Stressed out: Ending an Insensitive Era

Riots. Murder. School Shootings. Suicides. Terrorism.

Every day, our televisions and radios inform us of the crime and violence bombarding our country. The exposure doesn’t stop there. With its ever-growing popularity, social media has become a prominent outlet for news. Nothing is kept secret with the internet these days.

Unfortunately, this also means nothing is kept safe from students.

Access to smartphones and the internet has led to an epidemic of exposure for students to see world news. There’s no way to protect them from the mental stresses caused by such news. While students may not discuss politics and world news as regularly as adults do, they’re still affected.

According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychology (AACAP), “research has shown that children and adolescents are prone to imitate what they see and hear in the news, a kind of contagion effect described as ‘copy cat’ events. Chronic and persistent exposure to such violence can lead to fear, desensitization (numbing), and in some children an increase in aggressive and violent behaviors”.

These negative impressions become more overwhelming for students who have direct ties to what’s happening in the news. This could be anything from the events taking place in their neighborhoods to death of a close friend or family member. Add this negative exposure to the everyday stress of puberty, growing up, and school expectations, and it’s no wonder NPR reports that since 2013, teenagers have reported stress levels exceeding those of adults.

Sensitivity to these common stress levels, however, are lacking in our current school system.

More individual teachers and administrators are being trained to psychologically handle major crises including anything from the death of a student to in-school tragedies. Schools handle these events differently based on resources, capacity, and culture, but often they include counseling services for students during these times.

However, what resources are available for students on a daily basis?

Mental health awareness is on the rise, but using this awareness to implement actual change is the next step to improving the mental well-being of students. We must be flexible and redesign our delivery models in schools to provide trauma sensitive, and responsive environments for our students.

So, what can individual schools, school districts, and the government do to assist in taking care of the mental health of their students?

Evidence-based programs need to be implemented in schools to help students understand the different ways stress can affect them, both physically and mentally. These programs can be one-time seminars but preferably full semester-long classes, depending on what the school sees fit. Associations like the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) offer a variety of resources to assist schools in creating such programs. These programs can address anything from handling news reports on war and terrorism to handling grief and everyday stresses. Programs should be held in smaller groups to amplify the effect on the students.

The same resources need to be made readily available to parents. As NPR reported, “…parents have underestimated what their kids are feeling. This became apparent in 2009 when a Stress in America survey showed that parents had no idea the level of stress their kids were under. But parents are finally starting to notice”.

With parents noticing these stress levels, the next big step is in educating parents how to take care of their children's mental health better. The same resources offered by the NASP can be tailored to show parents how stress affects their children and what they can do to help. Often, parents don't seek professional help for their children because of the stigma surrounding mental health issues.  However, given the current crisis facing our young people, we must provide an environment where we remove this level of shame. Otherwise, we will lose our children. 

Moving forward, it’s also important for schools to understand the impact social media news has on students. There’s little that can be done to protect them from it, so why not help students face it by talking to students and helping them make sense of the news they’re seeing?

The AACAP stated, “…it is important to talk to the child or adolescent about what he/she has seen or heard. This allows parents to lessen the potential negative effect of the news and to discuss their own ideas and values. While children cannot be completely protected from outside events, parents can help them feel safe and help them better understand the world around them”.

Since students spend significant amounts of time at school, having a way to discuss news at school is important since students are going to talk about it on their own.

School districts should begin utilizing district-wide psychologists that are readily available for students. While individual school budgets may not allow for an on-site psychologist, having one available per district can help alleviate that problem. Having these services available creates a resource for students and parents alike; individual meetings with psychologists also allows for student evaluations to identify if students need more help. Keeping on top of this lets both schools and parents protect students from future traumatic events.

Nationally, the government needs to change the laws surrounding mental health help in schools. Laws and regulations play a key part in implementing programs to help schools and districts help their students. The government already identifies the importance of mental health awareness. Now, it’s important to push further than just the recognition.

Students are stressed out. There’s no denying that. It falls on the schools and the government to protect them and to help parents protect them too. This protection comes in the form of a stronger foundation of mental health care. After all, our future depends on the mental well-being of our current students.