Dylan Riddle
10/24/19
Self-Reflection 3
A real-world issue that is extremely important to me is mental illness, which I feel most of the world does not handle properly and is not well educated on. One in four people will suffer from some neurological or mental disorder at some point in their life, so it is very vital topic that needs to be talked about more. I am passionate about mental illness and mental health because it has always been something that I have taken very seriously, and I have seen people with mental illnesses be bullied because of it, which bothers me beyond words. It breaks my heart to see individuals with mental illnesses and handicaps, that’s the main reason I am so passionate about it, because I feel that it is our job to be there for them and stand up for them when they cannot. The most common mental illnesses that people suffer from are anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, OCD, and PTSD. There are many more mental illnesses, but these are the most well-known. I am sure that everyone knows at least one person with at least one of these mental disorders, so we must stay educated on it. I do not think that even once, the whole time I was in high school, that my school brought someone in to talk about mental health or how mental illnesses can affect the body. Schools should always bring in psychiatrists and social workers to talk with students that are struggling with their mental health and educate the other students that are not. The school system and society in general do not take mental illnesses and disorders serious enough and it is an injustice to those who are going through it.
The results from Ethical Philosophy Selector showed that my top strength was restorative. Restorative means to be good at dealing with problems, in order to figure out what is wrong and then being able to solve it. I would say that this ties into my issue because it is a big problem that must be solved. As a society, we must deal with the problems at hand and come together to find solutions that will fix the issue. I believe that the school system is a big contributor to the problem, because it is not a friendly environment for people who have mental illnesses at most schools. I have seen firsthand kids get bullied because of a disorder that they might have, and most teachers could care less. School is also not a place where most people feel open to share how they are really feeling on the inside and it is so sad, because it is not healthy for anyone to have a bunch of pinned up emotions inside. Today’s society does not like to show emotions for the most part and people think your soft if you do; this is so stupid, and we must make an effort to change the way society thinks. This topic really has nothing to do with my service action proposal, but it is something that I am passionate about, so I chose to write on mental illness. The information does not entirely matter for my action proposal, but this is still a big issue that’s needs to be dealt with one way or another. We all must step up as a community to be relational leaders to set the right example as to induce change to a messed up society.