20th Century Mental Health

Since the late nineteenth century, there has been an increasing interest in the study of psychology. In recent years, in the field of psychology, researchers and other professionals have been seen to have a specific interest in the mental health of adolescents. Studies done by these researchers over the past century have proven a steady increment of diagnosable and treatable mental illnesses in young adults and children. There has been much speculation as to why this number has seen such a dramatic rise over the past century; studies have linked it with many issues facing contemporary society including the excessive use of technology and pressures to excel and be perfect in all areas of life, especially in school and one’s physical appearance.

Mental illnesses, while diagnosable and easily treated, are a contentious topic among the masses because of the growing stigma that is commonly associated with it, which can lead to the avoidance or repression of a mental health issue that will only lead to more problems with not only the affected person but with the people around them.
Over the past few years, some studies, like the one done by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, have emerged with staggering statistics that give weight to the commonly avoided topic of the mental health problems found in adolescents.

In the released research, the National Alliance on Mental Illness told the public that, “1 in 5 children ages 13-18 have, or will have, a serious mental illness” (Source A). This proven fact, along with the other statistics provided, emphasize the rapidly growing issue of the large number of untreated and treated mental illnesses in adolescents. New processes and technologies have made the screening process easier; however, it is still not available to everyone who needs it. The cost of the technology is not the primary concern of those who are discouraging the allowance of making screening processes available at schools; their concern is that once a mental illness is detected many believe the schools, who have the ability to screen, must also have the resources available to service every uncovered mental health issue and many facilities do not have the funds to even allow for screening or can barely afford the screening processes (Source D). Experts say, in concern to the rising number of reported violence in schools, that these issues may be related to the amount of students who struggle with untreated or undiagnosed mental illness; in light of this, schools are working to find “the best way to offer mental health services in a

patchwork, underfunded system” (Source D). School systems are already underfunded in almost all areas, which makes it difficult to be able to find the funding to offer services to screen for mental illnesses, such as anxiety disorders, depression disorder, bipolar disorder and other mood disorders, as well as eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, that affect a large population of people. There is a stigma attached to mental illnesses which encourages the lack of funding for the screening process. The lack of universal mental health screenings for students was addressed by Federal health officials recently, where they recommended increasing the use of the screening process for mental illnesses; however, the Federal government does not keep records of the schools that screen for mental health problems, nor do they mandate the costly process; the facilities that have the technology for screening have different programs that vary across all fifty states and even within school districts (Source D). Mental health issues, unlike physical ailments, are harder to detect and have a much longer recovery; however, similar to physical ailments, if untreated both can cause detrimental effects on one’s overall health. This argument can be used to stress the importance of being able to uncover and treat mental health issues because if a mental illness goes untreated it can lead to additional health issues and worsen the original, unidentified one.
With extensive research in the field of mental health issues of adolescents, researchers have seen an “increase in both anxiety and depression over the last fifty years” (Source E). With a growing dependency of the internet and electronic devices, this increase in diagnosed anxiety and depression disorders can be linked to a “decrease in ‘social connectedness’” and the unrealistic ideas about life that the media and society has shaped (Source E). Other theories range from family issues, like neglectful or absent parents, economic stress, the increasingly obsessive use of technology, unrealistic expectations set by the media, and an extraordinary pressures to succeed in the classroom or on the field (Source B). This reasoning furthers the argument that can be found in Psychology Today that says, “the average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s” (Source E). This speaks volumes about the issue at hand. As time has progressed adolescents have become so stressed and anxious because of the way schools are run, a student’s anxiety level can be compared to someone who was put into a mental asylum. Schools today are run in a way that involves constant and increasingly difficult testing and evaluation which puts an unreasonable amount of extra stress on students that,“is almost designed to produce anxiety and depression” (Source F). This level and amount of work is difficult and stressful for all students, and many students drop out because of how arduous school becomes as one nears the end of high school. There is nothing that relieves the pressure students feel today and more and more turn to cheating as means to pass their classes because “the goal in class, in the minds of the great majority of students, is not competence but good grades” (Source F). Students, at this point in time, care less about learning the material and more about just passing a course; information goes in one ear and out the other with most students because as long as they know it for one test or quiz they do not have to worry about it later unless they have an End of Course Test (EOCT) or an AP exam, which is when their stress levels will rise again.
Anxiety disorders and other mental health issues are often underestimated and neglected because of the stigma associated with them; people do not want a stigmatized label that they will carry throughout life. Additionally, the stigma that goes hand-in-hand with mental health disorders plays a key role in the reasoning as to why a vast majority of people have negative views of mental health issues and why many promote the negation of screenings and diagnoses of very real and problematic, treatable mental health issues. Mental health problems are condemned in modern society because it is incredibly important for people to give others the illusion they are better off or happier than they actually are and worthy of everyone’s envy; social media promotes this idea. Social media platforms like Instagram give teenagers, who already have a tremendous amount of pressure from school and parents, a platform that allows them to exaggerate the happy moments of their lives and allows room for the idolization of celebrities who do the same. Social media allows adolescents to believe in the false idea that these people with thousands or millions of followers experience only good things in life, and the sheer amount of material items they own make them happy. It also gives impressionable young people the impression that if they have any type of illness, whether it is a physical or mental health issue, there is something wrong with them. This type of thinking encourages the repudiation of mental health issues. Parents have also proven to buy into this philosophy that students have to be the best, which will often lead to a student overexerting themselves by taking on an intense course load filled with advanced-placement classes and a few too many, time-consuming extracurricular activities; in an interview a supervisor at the city of Fremont’s Youth and Family Services reported that a parent refused to allow their child to attend counseling out of fear “it would negatively affect his college application” (Source B). Even a Californian high school student admits that, “there is a consistent urgency that you have to be the best” (Source B). This often fosters feelings of inadequacy and can be linked to the spike in student panic attacks or a case of multiple student suicides at high schools in Palo Alto, California (Source B). Rather than neglecting this surge in anxiety problems, schools and parents should become more aware of this unfortunate trend and work together to find solutions to help these students.
Academic, athletic, and social pressures are not the only reason mental illnesses are often overlooked: The general public has a very serious lack of knowledge about the different types of mental health disorders.

