Mmhm Reflection
On May 17, 9th through 12th grade students in My Mental Health Matters (MMHM), a new club at State High, presented May’s Straight Talk session. MMHM is a student-formed club that aims to erase the stigma attached to issues surround mental health. Under the guidance of high school counselors Patty Devecka and Suzanne Lyke, Jana Marie Foundation’s President Marisa Vicere, and State High alumnus Shawn Bainbridge, members strive to bring awareness to common feelings of doubt or helplessness and most importantly, to let students know that they are never alone in the State High halls. Their Straight Talk presentation covered the importance of mental health awareness from a student perspective. The students responsible for forming MMHM were moved by troubling results from the most recent Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS), which reflected alarmingly high rates of depression and suicidal ideation. They identified that the importance of physical health receives a great deal of attention, but mental health is often neglected. The
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club’s logo features a phoenix, which represents resilience in the face of adversity and the reemergence of strength, especially mental strength. These students are having conversations that many people are avoiding. And, beyond that, they are developing solutions. In addition to identifying some of the stressors associated with high school, especially in light of the results of the Pennsylvania Youth Survey results that indicate alarmingly high rates of depression and suicidal ideations among State High students in 2015, the group has begun to brainstorm ways of overcoming stigma and breaking the silence. In addition to working toward reducing stigma, the group strives to promote improvements in individual mental health. They discuss techniques for coping with stress, rather than burying it and piling on more. They have carried their findings to presentations to middle school classrooms and the community. They decorated the high school’s hallways with pieces of paper bearing the words “My mental health matters because…” One student completed the sentence by writing, “My mental health matters because I matter.” Although still in its infancy, the initiative is taking off and gaining recognition within and outside of the high school and district.
It is coming at a time when mental health concerns are sounding alarms at universities like Penn State. Perhaps stress in the world of education continues to climb as time goes on. Melanie Lynch identifies reliance on technology as being a potential culprit for part of the decline in students’ stress management skills. “Everything is at the touch of our fingertips,” she said. “Relationships are becoming more virtual, and kids struggle more with showing empathy.” Coupled with ever-increasing academic competition reinforcing unachievable ideals, this creates a dilemma: “Students’ brains do not shut off; they are constantly engaged,” said Lynch, “but that also means they’re
unengaged.”
club’s logo features a phoenix, which represents resilience in the face of adversity and the reemergence of strength, especially mental strength. These students are having conversations that many people are avoiding. And, beyond that, they are developing solutions. In addition to identifying some of the stressors associated with high school, especially in light of the results of the Pennsylvania Youth Survey results that indicate alarmingly high rates of depression and suicidal ideations among State High students in 2015, the group has begun to brainstorm ways of overcoming stigma and breaking the silence. In addition to working toward reducing stigma, the group strives to promote improvements in individual mental health. They discuss techniques for coping with stress, rather than burying it and piling on more. They have carried their findings to presentations to middle school classrooms and the community. They decorated the high school’s hallways with pieces of paper bearing the words “My mental health matters because…” One student completed the sentence by writing, “My mental health matters because I matter.” Although still in its infancy, the initiative is taking off and gaining recognition within and outside of the high school and district.
It is coming at a time when mental health concerns are sounding alarms at universities like Penn State. Perhaps stress in the world of education continues to climb as time goes on. Melanie Lynch identifies reliance on technology as being a potential culprit for part of the decline in students’ stress management skills. “Everything is at the touch of our fingertips,” she said. “Relationships are becoming more virtual, and kids struggle more with showing empathy.” Coupled with ever-increasing academic competition reinforcing unachievable ideals, this creates a dilemma: “Students’ brains do not shut off; they are constantly engaged,” said Lynch, “but that also means they’re
unengaged.”