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Mental Health and its Impacts Today
ENGL-097
Vanessa Ramirez
September 17, 2022
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Imagine a world where there is no such thing as depression, anxiety, PTSD, or any other
mental disorders. It is incredible to know that this would be the world everyone would want to
live in. A change that I think would impact today’s society would be having a better
understanding of mental health and what their impacts would be should anything not be resolved.
It is essential to know, understand, and even imagine not being able to find resources to help you
live a better and more normal life. Unfortunately, many people are not capable of looking for
resources or are ashamed to ask for help. It is unfortunate, but these are the types of struggles
that many people face in the world with little to no resources. Therefore, what, if any, could be
the solutions to help people with mental illnesses and disorders?
Knowing that the world would be better if mental disorders were diagnosed correctly and
available resources were given to those who desperately need them is essential. When a person
has someone to talk to about their mental health, it may help that person tremendously. Likewise,
it can make a huge difference when a person has someone to talk to about their struggles, even
for a short time throughout the day. However, the consequences of that solution can also be lifethreatening. Additionally, depending on the situation, when someone discusses their situation,
there could always be some backlash as well. An example is a child going to talk to their teacher
about what goes on at home. A typical child may or may not know the right or wrong thing to do,
but their social and emotional development occurs between the ages of two and five.
Imagine being a child in a home with neglectful parents and using drugs and alcohol.
This child may not have eaten in a few days, not bathed, or has clean clothes, and their peers
make remarks about this child. This child’s mental health is being affected in such a short
amount of time. Their self-esteem is at an all-time low, and things are already impacting their
brain health. When a child can have resources available, this can help with their brain function
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and development from an early age, with resources to help with mental health and parenting;
then this child will succeed wildly in life and help make the world a better place.
When we think of mental health, our brain has many different functions, such as our
emotions, senses, and thinking, such as cognition, sight, and other things. Our brains, even as
adults, are continuously growing and impacted. Imagine the brain of a child who has had to
encounter so much. As mentioned earlier, a child may not know what is right and wrong, but
having this impact on their brain development is a discussion that is hardly discussed. Then,
somewhere deep inside their emotional development, a lightbulb goes off, telling them this is not
how it is supposed to be. A child may come to their teacher or a caregiver nearest to them and
tell them about what is happening at home, but what happens when this isn’t enough? If we
could come together as one and seek counselors and mental health resources at no cost, could
this be our solution? Typically, we see drug and alcohol abuse resources, such as counselors,
drug and alcohol anonymous, and group therapies. However, mental health is a taboo subject and
is almost swept under the rug.
When discussing mental disorders, it is essential to find out the main reason why
someone has had this occur to them. For example, a veteran who has gone overseas repeatedly to
fight in the war will more than likely encounter PTSD. A child experiencing neglect and abuse
may encounter depression and anxiety. An individual could be in a relationship with a narcissist,
and after many years of mental and physical abuse, they too can experience other mental
disorders. Now that it is 2022, resources for mental health are almost limited to an extent. A
veteran can be practically close to suicide until their mental health is taken seriously. Teenagers
tired of the bullying decide to take pills to end their life, but their mental health isn’t taken
seriously. Therefore, they are considered attention seekers. The person who is in an abusive
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relationship could have their life taken because it wasn’t so easy to leave. What are some things
we can do for these individuals without making their mental health exceed? How long is it going
to take for our society to take mental health seriously without so many lives lost?
After countless hours of looking more into mental health and its impacts on today’s
society, it is interesting to read articles about how people abuse substances to cope with their
trauma and triggers. Environmental triggers are vital when determining their motivations and
what we can change. Environmental triggers can be defined as how you were raised in your
household and what follows you into adulthood. There are many examples of environmental
triggers; many fall into one another. Many are based on a person’s socioeconomic status, race,
culture, etc.
An example of this would be living in a home with drugs and alcohol in the home as well
as abuse. Being that this could be an environment that seems normal to the ones living in this
environment—for others, it could be a concern. For example, a child may see their caregivers use
drugs and alcohol to cope with stress, such as losing a job or having a bad at work and see this as
normal behavior. However, when a child sees this as standard in the home, that child may use
those ways to cope with bad days at school or after getting a bad grade. One change that would
make a difference for this child is having resources in their schools. It would be better for
everyone and future generations to have resources available in their schools—break the
generational curses from a different standpoint of view.
Schools and parents should come together and know the signs and struggles of mental
health and ways to help understand mental health. Could this make a difference? Of course,
there’s no harm in implementing an idea like peer support in schools in the United States. Will
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this make a difference? It would significantly make an impact, yes. People must take mental
health seriously.
In conclusion, many lives have been lost too early because the resources were limited,
their voice didn’t matter, or perhaps there was no one to turn towards. Knowing the red flags,
warning signs, and behaviors of those suffering from mental illness and disorders is essential.
Resources should be available in the palm of our hands. When we have had family members or
friends lost to mental health disorders, this should be the first sign that something must get done.
Imagine these young people as your child, friend, peer, student, etc. There are many unanswered
questions on what could’ve been done differently, but some that always come to mind are, what
is something that we could’ve done to prevent this, and did we do enough?