It is unknown to many that mental health issues can be “caused by biology, environment, or a mix of both,” and that, “ at least one in ten—as many as six million young people—may have a ‘serious emotional disturbance’” (Source C). There is very little education for the general public, especially for young people, which leads to inaccurate self diagnosis. Even until recently, it was a common belief that children and adolescents could not suffer from major depression, but experts have proved that depression disorders and other mood disorders can affect any one of any age, and now, especially, it is “being recognized more and more in young people” (Source C). Once again, this augmentation of cases being seen and treated among adolescents is disquieting, and it should be encouraging people to try to solve and help those who suffer from mental

illnesses.
There are many ways to treat mental health issues. Counseling is one of the most popular methods and has proven time and time again to be incredibly effective. However, those who suffer from any mental health condition not only need a source of counseling from a licensed professional, like a therapist or a psychiatrist, but they also need a support system (Source C). Support systems are vital to one’s recovery process, and in order for one to have the best possible “system of care,” the family and friends need to be informed about mental health issues, which goes back to the general lack of knowledge concerning mental illnesses (Source C). Counseling and support systems play such an important role in someone who has a mental health problem’s life because these “serious mental disturbances” can be debilitating and “severely disrupt a person’s ability to function socially, academically, and emotionally” (Source C). Nevertheless, treatments are often avoided by a large sum of people because it can be expensive, and others will undoubtably look at them differently if they find out about their treatment and illness.
Research over the past century has shown an increase in anxiety, mood, and eating disorders, as well as an increase in the research itself. This research typically concerns the rising rate of mental illnesses found in adolescents and children. Despite this seemingly growing interest by professionals in the field of psychology, there remains a feeling of shame and ignominy that seems to encourage people to ignore these pressing issues. Too many times has the avoidance of a mental illness lead to something worse that hurts everyone, like suicide; many cases of suicide and self-harm can be avoided but only society detaches the stigma associated with it.