by Jacob J.
Where students go unnoticed, teachers and counselors are so busy they do not see the real struggle underneath the covers. Some students are so good at hiding their emotions that the only thing you can see is a simple smile with a concrete wall lying in between, and on the other side is a broken and torn heart. Although these counselors and teachers are busy, they still make time to stop and look around at their faces. In a short interview with Mr. Harrington, he states, "Everyone has depression at some point in time, whether it’s expressed emotion or not, it is almost always hidden. What is common in most men, a male persona, tough guy macho-macho, is born to hide anything that is personable which leads to nothing voiced, kept it in their minds." In his teaching career, Harrington has known 3 or 4 young men and women who committed suicide and more with underlying mental illness.
Many people believe that the majority of depression is in men. However, in a recent study done by the National Institute of Mental Health, young adolescent females ages 12-17 (29.2%), compared to males (11.5%), have a higher statistic rate for overall teen depression. Wikipedia states that 77.9% of males partake in all suicides. That is four times the higher rate females do.
A virus known as COVID-19 in 2020 has brought widespread panic. With everyone locked in their homes, there had been an uprising in depression for those in their homes. Let alone those with seasonal depression, having some of the worst time during that summer and unable to get away from the solitude of their homes. Quote, Mr. Harrington believes that “being stuck at your damn house and isolated no matter what gravitated to electronics, is not much of a great influence on the brain.” He then adds that schools should be an inviting place where children should get along. Due to COVID-19, he believes that schools have become too harsh overall within the rules and regulations and that they should ease off.
Another underlying issue besides the effects of COVID-19 would be bullying. Most of us companions in general school life have maybe seen some form of bullying. It may be through text messages, harsh harassment, or even aspects such as friends simply teasing others for what they wear. Even these instances we see are forms of bullying. In a study done in 2021-2022 by The National Center of Educational Statistics, there had been “about 19% of students 12-18 reported being bullied at school.” To put these numbers into perspective, 19% of Mountain Range affected by bullying would be around 380 students. That is just over half of one grade. Bullying can lead to the depression we see in teens; since there is the development of their young adolescent brains at such a young age, bullying can increase the standard that this is how the world will turn out to be, thus forming a mindset of no way out.
To conclude, we reviewed how the effects of COVID-19 have affected teen lives. We have dove deeper into personal lives to see opinions on the subject of teen depression. We have gone further to see how bullying has affected those who are in depression and how bullying can push those into depression.