Mental Health - An Invisible Epidemic

 Mental Health - An Invisible Epidemic

by Lisandro Lopez

Image Taken From Pexels

What is Civic Engagement? How does that correlate to this Social Issue?

- A definition of civic engagement offered by a post of Syracuse University states, "Thomas Ehrlich defines civic engagement as 'working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make that difference. It mean promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and nonpolitical processes.'"  Essentially, what this means is

Infographic Taken From UW-Stout

that civic engagement is the involvement of folks within their community getting together and finding innovative ways to improve their overall quality of life. This correlates to the social issue that I'll talk about as it a problem within my community. In this blog, you'll be able to understand, recognize, and address the issues that come with the decline of mental health in order to improve the quality of life within your community. 

What is Mental Health?

Image Taken From Pexels

 As described by SAMSHA(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services), "Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act, and helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices." Essentially, our status of mental health is the determining factor on how we operate our day to day lives. Ignoring the signs of decline can be detrimental to your mental health. However, recognizing them and seeing those signs can be a step forward to improving your mental health. 

Symptoms

- The decline to your mental health can come in different ways and it is imperative to know the signs and or symptoms that can follow. The following are some examples:

                                            1. A lack of enthusiasm/energy

                                            2. Loss in appetite

                                            3. Finding it challenging to concentrate

                                            4. Loss of excitement or motivation

                                            5. Feeling overwhelmed

                                            6. Difficulty in making choices/decisions

                                            7. Suicidal thoughts, etc.

Solutions 

- There was a lot of solutions folks offered when asking around my community. Here are following examples suggested:

                                                    1. Try to relax 

                                                    2. Seek professional help

                                                    3. Connect with people around you 

                                                    4. Take breaks

                                 5. Understand what you're going through is completely normal

                                                    6. Love yourself, etc.

Why does it matter? Why is it important to me?

- Mental health matters because just like any other aspect of one's health it's important to take care of it. It's a big part of our well being and affects our quality of life. Mental health affects how we think, feel, and act. It is interconnected to various parts of our lives, whether it is work, school, personal etc. It is both important to me, my community, and those around me because of how much it impacts our day to day lives. By recognizing the importance of mental health and taking the necessary steps to address it, we can create a healthier and supportive community for all. 

Community thoughts 

Adrian Rodriguez(21) 

"I think it gets overseen a lot, especially by the Latino community. I grew up in a household where we had to just toughen it up and suppress anything that would make us sad. There was never room to talk about how we felt at times. It's definitely had consequences to my mental health. There are moments in time where I'm by myself and sometimes I start thinking bad things. I currently have a great social group but sometimes I can't but feel depressed or overwhelmed. Awareness and addressing are the key to improving mental health."

Bryant Ayala (21)

"As someone majoring in Criminal Justice, it's definitely an underseen issue and a high contributor to crime. I've seen close hand how folks undergo a drastic change that is unfortunate to see. I'm someone who advocates for helping folks out. Whether it's for mental health or something physical, I think anyone suffering from any kind of ailment should get the help they need."

Work Cited

-  Patel, S. (2022, November 29). What is civic engagement?. SYR. https://onlinegrad.syracuse.edu/blog/what-is-civic-engagement/ 

- Depression. Saprea. (2023, September 25). https://saprea.org/heal/depression/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw5v2wBhBrEiwAXDDoJTwTt_899CcyLyeCYQShul0v5oiLX6Kx-u3pkYuCOCiULQGKJh2CfBoCHXgQAvD_BwE 

- Staff, N. I. (2023, January 10). Depression in college students: New Statistics and Research. https://www.newportinstitute.com/resources/mental-health/depression-on-college-campuses/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=NI_performancemax&utm_term=&kpid=go_cmp-17672242732_adg-_ad-__dev-c_ext-_prd-&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccB0KO-UWdMvqvf-_ytEZjLJa6bWfUuM0rYgqIXCneJEBoU69aU7OvBoCEXwQAvD_BwE 

- Civic engagement. Stout. (2019, April 5). https://www.uwstout.edu/life-stout/student-life/civic-engagement

- Person in Black Pants and Black Shoes Sitting on Brown Wooden Chair. (2020). Pexels. Retrieved April 16, 2024, from https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-in-black-pants-and-black-shoes-sitting-on-brown-wooden-chair-4101143/.

- Reche, D. (2019). Gray scale Photo of Man Covering Face With His Hands. Pexels. Retrieved April 16, 2024, from https://www.pexels.com/photo/gray-scale-photo-of-man-covering-face-with-his-hands-3601097/.