Writing about topics of mental health within such a small, tight-knit school community was not easy; likewise, it is not an easy topic to comprehend either. When The Inkblot’s editorial board chose triggers of mental health as a topic for its center spread, it faced considerable challenges in gathering information.

An online questionnaire was sent to the student body, rather than on paper, to ensure the privacy of anyone who did not wish to disclose this information to classmates. Those who were interviewed about their mental health concerns were required to have parental consent to go on the record.

Those who do not personally deal with these issues may have trouble understanding people who cope with them, saying they’re “making it up.” Some may even say discussions of mental illness are irrelevant in a high school setting, even though half of all lifetime cases of mental disorders begin by age 14, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Questions of mental health need to be handled with caution, but not so much caution that they are not discussed at all.

“I think it’s important that the information is out there,” guidance counselor Carol Caruso said in an interview.

Funding for preventative measures of mental health are consistently lower than funding for treatment services, according to a study by the Institute of Medicine.

While this selection of stories covers the effects that triggers in certain curriculum can have on more vulnerable students, it is not the intention to make teachers and staff members feel as though they are not doing their job correctly.  According to Caruso, teachers are only told what they need to know and are not privy to any information about an individual that does not specifically apply to what is being discussed in the classroom.

“My first responsibility is not to the teacher—their job is to educate. My first responsibility is to the student and the family,” Caruso said.

We talk about these issues not to glamorize or glorify them, but to bring them to light.  Our goal is not to promote advocacy on a particular topic, but rather to raise awareness of it.