This past Tuesday and Wednesday, science teachers were instructed to show a video titled “Angst” that dealt with what it is like to have anxiety. The video was chosen by the student council in order to talk about mental health disorders, specifically anxiety. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 18.1% of our population, 18 years and older, are affected by anxiety, and this excludes teenagers. A member of student council, Senior, Sam Donovan, described it’s relevance to our senior body by saying, “it’s message is directed toward teenagers and applies to everyone – everyone experiences anxiety, even if most are never diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. This film contains important information about the science behind anxiety as well as techniques for coping with it, meaning it has the potential to benefit anyone, whether they have an anxiety disorder or not.”

Donovan also added that the student council’s goals in showing this video: “The goal is to create a more supportive environment in the school for people struggling with mental health issues to educate students on the effects of anxiety and ways to cope with it.”

Juniors, Kayla Ryan and Kylie Robinson, were impacted personally by the video. Robinson admitted she “got a better understanding of the different types of anxiety and how it works” this helped her to better understand what people are going through and how it impacts their everyday life. Ryan joined saying, “I learned some methods to help out any of my friends who might be struggling with it, including snapping your fingers or flipping your hands, I felt like that was good and it would help me help other people.” These are only two students but hopefully, for the student leaders, their message was reached to all students and they are now able to help others.