By Taylor Johansen, Staff writer
Millions of Americans are affected by mental health disorders every year, and students in high school are no exception. Depression, autistic dis- orders and Attention De cit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) are only a scant few of the variety of ill- nesses that students suffer from. Those who suf- fer these ailments can struggle in their classes and among their peers, but sometimes can have their ill- ness be unnoticed by those among them; or even themselves.
Depression is a common and severe problem among teenagers. According to teen depression website Erika’s Lighthouse, about 80 percent of teens suffering from depression go undiagnosed and untreated.
Depression can cause problems for students in schools, making them antisocial and unwilling to talk to their peers. It can also affect their grades, as they lack the motivation or desire to complete work and turn it in. Suicide, normally the fatal re- sult of depression, is the third highest cause of death
among people ages 15 to 21.
Teachers and students should be careful and
aware, taking notes of behaviors in their peers that suggest depression and be sure to help them. Signs of depression include sadness, anger, frequent cry- ing, withdrawal from social behaviors, bad grades, lack of interest in recreation, and changes in sleep- ing and eating habits.
“In the last ve years, self harm has also been growing in frequency among sufferers of depres- sion,” said Peggy Horon, a licenced professional counselor at Aurora Healthcare. “This is seen in both males and females. Under the depression, there’s a lot of self hatred.”
ADHD is a common mental illness in teenagers. Similarly to depression, but not exactly the same, students who suffer from ADHD often have trouble doing their schoolwork and remaining focused on their assignments, and may have bad grades as a re- sult. ADHD can also cause problems when it comes to socialization amongst peers.
“It’s like having blinders on,” said one IT junior who suffers from ADHD, and who prefers to remain anonymous. “It’s hard to listen or keep a conversa- tion going, having your mind wander a lot.”
A few different signs of a student having ADHD include lack of interest in lessons, lack of interest in socializing, not doing work, jitteriness and a gen- eral disregard for surroundings.
Aspergers Syndrome is an autism spectrum dis- order, a form of high functioning autism that affects a person’s decision making and socialization skills. As with any Autism disorder, it’s a communica- tion disorder, one that makes it dif cult for an “As- pie” as they’re called to communicate. They have trouble making eye contact while speaking, often twitching and dgeting, possessing a few verbal or physical tics.
“Socialization for Aspergers children is very hard….” said Horon. “They don’t understand social cues.”