Mental Health in Middle Schools

The struggles of being a middle schooler in the modern-age

By  Ava Kian

I remember middle school and the mental struggles that joined me on my journey. While everyone was experiencing difficulties, it wasn’t encouraged to discuss it. Middle school was the place to display strength where any talk of feelings and negativity meant immediate weakness and destruction of your middle school experience. Today’s middle schoolers go through a similar experience, but their situation is exacerbated by the increasing societal pressures. 

I recently spoke with a seventh-grader, Jane Doe  (name changed) who attends a public school in South Minneapolis. She found depression, anxiety, and body image issues to be most important. When asked about what measures her school has taken to help students, she said they hand out surveys during advisory classes and offer a school counselor. Through these measures, the school pretends to address mental health in the school but doesn’t recognize the foundational problems that lead to mental health issues within schools.  One teacher even said that the “lower-level math class is meant to help kids with mental health issues,” dividing students with mental health issues and demeaning them. 

The student continued, explaining that last fall, a student committed suicide, and the school is not doing “a damn thing about it.” Students are angry and upset with the leadership. They recognize that adults should be able to do something about mental health within the school, and “if they can't, they shouldn't run the school.” 

Mental health should be a priority of the school, but instead, the district has set increasingly high pressure on students. As a result of academic pressures and stress, Doe described the feeling of coming home upset from societal expectations and piled-up school work, yet she feels ashamed and irresponsible for crying rather than studying. Additionally, she mentioned the effects of cliques, puberty, the pressure of grades, and “otherness” on mental health. Cliques have historically been an issue, but in her opinion, their bullying is a smaller issue compared to the more significant problems within society. Puberty continues to be an uncomfortable topic for middle schoolers, and  “getting used to something different and being okay in your body is difficult.” In middle school, beauty standards become especially apparent as societal pressures scrutinize individuals’ body types, features, and race. 

The most prominent change for middle schoolers today is social media, and different platforms affect individuals in various ways. Doe elaborated that  Tik Tok has been a source of body positivity and acceptance, featuring diverse individuals with relatable lived experiences. Meanwhile, Instagram's “makeup craze” caused her to grow up faster than she had expected. On the positive side, following individuals who were body positive encouraged her to be less self-conscious about her body. 

With all of these factors piled on top of one another, she explained that it makes it harder to talk to people and sustain relationships out of the fear of opening up, burdening others, and having friends “drop out” after sharing. 

While students need a solution more than ever, it’s not that clear cut. Older communities need to contemplate how they support the young generation. She expressed the importance of having teachers and role models who can connect to students, care, know about their students, and add value to a student’s personal life. While this change in teaching personality is needed, so is a systematic structural change in the education system and environment. Additionally, Doe expressed an interest in a space for older students and middle schoolers to be vulnerable together, make long-lasting relationships, and receive advice crucial to middle school and mental health.

Students in this day and age are under more pressure than ever before. The societal and academic stress loops middle schoolers into a cycle that’s extremely difficult to escape without adequate school and family support. Students need a shift in available resources, especially if schools continue to increase academic standards. Meditation and mindfulness programs, for instance, would benefit students and open up the possibility of even higher academic achievement. Schools need more loving teachers who genuinely care about the wellbeing and personal lives of their students. If the school system makes a shift to prioritize their student’s mental health rather than their educational performance, they may come to realize that strong mental health is the baseline to a successful education.