Sarah Wood

Grade 12, Indianapolis, Indiana

"Start addressing a bigger issue in your classroom... The efforts will only grow from there."

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Project: Depression Awareness

Taking steps toward good health is important to living a good life. Health professionals encourage us to exercise, eat well, and have regular checkups. But good health is more than just physical. We also have to take care of our mental health. Stress and anxiety can cause us to feel as miserable as if we were physically sick. In the same way that we can go to a doctor to treat our physical illnesses, we also can go to one to get mentally healthy.

However, a lot of people have the attitude that mental health is something each of us should be able to deal with on our own. They believe that a mental issue can be corrected merely by thinking differently.

But mental health problems can be caused by things outside of our control. Just as we cannot simply decide not to get a cold or cancer, we cannot decide not to have a mental illness. But because of the attitude that “it’s all in your head,” many people postpone seeing a doctor, hoping they can solve their problems on their own. Others avoid asking for help because they fear being teased or bullied.

Middle school is an especially difficult time to stay mentally healthy. As bodies change, emotions run high. Longstanding friendships fall apart. Social circles emerge, leaving some people feeling unwanted or invisible. Sarah Wood experienced some of those issues firsthand. She struggled with depression, self-injury, and thoughts of suicide.

Sarah fortunately had the support of a friend who encouraged her to talk with an adult about her struggles. She later said doing that saved her life. As Sarah recovered, she realized how many other kids her age had the same struggles she did. To address the issue, she developed Depression Awareness as a means of helping others learn about and cope with mental health issues.

When she was a freshman at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, Sarah set out to raise awareness on self-injury and suicide within middle schools. She wanted to teach students and teachers that recovery was possible and show them how to get help.

Sarah wanted to present her story to health classes in middle schools. But first she had to convince principals, counselors, and administrators from the school district’s central office of the value of changing the perception of mental illness. Many of them were afraid to bring up such a serious issue with middle school students, believing that they couldn’t handle it.

But Sarah convinced the skeptics and eventually was allowed to meet with 12 middle school health classes. She shared her story and produced a video series to reach more students. Some of her peers also shared their stories related to mental health in the video. She wanted to highlight this message for students: reach out, get help, there is hope.

Sarah realized from her interactions with students that many were curious about the symptoms of depression. She also was gratified that because of her talks, at least 19 students reached out to school counselors for help. Because depression is such a serious mental health issue, Sarah felt she would have succeeded if even one student had sought help.

After graduation, Sarah began pursuing degrees in psychology and Spanish at Indiana University in Bloomington. With plans to become a counselor, she continued her involvement with mental health awareness by working with such organizations as Mental Health America and Crimson CORPS, an awareness and training group. She hoped to expand Depression Awareness by training school nurses and producing more informational videos.

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