by 
Mental health has always been a very important problem.
But only recently has it started to get the attention it deserves.
Mental health issues are intertwined with virtually every field.
People of all occupations, races, beliefs, and nationalities are united by them.
Today, in the age of boundless communication these problems are more evident than ever.
The goal of education is to equip students with sufficient knowledge that will prepare them for their future lives.
Personal health, both mental and physical, is a basic key component to living a successful and happy life.
Learning about how to deal with it early on can make a world of difference.
So here are the three main reasons mental health education should be mandated for students in the USA.
Article Table of Contents
Global Demand
The average quality of human life today is higher than ever before.
We enjoy countless fruits of technological progress which managed to greatly enhance almost every single part of our existence.
We are safer, more productive, and more efficient.
And things seem to only get better in this regard.
Yet, with all the basic needs covered, the human psyche tends to be more sensitive to various factors.
It is hard to say what exactly causes this disparity.
But the facts are, mental health has become more of a concern over the last couple of decades – not only due to rapid progress in this field but also due to the growing demand for tools to deal with the following, previously ignored issues.
These are:
- Depression;
- Anxiety;
- Panic attacks;
- Obsessive disorders, etc.
There are far more people experiencing these sorts of mental health problems than you might think.
Students, in particular, are one of the high-risk groups.
The overwhelming workload combined with extremely high expectations can take a toll on any mind.
Let alone on the mind of a young adult.
There are, of course, plenty of ways to properly manage all the endless assignments.
You can find at least one essay service online EssayWritingService that can help out even in the direst of situations.
However, the mental state of the youth sometimes roots deeper than simple exhaustion.
Teaching students about how to properly identify an issue and where to seek professional help can make a crucial positive impact on their mental state and well-being.
Progress in the Field
The need for more globally accessible mental health education has been clear for quite some time.
But the lack of comprehensive academic research on the topic made it virtually impossible to properly integrate it into the system.
The field is fairly young and some of its areas remain pretty vague even today.
Despite that, a suitable foundation that can be effectively used by any professor or lecturer has been established.
There are plenty of disagreements and uncertainties in the fields of psychology and psychotherapy.
Still, the basics are solid, universal, and important enough to pass it down to the new generation of students indiscriminately.
In the states that have already mandated mental health education for students, the programs are composed fairly loosely to allow for some maneuver in the curriculum.
Here are some of the core concepts that any course will cover:
- Identification of mental health issues in yourself or others;
- Identification of mental health professionals and services;
- Correlation between certain behavioral patterns and mental health issues.
This knowledge is, again, universal.
People of all occupations and ages are susceptible to mental health problems.
Giving students the tools to deal with those early on can have a tremendously positive influence on the overall situation in the country.
It can encourage the rest of the world to follow in our footsteps as well.
Looking Into the Future
There is a secondary benefit to mandating mental health education in schools.
It makes the field more accessible and easier to understand.
Students that have at least basic knowledge of the subject will have a much easier time deciding whether or not they want to pursue a possible career in this field.
For the longest time, mental health problems have been tabooed.
A lot of that stigma remains ingrained in people’s mentality today.
It will take some time to overcome it completely.
Educating young generations about it is one of the most effective methods to do so.
It can also create more interest in mental health careers.
Students that choose to pursue a bachelor’s degree (followed by, ideally, a master’s degree) will continue the good work in both research and hands-on capacity.
Some will gradually help fill the blank spots in our knowledge of the human mind.
Others will go through the mental health counselor education process and apply their degree and knowledge in the field.
Final Words
Mandating mental health education in the USA is a very important first step.
It will definitely have a positive impact on the state of the mental health field and help solve many both long- and short-term problems.
The human mind and behavior remain one of the most interesting and least explored parts of the body.
Boosting the rate at which it is researched is definitely a step in the right direction.
There are fewer and fewer people that are concerned with the immediate need for survival on a daily basis.
Issues that remain tend to be more abstract than not.
Still, they too can have a serious impact on human lives.
Be responsible and take care of your mental health.
It requires just as much care as your physical body.
Even if your problems feel personal, you don’t have to deal with them alone.
The changes in the US education system are already underway.
It will not be long until other countries follow in the steps of the brave pioneers.
And the transition is without a doubt a positive one.
It was only a matter of time until this missing part of basic education found its way to the campuses.
It will absolutely contribute to the creation of new healthier and more knowledgeable societies.