Within the walls of UHS, a silent struggle unfolds; an invisible battle against the stigma of mental health. Revealing the untold stories of resilience, UHS students step forward to break the silence surrounding mental health:
CoCo was the name of a very special dog who had an amazing life. When I interviewed Jaden Lu, he explained how the death of his dog affected his mental health:
He knew it had affected him when he realized he never got to say a proper goodbye. “CoCo was taken to the vet and was put down, and it’s always stuck with me that I never got to give her a true goodbye.”
He coped by distracting himself “by watching TikTok and studying a lot.”
Lu is moving from Maryland to Florida shortly after graduation which also affects his mental health. “My fear of change makes the move from Maryland to Florida extremely difficult for me. I’ve spent almost every night thinking about it, and all it does is make my heart race and shake up my breath. It’s not a nice feeling at all.”
What other factors have the greatest impact on your mental health? Could you elaborate on why these factors affect your mental well-being the most?
“It’s like I blinked one day in eighth grade, and now I’m two months away from graduation. Everyone and everything around me is changing, but I stay the same.”
Tess Barnhurst is a senior at Urbana High School. She has an older brother who is only a year older than her but he is attending Brigham Young University in Utah. This distance is a lot for her as they have always been close. When interviewing her, she explained how not seeing him affects her mental health:
How has your older brother moving out affected your mental health?
“Jake has been my best friend since we were little kids. Now that he’s gone I realize how much I miss him playing guitar. I miss going to late night movies and I miss talking to him and getting his advice. Of course I still can but it’s not the same.”
What other factors have the greatest impact on your mental health? Could you elaborate on why these factors affect your mental well-being the most?
“Having him leave has been hard when dealing with mental health and other randomness and drama. I don’t have him to lean on as much as I used to. Wasting time online negatively impacts my mental health.”
Alessandra Tejada-Jovel is a junior at Urbana High School. She has mentioned how friendships have affected her mental health:
How have friendships affected your mental health throughout your life?
“Yes, friendships have greatly affected my mental health throughout my life. Usually, I tend to find that if I am not in a good mental state I will start to self isolate from my friends and that can lead to even worse mental health problems. So with mental health, I feel like good friends really matter so that you guys can be there for each other when things get rough.”
What specific factors have the greatest impact on your mental health? Could you elaborate on why these factors affect your mental well-being the most?
“Other factors that tend to affect my mental health however include anxiety-inducing tasks such as getting good grades at school by doing your work, and thinking about the future. Specifically college. These also have affected me because motivation is low, and a path as to where I want to go isn’t clear. It leads to anxiety problems which exacerbates depression issues.”
Anusha Pahar is a junior at Urbana High School who has moved around a lot. She has lived in New York and Louisiana, but Maryland is her home for now. Moving around has affected her mental health quite a bit so here is what she has to say on the topic:
Do you tend to feel comfortable discussing your mental health? If so, what factors contribute to your openness? If not, what factors prevent you from discussing it?
“Yes, I do. My parents are very supportive and they give importance to maintaining good mental health.”
Since moving to Maryland, have you noticed any changes in your mental well-being? If so, could you describe how your mental health has either improved or declined since the move?
“Since moving to Maryland I’ve been a little stressed but also much happier, probably because the weather here is much sunnier and brighter than the 4 months of snow and wetness in New York each year. and also the school environment is much more rigorous and pushes you to do your best and keep yourself busy.”
What other factors have the greatest impact on your mental health? Could you elaborate on why these factors affect your mental well-being the most?
“Things that affect my mental health are too much coursework from school and junior year in general thinking about what I’m going to do in the future. but exercising and talking to friends and family, going on walks and spending time together helps me to get my thoughts together and discuss everyday problems with them so I have better mental health.”
Alyssa Tyler is a senior at Urbana High School.
How has highschool affected your mental health?
My mental health has really taken a toll in high school, with everything that happens I have really seen my mental health constantly drop and rise throughout high school.
How has the drama department affected your mental health?
Though the drama department has caused me many panic attacks and really stresses me out sometimes, it has been one of the few things to keep me sane throughout my four years.
What specific factors have the greatest impact on your mental health? Could you elaborate on why these factors affect your mental well-being the most?
I really think the main thing that has affected my mental health is the constant pressure to be an amazing student, like- when I don’t do well on an assignment that pressure is always there and makes me feel like an absolute failure and really just sends me into a spiral
Their journeys unveil a path of courage and healing, shedding light on the power of resilience amidst adversity. Mental health matters. Everyone goes through something, everyone is constantly going through something so just be kind.
