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The student news site of St. Teresa's Academy

DartNewsOnline

The student news site of St. Teresa's Academy

DartNewsOnline

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STA needs to be willing to talk about mental illness

Chances are you know a girl at STA with a mental illness. One in five people is afflicted. That means in your math class, there are almost four people who live with it. That means in our entire student body there are over 120 girls who lapse and relapse into a personal mental illness every day.

 

You probably did not know this because your sisters, your friends are sometimes afraid to admit their struggles. We need to fix that problem. It’s time for us to move away from ignorance, denial and fear.

 

We have the power to change attitudes and erase the stigma of mental illness by choosing the way we speak about it. At STA, we have the opportunity to talk about mental illness more openly and freely. We have the chance to let our sisters speak about the things that they are ashamed about the most. When we say someone is “crazy” or “that’s totally mental” we’re perpetuating stereotypes. But changing the words you use does not mean the problem goes away.

 

Talk about it more openly and talk to one another. It shouldn’t be something we are ashamed of.

 

If we truly care about helping people with mental illnesses, we will ensure they are treated better. We will stand up for their rights. And we not tolerate when mental illness terms are used negatively.

 

Here at STA we are lucky enough to have a sisterhood where we can share our feelings freely and know we will still be loved. To anyone that lives with shame, fear, or isolation: you have a friend here at the academy. Girls are much more at risk for anxiety, eating disorders, self injury and depression, especially in the teenage years, according to the Child Mind Institute. We wish that these problems would not exist, but unfortunately they are an everyday reality.

 

Each of us can empower those with a mental illness to admit to their illness, seek treatment and become even greater members of society. Each of us struggles with something different, but the point is we all struggle.

 

Erase the shame. Erase the fear. Erase the isolation. Your sisters are here for you and we are willing to help.

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