Why We Need Mental Health Education in K–12 Schools

When I think about how many kids are struggling silently, it’s honestly hard to sit with.

Not because the topic is too heavy — but because the silence around it still feels so normal.

We teach students how to calculate the slope of a line, how to label the parts of a cell, how to pass standardized tests. But most of us graduate never having learned how to regulate our emotions. How to handle panic attacks. How to notice when a friend is dissociating. How to talk about trauma without shame.

I know what it’s like to sit in a classroom and feel like you're falling apart on the inside, with no one noticing.

I also know what it’s like to get to college and realize you’ve never been given the language to understand your own brain.

That needs to change.

Mental health isn’t a luxury. It’s foundational.

We treat mental health like it’s extra, like something that should be addressed after academics, after sports, after graduation.

But when you’re 13 and struggling to sleep, self-isolating, or getting triggered at school, it’s not a “future” problem. It’s a right now problem.

You can’t learn math if your brain is stuck in fight or flight.

You can’t plan your future if you don’t feel safe in your own body.

We need more than one week a year

Mental Health Awareness Week isn’t enough. Posters and morning announcements aren’t enough.

We need integrated education — just like sex ed or physical health — where kids are taught what anxiety is, what trauma can look like, and how to ask for help before it becomes a crisis.

It would change everything

If I had learned about coping skills in high school, I might’ve felt less broken.

If I had heard the words “fight, flight, freeze, fawn” in 10th grade, I would’ve understood my reactions instead of judging them.

If we normalized therapy and support groups earlier, more people would make it to adulthood with tools instead of just trauma.

Final thought

Mental health education isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s essential.

The earlier we start, the more lives we protect.

Because the truth is, some kids don’t have time to wait for college-level wellness seminars or clinical language. They need someone to say, I see what you’re going through — and you’re not crazy, you’re human.

We owe them that.