Nobody ever said that high school would be easy. For most students, it’s a drastic change from their junior high, and with it comes a new social scene and a plethora of responsibility. After all, students are partaking in rigorous preparation for life on their own, so the stressful and demanding sensation is understandable. What isn’t, however, is high school’s neglect of mental health. 

Until recently, when our school partnered with Atlas Mental Health, it was on par with the rest of the country in its failure to address the dire need for mental wellness counseling for students. The trouble with the Atlas app is that it’s not mandatory. Students can choose to download or ignore it, and due to the stigma surrounding the app, it can be seen as socially unpopular to have it installed. Even when our school elected to print the suicide prevention hotline on the back of our ID cards (which I think is an excellent start), the attempt to protect students was weak at best. It’s great to have a number to call in times of crisis, but what about the buildup to the breakdown? Why aren’t we providing help for students before they reach the point when they would pick up the phone? Although it’s not clear why schools are shirking their responsibility to help students, it’s painfully evident how deeply mental health is impacting our communities.

It’s easy to forget the impact of school shootings in a year largely without in-person school, but truthfully, they never vanished, and the mental health issues that spark them are still prevalent. In fact, there’s already been more than half a dozen shootings this year. We wait for these tragedies to occur, and then label them as such extreme cases, but our empty words aren’t solving any problems. If schools were to have classes centered around mental health and how to recognize when a student is struggling, school shootings could be mitigated. Instead, the shootings play out time and time again because mental health counseling wasn’t present to allow students to express when they are hurting or unstable.

A mental health course wouldn’t just benefit those whose illnesses take them to violent ends; this type of guidance would also help those who suffer in silence simply because they have no way of sharing their feelings or checking in on a daily basis. In my own high school experience, I struggled through anorexia because I had nowhere to go, and I felt trapped inside a mind and body that didn’t agree. Had I been able to access a daily class dedicated to making me feel comfortable with myself, I wouldn’t have suffered through high school and its pressures like I did. 

Even for those who don’t currently struggle with mental illness, having a space to talk about mental health is critical in helping them realize that it’s okay to be unstable. When students believe that they are supported by their school and can express their emotions instead of suppressing them, they will be more willing to talk about their mental struggles if any arise in the future. And even if they never struggle with mental health throughout high school, they will be better prepared to recognize issues among their peers and give help to those who need it most.

For the sake of all high school students, mental health counseling should be a required class rather than an optional app or a tucked-away phone number. Doing so would protect the lives and futures of students. We deserve better than halfhearted attempts at addressing this crisis, because mental illness can’t be cured by avoiding it.