Look in any classroom at Bellwood-Antis. You may see 15 to 20 students in a typical class. That means anywhere from 3 to 4 students in every room show symptoms of a mental health disorder.

That’s because overall 1 in 5 students show symptoms of a mental health disorder.  Statistics show that almost 80% of students need help but don’t get it. But what does this all mean?

A student’s school staff should be able to notice and know what’s going on with the students. So many kids have depression, anxiety, and substance abuse, but they don’t get help or tell someone.

Based on the new report by NPR every school, including B-A, has some crises in school involving mental health. Solving them is the next step.

Mrs. Adams, the B-A high school assistant principal, said the signs of a mental illness are: “sadness, anger, crankiness, or frustration. An affected student may not care about things or activities you used to enjoy, have weight loss when not dieting or weight gain from eating too much. You might have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep or think about committing suicide”.

However while these symptoms are common, they are not universal.

“Not everyone experiences depression the same way,” Mrs. Adams said.

Mrs. Adams said students with depression have options at BA. Depending on the situation each is handled differently. Some students need additional outside counseling and others can get assistance through the STAR Student Assistance Program. The important thing is for students to seek out help from an adult they trust. Each staff member at Bellwood-antis knows how to refer a student for assistance and knows the importance of keeping the information confidential.”

Other signs, according to guidance counselor Mrs. Butler, include: a drop in grades, declining appearance, suicidal ideation, a sense of hopelessness, and dramatic mood changes.

Mrs. Butler also says that it’s iffy for mental health crises to go unnoticed. “It can be difficult to identify some students because they don’t display the typical warning signs. The school welcomes the input from parents in an effort to help students who may go unnoticed.”