On the morning of Tuesday, November 28th, fourteen students from Corona del Mar High School took the initiative to learn more about efforts to raise awareness of mental health in local educational communities. This was through an informational presentation led by Program Specialist of the OCDE Youth Development Programs Stephanie Loscko and active Student Counselor Charles Oyas. These students, stemming from various grades, clubs, and organizations on campus dedicated to inclusivity and creating safe environments for others to turn to, were immersed in a greater understanding of mental health– with much open discussion on its meaning and presence in contemporary society.

With active clubs such as PAL, HRC, Blaze it Forward, and more having representatives present, the idea of redirecting mental health to being classified as more common was the overall theme of discussion. Statistics state roughly 50% of our population discovered mental health issues at age fourteen, reaching 75% at age twenty-four. With such exceedingly high numbers, the foremost question of this conversation arose, “What can we do, as students, to create a space where mental health is spoken about in a normalized manner?”. Elucidating on this question, Alexandra Grant, senior student and meeting instigator, mentions that “the purpose of this meeting is to make people more aware– the staff, the teachers, the students— that [the term] mental health doesn’t always have a negative connotation”. Numerous studies have shown that most students correlate the term “mental health” with words such as “depression”, “anxiety”, “struggle”— and while most of these are components to mental health, it focuses on the entirety of a person’s well-being (the good and bad).

It is said that, nowadays, one in every six teenagers is found to have some mental health concern– meaning in a class of thirty, nearly five are facing some worry. “It’s really prevalent in our generation” remarks senior student and meeting attendee Sara Villaveces, additionally noting “it’s important to spread awareness about the reality of it, not the glorification of it that’s going on and social media”. While media presence has positives in relationship-building and spread of information, the negative impacts on mental health are quite overwhelming and lead to an increase in: loneliness, anxiety, and depression, from view of unrealistic beauty standards, comparison and self-esteem, as well as cyberbullying.

There are many ways to approach mental health, and due to the societal decline in the past few centuries (fed by the old-age idea that mental health should not be shared but rather concealed), many have ignored or denied proper mental health treatment. This can be compared to the physical health of a broken arm– for one wouldn’t neglect appropriate treatment and would visit a doctor. But, the only way that mental health can help is through peer involvement: see something, say something. With this in mind, junior student and peer advocate Laura Wagner comments on the future aspirations for this particular sect of students. Speaking on their hopes to initiate a parent advocacy meeting, she notes, “there’s obviously a lot of stigma behind mental health in the past that parents have passed on,” and suggests plans to inspire different parental approaches to benefiting mental health and “start unraveling the narratives that mental health has a hold on in our parents’ generations”.

On the morning of Tuesday, November 28th, fourteen students from Corona del Mar High School took the initiative to learn more about efforts to raise awareness of mental health in local educational communities. These students, with clear agendas in mind, are dedicated to creating safe environments and a future where mental health becomes a priority.