FRULEIN G.

BALANLAY MA’AM LORACE LOPEZ

GR. 12 – HUMSS E POSITION PAPER

Education for Mental Health should be Mandatory in School

Many people in the world who suffer from mental illness struggle with social, emotional, and
psychological problems throughout their daily lives. Mental health is determined by the inter-
relationship of physical, environmental, social, and psychological factors and is an integral part of every
child’s healthy development. An imbalance between one or more of these factors can lead to a child
who experience mental health issues that interfere with the child’s ability to successfully complete
his/her development into a healthy productive adult. Issues that children encounter that can create an
imbalance include peer bullying, victimization, youth violence, homicide, suicide, child abuse including
sexual abuse and/or neglect, substance abuse, family violence, mental illness, and barriers to mental
health care. The prevalence of mental health issues often has a negative influence on various
developmental outcomes. Poor mental health can have several effects on children and youth. It cannot
only impact academic performance and success but also interfere with social relationships and physical
health.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 16.8% of Filipino students aged 13 to 17
have attempted suicide at least within a year before the 2015 Global School-based Student Health
survey. This is just one of the many indicators showing the state of mental health of these children.
Efforts should be identified to have proper treatment and prevention of negative health and social
outcomes. Thus, mental health education can be helpful to the students. Through this, students will be
able to utilize the support of the school and peers in order to guide themselves toward better mental
health. In the article written by Leah Harris, “Mandating mental health education without addressing the
root causes of their distress, and without naming our deeply problematic collective response, is like
slapping a band-aid on a gaping wound”. That is why, mental health professionals must be mobilized to
educate families or people about mental health and mental disorders to eliminate stigma,
discrimination, and neglection of an individual feelings. They must participate in and contribute to the
development of mental policy and service delivery guidelines.

The epidemic and the government's lack of sound health regulations have made the already
problematic mental health of Filipino youngsters much worse and since mental disorders begin in
adolescence, much attention on the mental health of individuals in this age group must be given. Suicide
intervention, prevention, and response strategies with particular attention to the concerns of the youth
should be implemented in school. This will be good not only for the mental health of the individual, but
also for those around him or her.
References:

https://leahharris.medium.com/why-mandating-mental-health-education-in-schools-is-a-band-aid-on-a-
gaping-wound-d72c3e570be2

https://www. centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/should-mental-health-be-taught-schools

https://www.superprof.co.uk/blog/are-schools-doing-enough-to-promote-good-mental-health/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC8501475/