Mental illnesses occur in dozens of different forms ranging from a common disorder affecting millions of people across the globe like depression and anxiety to the rare ones like trichotillomania that is a compulsion experienced by the patient to remove the hair. Mental illness cannot be defined as a constant sadness, continuous insanity or rage experienced by the patient although some of the symptoms like these can be observed in some of its forms. According to the British Charity Mind, 1 in 4 people will experience some form of mental illness once in their lifespan.
Untreated or long term ignored mental illness would lead to the rise of thoughts like committing suicide. According to WHO, one person dies every 40 seconds across the globe by committing suicide. In order to increase the awareness regarding suicide, WHO is dedicating 2019’s World Mental Health Day that is on 10th October, to focus on what can be done to prevent suicide. Also, in California to reduce the number of suicides, a law has been passed that states, “Beginning with the 2019-20 school year, all IDs for California students in grades seven through 12, and in college, must bear the telephone number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline”. One more law regarding the suicide was implemented by the US government recently in August 2019, that permits the police or family members to file a petition to a state court to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person who may present a danger to others or themselves. This enforcement of the law in the US was widely supported by gun control groups, mental health advocates and other concerned organizations.
Students from around the globe have been struggling with a variety of issues beyond the classrooms which is affecting their mental health severely. In order to give some time to students to reset their health, two states have recently passed the laws supporting the mental illness leave. In July 2019, Oregon law came into effect giving students five mental health days in a three-month period. The same had happened in 2018, when the Utah government changed the definition of a student’s “valid excuse” to miss a day to include an illness “which may be mental or physical.” Adolescence in any person’s life is a time where a lot of mental health problems have their onsets. Now adding to it, the increased use of social media by teenagers is raising the risk of different types of mental illness. According to a study published by Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, “Young people who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media are susceptible to depression, anxiety, and other illnesses and are more likely to internalize bad feelings about themselves”. However, like every coin has two sides, social media also has two sides. On one hand, where it is increasing the risk, it is also providing a platform for more people to communicate about their personal struggles. A lot of celebrities, public figures and influencers like actors Dwayne Johnson and Gina Rodriguez and singer Ariana Grande have used social media as a platform to share stories about their mental health and encourage others to fight with it. This openness on the social platform has given more recognition to the disease and has resulted in a huge surge of people now seeking help from their family and professionals. More young people are now reporting about their mental distress.
