Destigmatize mental health

Dear editor,

I am writing to you in regard to a public health issue that is seen across the country and directly associated with college students. People should not only continue to become more aware of mental health, but should also begin to raise the question as to whether there should be a mental health evaluation in addition to their yearly physical. Mental health isn’t becoming more common, but rather people are beginning to talk more openly about their struggles with their own mental health.

Although, mental health slowly but surely is becoming less stigmatized, it’s important to recognize how common things such as depression and anxiety are. I think that The Daily Orange could conquer this topic by talking about how common it’s becoming for children, teens and adults. Like any illness, mental health has a broad range of things that people might be struggling with. People who have strep throat or have the common cold often look to their doctor to get medicine immediately, but when it comes to mental health, we decide to wait until the person is at their absolute worse before someone decides to treat them.

Mental health affects millions of people here in the United States from all age ranges, yet it’s continuously pushed to the side and is both treated and seen as a daily emotional struggle rather than an illness. By promoting the idea of implementing mental health evaluations in addition to yearly physicals, it might become less taboo for individuals in our society to ask for help and rather just another part of their routine checkup.

Sincerely,

Aliah Bowllan

Junior in David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics