Most people struggle with mental health during a variety of different points in life. One may begin to experience mental health issues at a young age or start experiencing it in their mid-30’s. 

“Mental health is more important than anything; it should be your first priority,” freshman Emma Moreno said.

Mental health is something very important for most, and should never be joked about. When joked about too often, and being insensitive to others, it can cause the person to stumble into a mental health crisis. 

The media, such as newspapers, magazines, or news shows, can be extremely toxic. Such as portraying mental illnesses solely through stereotypical behaviors. Although it might be true for some, everyone’s mental health issues are different. 

“The media has both positive and negative effects,” freshman Katie Nash said. “There’s stereotypes for mental illnesses.”

Social media is one of the largest culprits for harming mental health. Whether you see a model on Instagram that has this ‘perfect body,’ or seeing a meme that you can relate to on a personal level, it might make you feel insecure about your body. Social media is a toxic place that needs to be completely reprogramed, meaning it needs to have no body or beauty standards, make everyone of every shape and size feel loved. It is not to make fun of mental illnesses. 

Putting people who have these mental illnesses thoughts and feelings first, making sure that they know we see them and we want to help, that they don’t deserve to be forgotten or made fun of because of their mental health will all help society as a whole. 

The stigma around mental health or going to a therapist is terrible. The fact that getting help and putting yourself first makes you a wimp or a coward is not okay. People get bullied to a point to where they either self-harm, or even prepare to kill themselves, this is not okay. They are human beings trying to get help and this certain bully is making it worse. It’s something they can’t control, something that not just affects their thoughts and feelings, but possibly their whole body.