How is mental illness lived through, treated, and seen at Orem High School?

Around the world today, there is an ever growing and present issue: mental health. Globally, 1 in 4 people deal with at least one mental health issue — that’s over one billion people. These illnesses are causing everything from social turmoil to suicide, and according to a study done by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, about 1 in 5 teenagers deals with at least one mental disorder. So what about Orem High? How is mental health lived through, treated, and seen right in the very walls of our school?

Everyone goes through trials in life; it’s part of the human experience. But when these “trials” deprecate emotional and mental well-being, the situation can vastly change a person’s life. One OHS senior went to a behavioral hospital a few weeks ago for their severe depression and anxiety. Another student when interviewed spoke up about the constant absences, backaches, nausea, and headaches they have to deal with daily. It is very eye opening to see how little we know about OHS students and what goes on outside school hours/in their head.

So how are mental health issues like these two examples treated at Orem High? Are we accepting to the trials students go through with their mental disorders? OHS senior Jonah Jones when asked about how students see mental health stated, “I don’t really think they do anything against students, but they also don’t help students who struggle.”

Not only that but Abby Buttars says, “I look at organizations like the hope squad or the golden gate club that are all smiles and “life is worth living” and full of motivational quotes, but that’s not what people with mental illnesses need. . . most of the time we just want people to listen.”

At the same time though, there are students that believe our school is accepting of these trials. Eliza Dunn when interviewed expressed, “I think Orem High as a whole is pretty good about accepting mental illness and being educated about it. With our health classes and such, they educate really well. . .” To add to this, in a recent survey conducted with OHS seniors, about 20 students believed that our school is “very accepting” towards mental illness. On one side of the spectrum students believe we are accepting, and on the other side students believe we are not accepting enough. What do you think?

Although there is this controversy over whether or not Orem High is accepting towards mental illness, an indisputable fact is the situation we face with our school psychologist. One would guess mental disorders are being treated by a school psychologist at Orem High, but according to a recent survey they aren’t. Only 60% of OHS students knew we had one and out of those 77, only 3 had actually interacted with him. This administrator simply can’t meet the needs of every single student. According to The National Association of School Psychologists, “The average school psychologist today is expected to serve over 200 students with identified needs – which leaves little to no time to support the other 1,200 enrolled students who could benefit from services provided by school psychologists.”

There is hope though. A study done by The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics concluded that to correctly pay school psychologists and to gain more help in the school psychology field, the public education system would see an increase in spending in the U.S of between 0.45% and 0.8%. Just 0.8%. That’s all it would take. 75% of surveyed OHS students believed that by having more access to a school psychologist, student life would benefit and with this extra 0.8% of spending we can exponentially improve the lives of those around us. Not only that, but students can make a difference in this issue. Mr. Ellingford, an OHS English teacher, challenged his students to write essays on how to make our school a safer place and some of these essays have the potential to be read by administrators. More and more examples of student led movements have risen in this day and age and the power lies in our hands. So I’ll let you ask yourself: do we need to change the way mental health is lived through, seen, and treated at Orem High School?

To let the Orem High journalism team and general public know what you think about this issue, please visit: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSer7S-P5ZaQSAIQkQWGFlYIGOie_sw4NthWPFnon3R0jEzp1Q/viewform?usp=sf_link

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Madelyn Bokovoy

My name is Madelyn Bokovoy and I am a senior in high school on the journalism team. I love to study in school, be active in politics, protect the environment, serve in my community/internationally, go on adventures with my friends, and cuddle up on the couch with a good book in solitude. I love to be outside, try new things, and practically watch ted talks religiously. I am so excited to be a part of this class to learn about being a good storyteller, collaborating with others, and debating important issues in our modern society.