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Kihei Charter High School

Destigmatizing Mental Health

Lexie Rogers

Junior Seminar

Mrs. Wilson

26 August 2019

Preface:
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In today’s society, mental illnesses are severely misrepresented. Mental health is a highly

stigmatized topic in the United States, which leads to fear of having one. Many people do not

seek professional treatment as a result of not understanding their mental health or being reluctant

to say anything about how they are feeling due to fears of being seen as other. As a community,

there needs to be a change in the way mental illnesses are viewed and the attitudes towards them.

For my project, I hope to accomplish this for the students and faculty members of Kihei Charter

through a simple presentation/class discussions and peer emotional support.

I feel very strongly about mental health because I have seen many family members

struggle with extreme cases of mental disorders. Watching my family struggle and be ashamed

of themselves for being diagnosed with mental disorders to the point of ignoring they ever

existed has really opened my eyes to the stigma around mental disorders. I feel passionate about

making sure no one else has to go through the same struggles as I and many others have.

To reach the right audience, which is the highschoolers of Kihei Charter, I am going to be

doing a presentation in various high school advisory classes as well as create a lunch group,

meeting on Thursdays, for a peer emotional support group. I feel this is different because it is a

student, or their peer, informing them on a subject usually talked about by an adult, if that. I feel

this change will help me better connect with the students. This project needs to be done so less

people are stigmatizing mental illness and those who need it, seek proper treatment.

Driving Question:

How can I help destigmatize mental illness?

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Goals:

The goals for this project are to help people. I wish to educate those who have not

struggled with mental illness on the realities. What some people know of mental illness is what

they see on social media or television. These displays are usually exaggerated for entertainment

purposes, but don’t show what it is really like. The false image some people have in their head of

mental disorders is a reason why mental health is so highly stigmatized. I hope by educating the

students, some people's minds will be changed on the fact that people with mental illnesses can

still function in society with the proper treatment and or medications.

Another goal for this project is to help those who are struggling with mental illness and

need either a friend or simply to know they are not alone and seeking help is always beneficial.

The stigma around mental illness can make it a daunting task, but I hope to show anybody that is

struggling, they are not alone and they are not “crazy”. I feel a person's mental health is just as

important as their physical health, and if someone is struggling and I could potentially reach out

to that person, then it is worth it.

Content Knowledge:

I hope to cover the topics of mental health, and what you as a person can do to better it

like exercise, watch your diet, and screen time. I need to be informed on the signs of mental

illnesses like depression and anxiety, which are the main illnesses I would like to focus on since

they are the most common in high schoolers. I would also like to share how people with mental

illnesses have described feeling as a result of the stigma, and how it has made some peoples

conditions worse. It is important to relay personal experiences that I will research, as well as

facts and evidence on the dangers of ignoring mental instability in yourself and or loved ones.
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In order to teach about this subject, I should have some basic preparation and teaching

skills developed before hand so it can get through to the students. I will have the material I need

to go over thoroughly researched as well as how to speak to a class properly.

21st Century Skills:

The 21st century skills I will be using are communication, thinking and problem solving,

civic literacy and engagement, and self directional skills. This project will enhance my

communication skills because I will be speaking in front of a classroom, and interacting with

various students and teachers in order to complete my project. My thinking and problem solving

is being enhanced through the project itself. Having to plan and coordinate with teachers is

exercising the brain itself as well as teaching myself to be a problem solver. My civic literacy

skills are being exercised through the participation in my community at Kihei Charter. This

project does something positive for the community, which is educating people and helping others

through their struggles. Lastly, my self directional skills are being enhanced because I am

working on this project alone and have to plan and create everything on my own.

Limitations:

Possible setbacks of my project are not having enough time in class to thoroughly go over

all of the material. Another setback could be students not being interested in my subject and not

paying attention.

Methodology:

A way that I plan on documenting my progress is with my data and research throughout. I

would also record some of my class presentations as a form of showing what I am doing rather

than simply writing down what I am doing. This will cover my introduction, the presentation,

and the discussion afterwards.

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Annotated Bibliography:

“25 Ways You Can Impact Mental Health Awareness in Your Community.” Mental Health

Screening, Mindwise Innovations, 3 Sept. 2015,

https://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/blog/25-ways-you-can-impact-mental-health-

awareness-in-your-community.

There are simple things people can do to spread awareness for mental health that might

help a struggling person. There are tactics like sharing personal experiences with mental

health, and if that doesn't apply simply listening to someone and being there for them can

help. Educating yourself on the topic is also important in order to try and understand as

well as being able to educate others on the topic. Volunteering with organizations that help

others with their mental illness also helps spread the word while doing something good for

others.

Barile, Nancy. “The Importance of Mental Health Awareness in Schools.” Hey Teach!,

Western Governors University , 24 Oct. 2018,

https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/importance-mental-health-awareness-

schools1810.html.

Teaching coping mechanisms to deal with mental health and awareness of mental illnesses

in schools has been becoming more popular. A highschool teacher shared their own

personal account of dealing with a struggling student. This teacher, Mrs. Barile, had

previous training in mental health and was able to notice the signs of a withdrawing

student. The student began to stop trying in school and her appearance became sloppy and

disheveled. The student was thankfully able to get help, but if this teacher had not had the

training she did, the student may not have survived. About 60% of highschool students
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with mental illness do not graduate. It is estimated that one in five people are dealing with a

mental disorder. The average age for showing signs is 14, but people wait until they are an

adult to seek help. Intervening earlier could result in more positive outcomes for people.

