Mental illness has become a phenomenon which has heavily impacted the public of the workplace and in schools around the U.S. The result of mental illness even outside of the workplace is something that has been troubling for a lot of the public. A myriad of issues can stem from untreated mental disorders, along with the stigmas brought towards the mentally ill many people have in today’s world.

The start of many mental health problems occur most often in adolescence. Half of the people that live with mental illness have experiences of initial mental health issues by the age of 14, and this number rises to 75% by the time they’re about 24 years old, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. What makes this a big deal is that your mental illness can play quite an interference in work performance. ADHD for instance is a disorder which makes it difficult for someone to concentrate and to control impulsive behavior. Symptoms of ADHD begin throughout the childhood of a person, but they can still persist throughout adolescence and adulthood.

Stigmas and discrimination are something that have very much harmed the lives of many of the mentally ill as a population. People that identify with mental health issues say that the stigmas society has about mental illness they experience can create complications and make it more strenuous for their well-being and recovery. According to the Mental Health Foundation, Almost nine out of ten of the public that have issues with mental illness say that they feel discrimination has a negative effect on their lives.

Quite a significant role played by schools is the identifications of these mental illnesses and warning signs by school resources and staff early in a students life. That isn’t to say every school of the United States regularly undertakes this procedure. As of recent, there has been a widening mental health treatment gap in schools as parents and educators around the US persistently advocate for more public school funding for resources. According to one study by the National Survey of Children’s Health, treatment is granted to roughly 78% of children with depression. However, children who report behavioral or conduct and anxiety issues receive around 59%, and then 54% separately. It was also found in the study that there existed disparities on the base of ethnicity and income. Children from low income, as well as African-American and Hispanic families are much less likely to be diagnosed based on limited access to care, especially in the case of African American students.

 Charlie Nguyen is another student who is personally familiar with the issue of mental illness. When asked about what mental illness he identifies as having, he answered that he lives with Major Depressive Disorder. A mental illness which is characterized by persistent depressed moods, as well as loss of interest in activities or motivation. Some troubles he’d expressed he often experiences would be a major impairment in executive function. Saying this consisted of symptoms like procrastination of workloads, and difficulty in picking them back up. When asked about stigma, how he feels about it, he answered that the stigma surrounding mental illness is something he feels very negatively about. A follow up question was if it has been hard to come to terms with recovery of his mental illness, he responded that he did indeed feel that it has made it difficult to maintain recovery or go out and find help. That stigma and negative notions attached to mental illness has perpetuated the issues he has experienced.

 Dan Algarin is a former student who experience issues concerning his mental health. When asked what disorder he identified as having, he answered that he struggled with ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). Which is a mental illness that significantly impairs ability to pay attention or to have certain impulses. When asked about how he felt about stigma, he expressed his frustration with the certain people who hold stigma concerning mental health. Saying that they tend to perpetuate the issues that come along with mental illness that many around the world often face daily. When asked about what symptoms he usually experiences, he answered that he had difficulty in focusing and paying attention, absent-mindedness, as well as mood swings and irritability.

A standpoint that the National Alliance on Mental Illness takes intently is the advocacy for the support that schools have to give mental health services based in schools. These sponsored programs bring a community of mental health professionals in schools to provide health care in favor of mental illness.