My anxiety made me realise we aren’t taught enough about mental health

In August of last year, I very suddenly developed crippling anxiety. I spent every day with my heartbeat permanently too fast, always on the verge of a panic attack, and sometimes even seeing terrifying faces when I closed my eyes. I genuinely thought I was having a mental breakdown, that my brain had broken, and that whatever was happening to me would never go away. I had no idea what was happening, and no idea how to fix it. And what was worse, I didn’t know how to tell anyone. Little did I know that what was happening to me would also happen to one in ten people at some point of their lives.

When I finally did work out what was happening (thanks to an incredibly kind and gentle doctor at my local practice who had me call her regularly and printed out book reviews of her favourite mindfulness books for me), I was surprised to discover just how rife mental health issues are within University. In a recent NUS survey, eight out of ten students said they had experienced mental health issues in the past year – that’s a shocking 78 per cent of the 1,093 students that took part. And it’s not just anxiety that makes up this statistic –depression, OCD, and bipolar disorder, to name just a few, help make this number so high. I was stunned to discover this, but also somewhat comforted – I had no idea that so many other people had experienced what I had gone through.

Anxiety can hit even on the happiest days

Scrolling through Facebook self-care tips groups and reading articles on Rookie and Buzzfeed made me realise just how common anxiety disorders are – and that they’re not just ‘being a nervous person’ or ‘unable to deal with stress/the real world’. I wish I had known all of this before – in school we learned about all kinds of physical diseases from STIs to cancer, but never covered the topic of mental health. Had my school covered these illnesses in the way that other physical illnesses were covered in the curriculum, I would have been able to identify my symptoms, understand that I wasn’t dying, and subsequently reduce the crippling effects the anxiety would go on to have.

Mental health issues such as eating disorders and depression had been endemic at my all-girls secondary school, yet were dealt with in a very hush-hush way. Having come to terms with my anxiety myself, I realised that my school failing (sometimes even refusing) to deal with those around me had helped form my opinion that mental health issues were something to be kept covered up and something to be embarrassed about. A school failing to teach students about these problems before they have a chance to affect them is, in my opinion, a main cause of stigma and ignorance towards those illnesses. If you’re never told, or shown, that what’s happening to you is normal, how are you meant to realise?

This photo was taken at the height of my anxiety, whilst I was attempting to cover up what was happening because of how ‘abnormal’ I felt it was. Anxiety is a tricky illness – from the outside it’s almost invisible

Not teaching students about mental health is like saying that it doesn’t exist. Secondary school is a seriously vulnerable time for anyone, and the omission of any teaching about really common (and dare I say, normal) illnesses teaches students that these issues are an exception to the norm, that they’re not common and what’s worse, not worth talking about. Teaching endlessly about Huntington’s and sickle cell anaemia but missing out vital parts of mental health information only causes more teens to slip under the radar as they believe their issues are viewed as less important, or not real.

I didn’t write this article to get sympathy or because I particularly want people to know the personal details of my anxiety. It’s because I feel so strongly about this issue – people need to be talking about mental health openly and maturely, starting from school. Seeking help shouldn’t be daunting or embarrassing. The lack of awareness towards these issues has failed so many people I know, including myself, and this needs to stop being the case. Being a teenager, or an adult, with an anxiety disorder shouldn’t be something that sets you apart from the rest, and teaching students about these issues in a school environment is the first step we need to normalising mental health problems, and reminding students that it is okay to not be okay.

And to anyone suffering with anxiety – it will be okay. Help can be sought and you will get better. You will soon be conquering things that previously terrified you.

Tallulah 1, Anxiety 0

If you feel like you need help, or to find out more about any of the issues mentioned, visit www.mind.org.uk.