Trending
If one is a regular newspaper reader these days, then you probably have seen a lot of stories over the past year on teenage mental health.
Within those stories have been many statistics, I'm sure, and, if you are at all like me, then you probably read the numbers and then moved on. Yes, the numbers registered, but that's about all. You probably couldn't remember the exact numbers 10 minutes later. I know I couldn't.
That is, until this week.
You see, on Monday, I listened, saw, and got emotional listening to several students describe for those in attendance some of their own mental health struggles as well as others. And, just like that, the statistics had faces, and I was looking into the eyes of those statistics.
High school sure has changed since I was a student.
I was attending a series of TEDx Talks at Carey High School in Ohio. Fourteen students presented talks that afternoon, one of whom was my oldest granddaughter. A TEDx Talk is like a visual term paper on a particular subject. Carey is one of only three school districts in Ohio licensed to formally do TEDx Talk presentations, and the students this semester were allowed to present any topic they chose, just so long as they presented graphics with it, had statistics to back their points up, and offered a conclusion.
Not only was I struck by the professionalism of the students who gave the presentations, but I was moved by their bravery because of the topics they chose. Of the 14, I would say 11 or 12 of the students touched upon mental health concerns. One student described her feeling of abandonment. Another talked about body image struggles. One described the loneliness of depression and how counseling and medication were helping her through her dark days, while another talked about the loneliness from COVID-19 and how it had disrupted students' lives. Several talked about bullying and having been victims. One touched on escaping unhappy times through his music. And one talked about the extreme sense of loss he felt after the passing of a grandmother and uncle, both in a relatively short time.
The talks were both enlightening and inspiring.
The students were vulnerable yet courageous. I was learning information in its rawest form. And I thought, after the fourth speaker, my goodness, these awesome students are baring their souls in front of everyone, telling real stories about real problems in their lives.
Even my granddaughter chose a topic dealing with mental health as she talked about the extra pressures student athletes face as they move from recreational leagues to middle school teams to junior varsity and then varsity sports.
Now, remember, those students could have picked any topic they wanted, yet those weighty issues were the topics they wanted to share with fellow classmates, family, and teachers.
It was sobering to hear gut-wrenching observations about one mental health issue after another present today in their world.
On Tuesday, Alpena News Publisher/Editor Justin Hinkley wrote an editorial in which he shared some concerning statistics on that very subject.
For instance, in Michigan, 13% of youth ages 3 to 17 experienced anxiety or depression in 2020. That represented a 13% increase from 2016.
Until this week, I would have read that paragraph and thought, "That's interesting."
No longer.
This week, I saw some of the faces from those numbers.
If you had heard the same talks I did this week, then you would agree with me that those students have been through a lot, and they need our support and love.
Thankfully, at Alpena Public Schools, that help is available. This week, officials held a community forum on the subject. In the spring, the district is partnering with the Sunset Project, a nonprofit that helps educate students on mental health issues and ways to deal with problems.
A statistic is one thing.
A teenage face who has wrestled with a mental health issue is another.
Bill Speer recently retired as the publisher and editor of The News. He can be reached at bspeer@thealpenanews.com.