Twloha

One in five, or 20% of all teenagers in America have some sort of mental illness. Depression and Anxiety are the two most common mental illnesses that affect this age group each year. These illnesses can cause serious issues such as suicidal thoughts or self-harm, and they need to be taken seriously. Through different people and organizations, there is more awareness than ever for mental health issues, yet the mental health of teenagers is still rapidly declining. In order to understand why mental health is declining, you first have to understand the most common disorders affecting teenagers today. Depression is defined by Dictionary.com as, “a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal; sadness greater and more prolonged than
The non-profit called “To Write Love On Her Arms” [TWLOHA] “is a nonprofit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and invest directly into treatment and recovery” (Learn). Actors like Jared Padalecki, and Misha Collins, who are costars on the T.V. show Supernatural, have partnered with this organization to help create awareness for mental disorders because these actors themselves have struggled with some of the same issues that these organizations want to help. Jared Padalecki created a campaign called Always Keep Fighting, made a t-shirt that said this, and sold those t-shirts to support TWLOHA. Jared himself has struggled with depression and has had self doubt issues, even though he is a hugely successful actor with his own T.V. show and friends and family who love him. One of his costars, Misha Collins, also supports TWLOHA through his own non-profit organization called Random Acts, with the main goal of spreading random acts of kindness around the globe. Padalecki and Collins are reaching teenagers through these campaigns because of the fan base that surrounds the show. Many teenagers will bond with other teenagers because of things that they like, and
Teenagers when affected with these illnesses, they can do things that they will often regret later in life, such as use self-harm as a coping method, or even attempt suicide. The rise of teen suicide and depression has caught the attention of many organizations and prominent people who have taken action to help improve the mental health of teenagers and young adults. The decline of the mental health of teenagers have caused there to be an increase of awareness for these mental illnesses, with more people knowing about these issues, maybe there can be an increase in the mental health of