I would like to start off with a trigger
warning because I find them to be
incredibly important over the course of
this presentation I will be talking
about personal struggles with mental
illness which will venture into topics
including anxiety depression and suicide
if you feel uncomfortable at any point
throughout this talk
it is both welcomed and encouraged that
you leave the room to get some space
take care of yourself my name is Diana
Paige I am 19 years old and I am
depressed and that is okay yes you heard
me correctly just as a diabetic has to
deal with managing blood sugar levels
and sugar intake I have to deal with my
depressive symptoms and that's not just
feeling extra sad when things go wrong
in fact it's feeling sad for no reason
at all it's having some days where it's
incredibly difficult to get out of bed
because I don't see a reason to or
because I was up all night the night
before thinking about this thing that I
should have done because I but I didn't
because I was too tired because I am so
tired all the time or that thing that I
could have done but I didn't because I
felt the motivation to do it or that
third cookie that I shouldn't have eaten
because that's another 120 calories
another 12 minutes on the elliptical and
I just don't have time to fit that into
my color-coded schedule or how Maddie
never texted me back and I probably
shouldn't text her again because she'll
think I'm annoying and she probably
hates me and I don't know why she
wouldn't because most of the time I hate
me too but that's just my depression I
am NOT my depression but it is a part of
me and it has been for the last nine
years nearly half of my life time it is
my illness and it's as real and painful
as any physical illness the brain is an
organ just like anything else if you
leave anxiety or depression without
treatment just like if you leave any
physical disorder like cholesterol or
diabetes it doesn't just go away on its
own and just as people die as a result
of untreated physical illnesses people
also die as a result of untreated mental
illnesses
suicide happens when pain exceeds the
ability to cope people don't kill
themselves their illness kills them and
that's difficult to wrap your head
around people are victims of suicide the
suicide is what kills them
the illness is what kills them and these
deaths happen more often than many
people recognize suicide is the third
leading cause of death among teenagers
and the second among college students
but it shouldn't take a single death let
alone the 40,000 that happen each year
in the United States alone to say that
this is important we as human beings are
built with minds that are constantly
judging and that's okay it's natural but
let me put a question on the table how
many negative slang terms can you think
of that are associated with people with
mental illnesses crazy insane weird
freak violent psycho the list goes on
now how many negative slang terms can
you think of that are associated with
people with cancer there are none but
both of these are illnesses so why is it
if you suffer an illness of the mind
your thought to be irrational but if you
suffer an illness of the body your
honorable courageous and strong mental
illnesses are the only illnesses in
which we blame the person suffering for
their pain and this won't change unless
we talk about it and we can't be afraid
or ashamed to talk about this because
one in five people suffer from a mental
illness mental illnesses are as common
as brown eyes or silver cars and they're
everywhere not just and typically
assumed high risk families and
neighborhoods I grew up in Fairport New
York population 5300 the small suburb of
Rochester I call home is primarily
filled with white middle-class families
therefore making fair for high school a
population of 1500 primarily white
middle class students
with impressively high graduation rates
a great deal of student involvement in
sports and extracurriculars and
award-winning success in academics one
would never walk down the halls of
Fairport High School and think there are
struggling students in this environment
but what society needs to recognize is
that teens are struggling everywhere
even in the most unexpected communities
I learned this firsthand when I created
and led a school-wide student-run mental
health program titled true colors in my
senior year of high school with the
assistance of my friend Matt Kemp the
true colors assembly was comprised of
two parts the red line activity and if
you really knew me cards the red line
activity involves students crossing a
line when an announced statement applied
to them
for example cross the line if your
parents are divorced but we took these
announced statements past the typical
comfort zone enforced in schools
bringing up topics ranging from
self-harm to suicide students were able
to see the physical and emotional
struggles of their peers during this
activity as well as recognize that they
weren't alone in their own personal
situations the second activity if you
really knew me was the portion of the
assembly I often called my baby each
student was given a small card and asked
to write down something that no one knew
about them the cards were written
anonymously to ensure that students felt
no restrictions regarding what they
could write about in my explanation and
prompt to the activity I said something
I could have written on a card if you
really knew me you would know I struggle
with anxiety and body image issues in an
