About 50% of high school students with mental illnesses dropout of school. This is due to the many struggles that students face, and many don’t see this. School can often cause stress and anxiety for students as they try to keep up their grades, meet deadlines, and do presentations. ADHD, PTSD, and OCD are some common disorders found in students that can make it hard for students to concentrate, sometimes even due to an uncontrollable fear that many people would not understand. This can have a tremendous effect on their grade, and even their citizenship for students with ADHD as they may make bad decisions and be talkative in class. One of the most common mental health issues in schools however, is depression which can make students feel unmotivated, and they find it hard to get things done. Schools often commonly have students with eating disorders that can cause fatigue, nausea, and headaches, making it difficult to succeed. These mental health issues can make school difficult, but can also be caused by school.

     To start off, school can often damage students’ mental health. Students often don’t get enough sleep at night due teenagers’ brains usually don’t get tired until around 1 am, when the average adult brain releases it at about 10 pm. Also, students may be busy throughout their day and end up staying up late doing homework, as it can take some hours of your day to complete. This can make students very fatigued as they get up early in the morning between 5-7 am on average, and can have a significant lack of sleep. This also puts a limit to the students’ academic ability and can make an effect on their health. School can also cause stress, anxiety, and/or panic attacks as students try to make deadlines and may get very anxious with certain things such as talking in class, giving presentations, and doing tests. Depression can also be caused by the pressure, and exhaustion that is put on students, as well as bullying that can leave a sad, or empty feeling. However, one of the worst problems that students deal with at school is their social situation. They may have drama in their friend groups, loss of friends, lack of friends, or the stress of too many friends, or even enemies and people who belittle them. Students may feel disliked, or feel the need to be popular, which can put a great stress on students and may make them feel as though they are not good enough. This can cause the student to feel as though they need to be “perfect” to be good enough, which can lead to eating disorders. Eating disorders is not just a lack of eating, but also fatigue, headaches, and nausea. Students go through much more on a day-to-day basis than many people assume.

Some mental disorders that can affect students school life, or academic ability are PTSD, OCD, and ADHD. These are common disorders found in teenagers. PTSD can cause students to have a hard time concentrating and they may find it hard to remember things. They can also experience panic attacks, which can also be caused by the school environment, and may make it hard for them to be at school. People who have OCD may find it difficult to focus in class, and have compulsive rituals that they have to do throughout the day. OCD can cause students to have obsessive fears that are controllable, and possibly even unexplained, which can make it hard for them to complete assignments and homework, therefor causing their grades to suffer if left untreated. ADHD is often very difficult for students to go through as it causes you to feel hyper, but when a student is sitting in class they may often feel contained which may induce bad decisions. These students may also be talkative which can cause their citizenship grade to be lowered. ADHD can cause students to act on impulse, fidget in class, and make bad decisions, which will make their school life worse.

Teachers and faculty at schools should feel the need to look out for warning signs that students are suffering from a mental illnesses. It is not fair that students may get failing grades for something they can not control. Also, this could help them to get help, which will make them feel overall better in the future. Some warning signs that students can be suffering from a mental illness are students showing signs of sadness, crying often, being unmotivated, and seeming empty. Severe mood swings, sudden changes in behavior, not eating, difficulty focusing, and out of control behaviors are also signs of mental illnesses. Teachers should also watch what students wear because if they are often wearing long sleeves, or clothes that cover up large portions of their body, they may be hiding self-harm scars.

     So, if signs of mental illnesses occur it is best to get help. Some things that may be able to help the students are going to the doctor, or getting a referral for a mental health specialist. They made need to talk to someone and if that doesn’t help they can end up being put on medication. Also, it can be beneficial for students to have therapy dogs, as animals help to reduce anxiety. Groups to socialize with and having regular check-ins can help make students feel more important. Also, schools should provide counseling, and if the student is too afraid to tell their parents about how they are feeling, the counselor should be able to keep it confidential.

     If you, or someone you know is going through any of these, it is best to get help. Someone does care, even if it doesn’t feel like it, and they want to help you. You should talk to someone as soon as you can so they can help you overcome these huge obstacles in your life. If you are too afraid to talk to someone about these things, you can call the national suicide prevention lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or enter a live chat if you don’t want to talk to someone on the phone. Please do not hesitate to get help, or help someone you know. Also, be aware of all the warning signs, as you never know who could be going through these difficult situations.