Mental Health is a person’s condition regarding their psychological and emotional well-being. Mental Health Awareness Month is a month to increase the awareness of mental health and wellness in Americans’ lives. In my opinion, this is the very cause of the many suicides in American teens and adults today.
According to https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/depression-rates-tripled-when-pandemic-first-hit, “The depression rate in the US tripled when the COVID-19 pandemic first presented itself.” The pandemic officially began on January 10, 2020, which is the beginning of the popularity of Mental Health Awareness Month. Personally, before COVID-19, I had never heard of this month. This has not only plagued my generation but older generations as well.
My viewpoint could be seen as atrocious to a closed-minded thinker but in all honesty, I think certain people who have never been diagnosed with mental health issues are trying to fit in with the culture today. Depression is an emotion in my opinion. Only for a moment can one be depressed and this is something that is misinterpreted in today’s culture. It is a choice to allow yourself to feel this way consecutively. There are plenty of activities that a person could execute to better their mindset.
According to https://www,image.ie/living/culture/social-media-has-turned-us-into-needy-attention=seekers-181520, “Social media started as a free way to connect humanity but has shown over the years to be ‘addictive, punishing, and toxic.'” Some humans today will do or say anything for a like or follow. Mental health is one trend that latched itself onto American culture in turn, adolescents know what it is to be depressed. It is toxic to our communities which are full of kids that will be exposed to this taught behavior.
The stigma that is attached to being depressed is a heavy load. It includes suicide and violent acts. This could possibly be avoided if mental health was not pushed on Instagram, Facebook, News headlines, etc. Maybe my thinking about this is somewhat radical, but opposites attract, and Mental Health Awareness Month, a movement to inform one about being healthy mentally, is maybe the one thing influencing our minds to be depressed.
Such things as finding a reason to be depressed for a trend is happening every day by our youth’s undeveloped minds. Our actions influence younger generations to be more aware of these toxic mental health issues that they may not even suffer but could eventually suffer from attempting to fit in. My opinion is my truth and with facts to back it up, this is enough to explain to one that any of the mental health issues that are being pushed by the media is something that can be more influential than something that one is born with.