attempt to lessen the chances of them
taking it as a joke these are high
schoolers after all I was not hoping nor
expecting the majority of cards to
contain secrets of pain struggle and
mental illness but that is exactly what
we received these students from
middle-class suburban neighborhoods were
writing about struggles with anxiety
depression suicide physical and
emotional abuse eating disorders and
many other horrifying and painful
experiences why is it acceptable to miss
class if you're in the health center or
nurse's office but not the Counseling
Center
why is going out for your physical
health encouraged but your mental health
overlooked
when I was in high school you could go
down to the nurse's office at any point
throughout the day regardless of whether
or not you had class you can lie on a
cot in the corner of the room for as
long as your heart desired if you had a
stomachache or a headache but if you
wanted to talk to a counselor it had to
be by appointment and only if you didn't
have class like okay I'll simply
reschedule my panic attack from third
period to sixth period no issue there
how do we fix this broken mental health
system I have some tips for adults
looking to help teens and teens looking
to help themselves adults it starts with
normalizing mental illness recognizing
that it exists and how prevalent it
truly is a wide variety of professions
including teaching requires some form of
CPR training which is important don't
get me wrong but how many professions
require training in mental health
literacy one in five people actively
struggle with a mental illness how often
do you have to help someone who can't
breathe educate yourself even if your
job doesn't require you to trigger
warnings I gave one at the beginning of
this talk it took what 30 seconds 30
seconds to ensure that your audience
knows what potentially high-risk
material will be discussed and knows
that you care about their personal
well-being somehow it has become
controversial to take steps to keep your
audience from having potentially tragic
flashbacks in the middle of a lecture
but that is another discussion to be had
it's 30 seconds take the time speaking
as a teen I know how apprehensive we can
be towards what adults have to say to us
especially if we disagree when it comes
to mental health don't act like you know
everything maybe you've read every book
available at your public library to help
you better understand your son's
depression but that does not make you a
trained psychologist if a teen comes to
you looking for support that's exactly
what they want support not all the
answers
so listen present yourself as someone
that teens can talk to establish that
you are trustworthy and that your door
is always open announce this
make it known and follow through
sometimes a listening ear is all they
need and sometimes listening is not
enough and the steps taken post
listening are critical while they may
come off as suggestions or trying to
help pushing a struggling teen to go to
the Counseling Center or talk to their
parents or go to inpatient or outpatient
services may come off as incredibly
threatening
I know these resources are supposed to
be helpful but getting a struggling teen
or person of any age to get help is the
most difficult step in the healing
process so be patient if a teen is
opening up to you about their deepest
and most personal struggles chances are
they don't want to rush into handling it
all head-on
obviously there are emergency situations
in which patience is not an option
but you have to recognize the signs does
this teen need help here and now in this
moment or can it wait this all goes back
to the importance of education which is
the first step in the entire process
teens if you are actively struggling
with a mental illness right now in this
moment I want you to really look at me I
am Here I am breathing I am struggling
and I understand you may not be okay
right now but you will be recognized the
importance of self-care I've always
taken issue with the negative
connotation associated with selfishness
there's nothing wrong with putting
yourself first learn about the coping
mechanisms that work for you maybe it's
exercise yoga drawing playing an
instrument watching a horrible romantic
comedy do whatever you need to do to
feel safe comfortable and content with
being alive
sometimes coping mechanisms don't work
and that is okay that is when it's
important to recognize when you can't
handle things on your own anymore and
while your best friend may love and
support you that doesn't mean that they
can treat your mental illness even if it
doesn't seem like it there are resources
out there that are compassionate and
understanding that you can reach out to
learn about the resources you have in
your air
maybe it's your Counseling Center or a
helpline reach out to them it can only
help we all have to work together to
legitimize the feelings of today's youth
we need to talk about this or nothing
will change I am standing in front of
you today because I am tired I am tired
of living in a society where if your arm
is broken you get a cast but if your
brain is broken you get outcast over the
course of this talk 20 people around the
world have died by suicide with proper
treatment and support systems in place
every one of those deaths could have
been prevented it is the personal
responsibility of every human being to
help take a stand and help raise
awareness for mental health it's time to
end stigma start support and save lives
thank you
[Applause]