Melanie Baduy

Professor Wright
ENC 3331-OMO2
October 28th, 2015
Analysis Paper
Mental health was not a popular topic to address until recent times. Many years
ago, people werent sure how to comprehend, diagnose or even define mental health. We
have the tendency to reject those things we dont understand, so obviously mental health
immediately held a negative connotation. As stated on the Unite for Sight website, many
cultures have viewed mental illness as a form of religious punishment or demonic
possession. Someone exemplifying odd behavior was categorized as crazy and
ostracized from society. Few people looked at it from another perspective.
Dorothea Dix is highly noted as being one of the first advocates for mental health.
After travelling and researching the state of prisons around the nation, she argued
something had to be done about the mental condition of patients there. Her detailed
findings offered the burden of proof necessary to convince the public that mental health
was more significant of an issue than they had thought.
Thankfully, we have come a long way since that time, especially here in the U.S.
Our mindset, as a culture, has shifted concerning this issue. Many laws and acts have
been introduced to improve the mental health care system and treat those individuals in
need. Nowadays, special accommodations are made for people in regards to their mental
health.
My project specifically focuses on the mental health of college students. This has
made significant progress as well. For example, the Bazelon Center points how the
American Disabilities Act clearly states, colleges and universities may not exclude

students because of their mental health needs, except when the student cannot meet
academic and behavioral standards even with treatment and other help. Many public and
private universities abide by this rule and also do more to help their students out. The
good news is that we have come a long way, but we still have much more to do.
The American Psychological Association has reported that the number of students
dealing with mental health issues is still growing. This means that not enough is being
done. As I mentioned previously, mental health is defined as a persons condition with
regard to their psychological and emotional well-being. Just as our bodies can be in a
good or bad shape, our minds can too. College students, specifically, are unique to this
issue. They are making a big transition, and with that change can come a lot of problems.
If not treated properly, a students mental health will worsen. The list of ways in which
mental health issues can affect an individual has unfortunately grown. Mental health will
start affecting factors such as their career, social life and their relationship with others.
Leaving this wound open doesnt help it heal but continues causing further damage. It
follows you well into your adult-hood and may get more serious as time goes by. The root
of this problem begins in college for many students, which is why the search for a
solution starts there.
With so many issues currently going on in our world, it is often easy to overlook
key problems. The agenda-setting theory explains the medias role in bringing an issue to
the publics attention. So obviously, when a big emotional story regarding the mental
health of a college student hits the web; everyone suddenly becomes mental healths
biggest advocate. This brings me to my first example of why not enough is being done to
reach out to students.

Madison Holleran was a student-athlete at the University of Pennsylvania. She

came from an upper middle class background, had a supportive family, had friends and
was an overall healthy individual-physically that is. Through instagram, her life seemed
perfect, but in reality she wasnt happy. We have learned how photographs direct
attention to a particular reality. This means pictures arent always an accurate
representation of someones life or an event, as we all interpret things differently. So, it is
not wise to assume that someone is fine because they are posting pictures at parties,
school events, with their friends, etc. We see what they want us to see. Madison Holleran
committed suicide. It was later revealed that she was suffering from depression and
stress, and with a lack of resources available to her; she decided to take her life. This
sparked some attention from the public for a while, but we shouldnt wait for a tragedy to
occur to do something about.
Learn Psychology identifies the top nine mental health issues affecting college
students today. They include suicide and depression, stress and anxiety, college addiction,
eating disorders, self-injury, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, adhd and sleep issues.
Obviously, these range from common problems to more serious ones. Furthermore,
according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, while in the past weve
seen a decline in suicides, the rate is actually expected to increase over the next 12 years.
That is an alarming statistic. Then, a 2008 research by the Associated Press found that
80% of college students feel stressed, 34% have felt depressed at some point in the
semester, and 9% have legitimately contemplated ending their lives. Obviously, there is a
problem here.

To bring this issue closer to home, I casually asked my peers about mental health.
I know this is a problem here at this university as I have witnessed friends having to
move back home because they are too stressed, others developing eating disorders, and
even more concerning; some thinking about suicide. I arrived to the same conclusion.
Everyone is going through something and because we are in a unique situation, as college
students, the problems are only getting worse. When I asked if they knew what options
the school offered to possible help them, they were clueless. This is a problem.
UCF has counseling and psychological services for each student. Their trained
staff offers individuals different way to receive treatment ranging from group sessions to
workshops and crisis intervention. Additionally, there are a couple of student
organizations on campus promoting the conversation on mental health. According to their
website Active Minds (a student organization), work to increase students awareness of
mental health issues, provide information and resources regarding mental health and
mental illness, encourage students to seek help as soon as it is needed, and serve as
liaison between students and the mental health community. Clearly, there are resources
available to students to help better understand and treat their mental health; so why is this
still a rising problem? I believe students dont know what to do because there is not
enough conversation and advertising about the resources available to them.
In this new age of technology, social media is a powerful tool that can help spread
the word on anything. Images are powerful tools as well, and we appropriately combined,
I think both could convey the right message. Also, like mentioned before narratives are
powerful as well. Listening to an issue, as told in a story format, can make a big impact
that stresses urgency. Lastly, rhetors are also extremely helpful. Think about an instance

when youve been convinced of something solely by listening to someone speak. If that
person encompasses all the essential qualities of having a good character, their words can
make a difference. I plan on using all these tools to my advantage to get my point across
regarding the issue Im tackling.
Overall, while the importance of mental health has come a long way then it was
previously depicted, there is still more to do. Statistics and personal research have proved
that mental health is still a rising issue among college students. Though many schools
offer free resources for students to take advantage of to help them with this, many are
unaware they exist. While my project does focus on mental health, the main problem Im
trying to tackle is brining attention to the helpful sources college students can use to their
advantage. Some rhetorical tools I believe would effectively get my message across
include visual rhetoric, narratives and rhetors.

Citations:
http://www.biography.com/people/dorothea-dix-9275710#champion-ofthe-mentally-ill
http://www.uniteforsight.org/mental-health/module2
http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12833146/instagramaccount-university-pennsylvania-runner-showed-only-part-story
http://www.learnpsychology.org/mental-health/