Perspectives
SCG Staff Articles
Mental Illness Awareness Week 2022
Established in 1990 by Congress, the first full week in each October is Mental Illness Awareness Week. All of us in this country, in one way or another, are affected by mental illness, and if you’re reading this, you no doubt know intimately and personally, the devastating effects thereof. The figures and statistics (1 in 5 adults and 1 in 6 children age 6-17 experience mental illness each year in the US {https://www.nami.org/mhstats}) are so large that it’s almost impossible to take in, to comprehend the scope of the issue.
Reflections On Wellness
After two years of pandemic life, it feels easy to focus on what is going wrong in the world. “I’ve got a runny nose this morning: is it allergies or the plague?” is a thought I’ve had many times of late. That pervasive sense of needing to question our safety is exhausting. Maybe we’re feeling like nothing is going “right” and all the places where we seek solace are crumbling. Sometimes there is a discernible cause such as the death of a loved one or rejection from a school we applied to, but other times the cause of our “unwellness” seems less clear. Difficult seasons are part of life and that’s okay, but they sure get exhausting after a while.
I Almost Gave Up
Wow, summer is almost here! It is June, the month where most students are preparing for summer activities and parents begin to plan for summer vacations. However, this June our nation will once again mourn the death of small children and adults in Uvalde, Texas. Many are feeling the sting of despair while others fall deeper into depression. You may ask if there is a difference between despair and depression. Maybe there is. Maybe there isn’t. National tragedies can often bring about both. Many despair and ask “why”? Others struggling with depression become more depressed.