Mental health awareness is not required in all schools, and that is why it is important as a

member of the community to do everything you can to help the youth and let them know

there is nothing wrong with them.

Centre, IWK Health. YouTube, YouTube, 3 Oct. 2012,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTIZ_aizzyk.

These are personal accounts of people with mental illnesses sharing their stories and what

they have been told. Mental health is highly stigmatized, and most people feel a prejudice

against themselves and have been called things like “crazy and stupid” just for having a

mental illness. In a professional setting, like an ER, people have relayed that they were

treated differently once it was known they had a mental illness. Once there is a mention of

psychiatric drugs, people immediately think they are there for attention even if it is a

completely unrelated injury. People feel dismissed before they even get to explain their

situation, and feel judged when they needed to feel comforted. The impact of stigma on

mental health has made people feel afraid of saying what they are thinking and families

will ignore their illness. The system is biased against people with mental health issues, and

labels someone as a diagnosis rather than a person. Mental illness is not something you can

physically see, and some people have a lack of understanding since it is not in front of their

face. Although there is a large stigma around mental illness, there are still those who

understand and want to help and spread awareness. People need to try and understand

mental illness more and keep it in the conversation in order to destigmatize it.
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“How to Support Someone with a Mental Health Problem.” Mental Health, Mental Health

Foundation , 18 Apr. 2019, https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/supporting-

someone-mental-health-problem.The first step in helping someone who is struggling, is

figuring out what they are struggling with. Each disorder has it own symptoms and there

are certain levels of the disorder. Common illnesses are depression, anxiety and obsessive

compulsive disorder. Other signs are self harming and altered states of reality. If you are

unsure of someone's mental state, talking to them in a non judgemental way will help, and

do not push for more information than they wish to give and go into the conversation with

an understanding and an open mind. If it seems out of your capability to help, seek

someone who can help in a crisis, whether it be self harm or a psychotic break. If someone

is feeling suicidal, encourage them to seek help immediately.

Rogers, Alexis R, and Amber Sampson. “Expert Interview: Mental Health Awareness.” 12

Sept. 2019.

In this personal interview with school counselor Mrs. Sampson, I discussed my plan for my

junior project. We discussed her “lunch bunches” and possibly talking to the younger kids

about mental health and more specifically depression. Most teenagers are affected by

depression and anxiety, so that should be my main focus. We also discussed me talking to

the advisory groups for middle and high schoolers as well as creating a club/group where

people can get moral support from their peers. Mrs. Sampson also told me once I created

my presentation, I should contact her again so we can make sure I am being sensitive to

people's feelings and do not push people too far.

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Rüsch, Nicolas, et al. “Mental Illness Stigma: Concepts, Consequences, and Initiatives to

Reduce Stigma.” European Psychiatry, Elsevier, Dec. 2005, https://www.europsy-

journal.com/article/S0924-9338(05)00090-8/fulltext.

There is a stigma around mental illnesses that make it even more difficult for people to

cope with their already difficult situations. Society has given mental illnesses a bad

reputation, and make people out to be less than, and some even discriminate against people

who suffer from a mental illness. This stigma can even produce a self loathing in people

with mental illnesses, where they believe what society says about them. Some people

refuse to seek help because they are afraid of being seen negatively by their peers. The self

loathing seen in people with mental illnesses results in low self esteem which can affect a

person's social life and sometimes can make them get angry and physical. Ways to

diminish the stigma around mental health are to educate yourself, protest against

discriminatory companies, and by simply being around people with illnesses and

normalizing the association.

Resources:

The resources I need are the health teacher Mr. Niko and the school counselor Mrs.

Sampson, as well as some of the highschool advisory teachers allowing me to speak to their

advisories. For physical materials, I will need a presentation, paper, a printer, markers/colored

pencils, a classroom, a poster, information cards, and a questionnaire.

Budget:

My project doesn’t require a lot of money, since it is primarily teaching based, but to buy

the materials needed to make information cards, and the poster I plan to spend around 20 dollars.
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Since I already have most of the materials at home, and using the teachers classrooms is free, the

cost for this project will be minimal but still effective.

Timeline:

September:

● Email two people about expert interviews

● Faculty Interview with Mr. Niko

● Expert Interview with Mrs. Sampson

● Begin Presentation

October:

● Project Proposal and Annotated Bibliography due

● Speak with advisory teachers about using their rooms and speaking to their

students

● Finish the presentation and go over it with Mrs. Sampson

● Meet with Ms. Lindsey

November:

● Make a poster for the peer support group

● Create information cards

● Begin Presenting to the advisories

● Meet with Ms. Lindsey

December:

● Finish presentations

● Begin doing the lunch peer therapy group

● Meet with Ms. Lindsey

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January:

● Compile videos and research for methodology

● Update Ms. Lindsey about the project

Faculty Interview:

During my interview with Mr. Niko we discussed the various ways a person's diet, exercise, and

screen time could affect a person’s mental state. Exercising releases serotonin, making people

happier, and a proper diet can help boost a person’s energy levels. Mr. Niko also informed me

that social media developers try to make boosts in serotonin when you hear the notification, so

being depressed over social media is real, and has been confirmed by a Facebook executive. He

also gave me some very good teaching tips as well as ideas on which classes I should talk to and

how to approach people in a way that is caring and informative.