Advocacy Project
11/29/21
Hello guys! Today I wanted to blog about my advocacy project. My idea was a class called Mental Health Awareness 102. I chose this to advocate for because in my high school, we had your typical health class that covered small segments of mental health but kind of just breezed by it and did not have much focus on that. In my mind, I felt like it should have been covered a lot more in depth because of how common mental illnesses are. When I found out about this advocacy project, this brought the perfect idea for me to advocate for a required semester long class about mental health. I feel as though it should be required because of the fact that in high school, teens are going through a lot of adjustments and growing stages to where when something mentally shifts, they blame it on things such as hormones or a bad breakup. It is a constant cycle of trying to find reasons for behavior and feelings instead of digging deeper and realizing that mental health is a real thing.
By creating the class Mental Health Awareness, I intend to have students get educated on this topic so they can seek help before it is too late. I want people at a young age to realize that it is okay to accept that you need help before it is too late. In my life, I have had to go through the grief of dealing with a lot of suicides because people never reached out for help and I think a change can happen if people are educated at a young age. Since there are so many mental illnesses, I chose to primarily focus on body dysmorphia because I feel like it is very common in college students. I also feel like body dysmorphia is not taken very seriously because a lot of people do not think it is a real thing and ignore or get mad at someone when they express how they do not feel comfortable in their own bodies and want to change them. In conclusion, I want to advocate for a realistic goal that can have a positive impact on everyone. Author: Hope Mueller
Psychology Major
Illinois State University
Hello guys! Today I wanted to blog about my advocacy project. My idea was a class called Mental Health Awareness 102. I chose this to advocate for because in my high school, we had your typical health class that covered small segments of mental health but kind of just breezed by it and did not have much focus on that. In my mind, I felt like it should have been covered a lot more in depth because of how common mental illnesses are. When I found out about this advocacy project, this brought the perfect idea for me to advocate for a required semester long class about mental health. I feel as though it should be required because of the fact that in high school, teens are going through a lot of adjustments and growing stages to where when something mentally shifts, they blame it on things such as hormones or a bad breakup. It is a constant cycle of trying to find reasons for behavior and feelings instead of digging deeper and realizing that mental health is a real thing.
By creating the class Mental Health Awareness, I intend to have students get educated on this topic so they can seek help before it is too late. I want people at a young age to realize that it is okay to accept that you need help before it is too late. In my life, I have had to go through the grief of dealing with a lot of suicides because people never reached out for help and I think a change can happen if people are educated at a young age. Since there are so many mental illnesses, I chose to primarily focus on body dysmorphia because I feel like it is very common in college students. I also feel like body dysmorphia is not taken very seriously because a lot of people do not think it is a real thing and ignore or get mad at someone when they express how they do not feel comfortable in their own bodies and want to change them. In conclusion, I want to advocate for a realistic goal that can have a positive impact on everyone. Author: Hope Mueller
Psychology Major
Illinois State University