I heard about the Day of Silence the morning of April 21, 2015. As far as I knew, it was a day of silence for those who have self harmed or are suicidal. It made a huge impact on me that there was a movement bringing attention to it. All throughout the day, I had a lot of words thrown at me, stories, questions about why I was doing it, and refusals that it wasn’t that day. I had argued to myself that a person didn’t need a specific day to bring awareness to a cause, but I wondered what they were talking about.
Later that day I looked it up and found that it wasn’t a day of silence for people who have self harmed or are suicidal, but a day to bring attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment. This is a great cause on its own that I am very proud to have been apart of, but I thought that creating more awareness through the school about common mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder was also important.
Approximately one out of five teenagers has a diagnosable mental health disorder, and nearly one third show symptoms of depression. One in eight teens have an anxiety disorder which can affect their daily lives by preventing them from hanging out with friends or doing poorly in school.
I’ve heard people say things like “Quit being so bipolar” or “Just forget about it” countless times, but the thing about mental disorders is they can’t just go away. They affect every part of a person’s life and make the person do things that don’t make sense.
If you want to raise awareness about mental health, tie green ribbon around your wrist, the color of mental health awareness in the month of May.