among youth. As an intended safe space for kids and the place they spend a large amount of their time, school plays a critical role in the conversation. Students who receive social, emotional, mental, and behavioral support perform better academically, becoming more engaged with a greater sense of connectedness and wellbeing.
The Impact of a Small Act of Kindness
A small act of kindness can go a long way. A lesson Malachi Coleman from Lincoln East High School learned from his mom. Before being adopted by a loving family, Coleman suffered abuse at the hands of the foster care system. According to his adoptive parents, “He was a broken kid, [who] lived for today and only today.” Malachi himself will admit he lived a selfish life refusing to care for anybody since for a long time it seemed no one cared for him. His transformation began when his mom forced him to perform a selfless act. After turning down a list of ideas, he agreed he could hold a door open for someone. So, the next day he held the door at school for one person. Until eventually at church, he held the door for the entire congregation.
We will never know the full impact of that small act – The people whose hearts he touched and days he brightened. But we do know it changed him for the better. When the Nebraska School Activities Association decided to allow high school athletes to profit from their name and likeness, Coleman stood at the front of the line. But not for himself. He offered to promote a burrito at a local restaurant on the condition a portion of the proceeds went to improving the foster care system. A life once plagued by suffering now committed to making a difference. And it all started with holding a door. (Visit https://flylikechi.org/ to learn more about his foundation and how he is helping foster kids).
Coleman’s story coincides with the latest research, which suggests good deeds can ease symptoms of anxiety and depression, while also promoting social connection. A study from Ohio State University even suggests acts of kindness may result in greater improvements to well-being than common cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques used to treat the same conditions. To reach this conclusion, the researchers split participants into three groups, where two engaged in common CBT activities, such as planning social events. Meanwhile, the final group performed acts of kindness like baking cookies or smiling at strangers. All reported enhanced wellbeing and reduced symptoms, but the third group showed the greatest improvement.
Part of the reason for this may stem from the impact social connection has on life satisfaction. Anxiety and depressive disorders often impair one’s sense of belonging or ability to connect with others, which may prevent many CBT techniques from reaching their full effectiveness. On the other hand, the smallest act of kindness can boost connection significantly. Even those with social anxiety can find a way to spread kindness and improve their own health, as well as positively impact someone else’s day.
A Mental Health Crisis Among Teens
With “Mental Health Awareness Month” occurring throughout May, we know kids today need it more than ever. Mental health includes a person’s emotional and behavioral wellbeing with everything from environmental to social to genetic factors playing a role. It impacts how one thinks, feels, and acts, as well as how they handle stress, relate to others, and make decisions.
Positive mental factors to look for and support in children are affection, resilience, positivity, curiosity, persistence, and self-control. On the flip side, the mental issues most likely to affect those ages 3-17 include ADHD, anxiety, behavioral problems, and depression. Additionally, a growing amount of youth, around 6.34%, report a substance use disorder. Oftentimes multiple of these conditions will occur concurrently among both kids and adults. Half of all mental illnesses begin by age 14 with some showing signs even earlier and 75% emerging by age 24. With the growing numbers of diagnoses affecting young people, teen girls specifically find themselves in crisis with nearly 60% of them reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2021. Additionally troubling, 30% of them say they contemplated suicide, and for all those who admit it, there are likely more who do not.
Along with the existing tumult of teenage years, a confluence of factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, societal unrest, rising rates of violence, and the pervasive nature of social media, contributes to the deepening mental health problem. The bombardment of bleak news the past few years has taken a toll on many, but teenagers were hit extra hard due to the developmental stage of their brains and their lack of framework for dealing with such negativity. Absorbing such an onslaught of harsh media can become detrimental with the observed mental health outcomes being part of the fallout.
In addition, the shift online during the pandemic heightened the issues. Girls, especially, tend to place a high significance on intimacy and support from their friends, relying on peers for coping with stress. With activities becoming virtual or getting cancelled altogether, they lost out on chances to engage with others. With social connection’s close tie to life satisfaction, the loss of the former understandably impacts the latter.
Furthermore, the dominance of social media in the lives of young people even before the 2020s has risen alongside the increased reports of mental health struggles. Research suggests the disruption these platforms can have on positive activities like sleeping and exercising attributes to the association between social media and depression – A correlation which appears much stronger in teenage girls than boys. Some platforms target young women specifically, and any increase in the time someone spends online puts them at a greater risk of cyberbullying. The staggering frequency of both electronic bullying, as well as violence perpetrated against girls has created a constant state of fear, which in turn can cause or exasperate depression, anxiety, trauma, and other mental illnesses.
