I go to youth group with my church every Wednesday. We have one big service where we do worship then a speaker talks about something for a little bit. When he is done talking we branch off into smaller groups so it’s easier to share. The groups are supposed to be like little therapy circles. One week we talked about our biggest fears and one of the girls in the group said that hers was a failure. She said that every little thing she does she’s afraid to fail or not be enough. Everyone agreed and said that they compared themselves to other people and felt like they couldn’t meet those standards, the standards set by themselves and other people.

A lot of the problem is teens sit in their rooms on their phones and don’t get real connections with people. Especially when Covid 19 was at its peak and people couldn’t leave their houses. Kids just sat at home and couldn’t go out with friends or anything. Teens need to go out and talk to people and build relationships. “This feeling of connectedness is important and can protect adolescents from poor mental health, and other risks like drug use and violence.”

There is a perception among many our age that if you are struggling and talk about it, it makes you weak. Jodie Zipprich seems to agree and says, “I think some students are afraid to ask for help. I also think there is a misconception that asking for help means one is weak or incompetent.” And Amy grief says, “I think there is a stigma or an embarrassment around mental health, which I think is a shame because if you, you know we’re running a fever or if you were throwing up, you wouldn’t be scared to go to the nurse but I think the stigma that’s attached to mental health is making you feel like you know it’s not as important or it’s not a good enough reason.” “…or they would be afraid of what their friends might say, I’ve had some kids say that you know they’re not crazy, and I think a lot of times people think that you know, just having some of these thoughts and these feelings would put them in a category where they feel like people would look at him as crazy.” I think that she is also very right. People don’t want to seem like they are crazy or get made fun of by their friends.

I completely understand being afraid to talk to someone. However, we have counselors and social workers at school who would always be willing to talk to you.
Jodie Zipprich is always able to listen, “I have worked as a school counselor for 15 years and a crisis clinician for 8 years. I do my jobs because I care about the well-being of people. If I can’t help a student, I will certainly find someone who can… There is no need for any student to be scared; our doors are always open.”
You can always find someone who is the right fit for you. It doesn’t always have to be someone at the school. Mrs. Grief mentioned, “I genuinely care about you know the students that I visit with and I want good things for them and, you know, sometimes I’m not the right fit and so sometimes they make better connections with their counselor and I think that’s great.”

You can reach out to either one of these school staff members or someone else. But if you are struggling there is someone who can help if you are just willing to open up.