The fact that 2 out of 6 presentations tonight were about mental health is very jarring to me. I realized it was a problem, in school especially. I went through a lot of anxiety in my own school experience. But, I didn't realize really how prevalent it is in teens- which is who I will be teaching one day.
The chocolate meditation might have seemed silly and fun in class, but I could see how that could be very beneficial for some students. In my AP Government class my teacher often did breathing exercises with us before class to calm us down and to help with anxiety. I really like these tactics. School is a very stressful environment. It is constant social stimulation and information being stuffed into students brains.
Exercise has always been a great anxiety reliever for me. I had a creative writing teacher in 12th grade and she told us she saw a therapist once a month. The therapist suggested she try running to help with her depression. My teacher said it had vastly enhanced her mood and her life. Exercise is a form of medication for some people.
I understand that some people are afraid to talk about mental health issues because of the way that society views them. I feel this with myself at times. I know there is nothing wrong with seeing a therapist, but it is hard for me to get past the negativity surrounding it. I greatly accept when other people go to therapy and feel better, but I am not sure if I could ever go myself.
As a teacher, I do want to be an outlet for students to be able to talk to. Social workers and counselors only have so much time. Often, I felt like my little issues were not big enough to talk to them about because I thought that other people had it much worse. If there were more resources for students to go to for help then I might not have felt this way. I loved the idea of having teachers trained in mental health.
I am not exactly sure why mental health issues have been increasing so much in the past few years. But, it has gotten to a point where the numbers are scary. Students spend much of their lives in school. If there is any way at all that teachers can help with this then we should do anything in our power. School is where lives can be changed.
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