With the wide array of elements leading to the decline in teen mental health and the current shortage of mental health care providers in the United States, raising awareness is critical. School-based interventions, in particular, can help counter the issue. For example, the American Psychiatric Association’s “Notice. Talk. Act.” program works toward this goal. The 2019 program repurposes a previously successful one called “Typical or Troubled” and trains educational staff to notice warning signs, talk about mental health, and act by referring students to appropriate resources. The CDC recommends similar preventions focused on building connections between teens and trusted individuals, as well as improving access to existing or new services. More research into public health interventions is still needed, however, as experts aim to break the stigma against mental health, educate kids, provide them with the right resources, and lower their risks.
The Role of Schools in Youth Mental Health
As an intended safe space for kids and the place they spend a large amount of their time, school plays a critical role in the conversation around mental health. Research shows students who receive social, emotional, mental, and behavioral support perform better academically. They become more engaged with a greater sense of connectedness and wellbeing. Mental health does not simply mean the absence of mental illness – It incorporates wellness promotion in all areas and teaches people how to cope with life’s challenges. Encompassing mental health discussions and initiatives into the everyday school environment for all students, not only those currently in crisis, can both save and improve lives.
Mental health promotion and prevention each work to address mental health issues before they arise with the former optimizing positive health factors and the latter minimizing negative ones. Promotion works to build healthy behaviors and environments which can prevent the onset of mental disorders and reduce risk factors. Positive youth development engages kids with their communities, schools, families, and peers in productive and constructive manners to recognize, utilize, and enhance their strengths. It provides opportunities, fosters relationships, and delivers the support they need. Meanwhile, prevention efforts vary from universal interventions, such as educational curriculum in schools, to individualized treatment.
School can provide the ideal context for promotion, prevention, intervention, and positive development in kids and families. Students are more likely to seek counseling when services are offered in schools. For some, schools may even provide the only mental health services available. Therefore, the presence of school-employed mental health professionals who use comprehensive healthcare can increase access and reduce the stigma around seeking help. Yet only about half of public schools currently offer mental health assessments with even fewer providing treatment. Efforts to equip schools with better onsite support are ramping up.
School psychologists receive specialized training in mental health, child development, diversity, school systems, and law. Their expertise lies in the interaction of these elements and in the ways they shape a child’s behavior, wellbeing, learning, and adjustment. The access created by these professionals is vital in the physical and psychological safety of students. Beyond employing qualified counselors, districts can also implement a variety of policies to improve connectedness, which refers to the degree to which students believe adults and peers at school care about them and their success. Some of these include improving classroom management, enacting service-learning programs, bringing in community mentors, and building safer, more supportive environments for all students, especially those from vulnerable groups.
Additionally, many schools have adopted programs to increase awareness and intervention, as teachers learn how to aid students in distress. For example the program “Classroom WISE” developed by the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center, includes a 3-part training package to assist educators and staff in supporting mental health in classrooms. It uses evidence-based strategies to engage students experiencing adversity through a free online course, along with a library of videos and other resources.
Another organization growing in popularity among schools is the “Hope Squad,” a peer-to-peer suicide prevention program. Through the Hope Squad, students nominate trustworthy peers who receive training from advisors to reduce crises by identifying those who may be struggling and stepping in to help. The program reduces youth suicide through training, empowerment, education, and peer intervention. It increases connectedness, inclusion, and social-emotional skills.
One of the 1,600 participating schools, Dublin Jerome High School in Ohio, recently established their own Hope Squad to bring mental health awareness to the forefront of their community. Jerome’s Hope Squad members hosted “Hope Week” to spotlight positive mental health habits. They also developed a series of resources including social media accounts, a mental health bulletin board, an anonymous referral program, and mental health contact cards. The final event of the week included passing out lifesavers with uplifting messages on them. A small action, which makes a big difference in creating a sense of connection and community among students.
When kids experience kindness at school, especially from caring peers, it can greatly improve their mental wellness. The state of youth mental health can seem overwhelming and scary at times. But the emergence of training programs, the increase in mental health services within schools, and the commitment of the next generation to helping others provides hope it can get better.
Sources:
https://apafdn.org/impact/schools/notice-talk-act-at-school
https://www.classroomwise.org/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/steve-hartman-on-the-road-malachi-coleman-nil-nebraska/
https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html
https://youth.gov/youth-topics/youth-mental-health/mental-health-promotion-prevention
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/01/trends-improving-youth-mental-healthhttps://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/mental-and-behavioral-health/additional-resources/comprehensive-school-based-mental-and-behavioral-health-services-and-school-psychologists
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