[EverythingCanWait]

Lately in school I've had the issue where all of a sudden the teachers at my school have been talking about mental health. It's started in around about October time, but it's starting to get more and more frequent and it's becoming harder to concentrate on what is being taught as my thoughts go back to the fact they mentioned mental health.

The first instance of it happened back when I was 15 when one of my teachers was teaching our group about the needs of a consumer. He basically stared at me, smiled and then said some people have emotional needs and then turned around to another student implying they had special needs. This teacher since then has told my class that I do too much work and that I use it to distract myself and has told a teacher with me in the room that I am too paranoid about things.

Two of my other teachers have been mentioning mental health a lot recently too. As a class we are studying two books, 'A Streetcar Named Desire' by Tennessee Williams and 'Close Range' by Annie Proulx, and one of my English teachers constantly reminds our class about one of the characters in A Streetcar Named Desire named Blanche who may have Psychosis. It is really hard for me to deal with this as a part of the play because I constantly feel as though when the teacher makes me read as that character he can see right through me and thinks that I relate the most to Blanche.
My other teacher actually made me feel a whole lot worse about my situation after we read a part of Close Range where a girl, Ottaline, talks to a tractor. After the big discussion my teacher had said:

‘Does everyone agree that talking to inanimate objects is plain weird?’ -pause for a beat- ‘Good to see we are all sane.’

I wanted so badly to tell her that I actually do talk to objects and sometimes they do talk back, but that would just make everything else worse... right?

Also before this had happened my year group had a lesson where we all sat in the sixth form common room and some people came in and talked about psychosis and depression along with eating disorders too. I felt as though the school were out to get me and also had the same fears that I do that I may just be mentally ill.

Has anyone got any tips to ignore all this talk about mental health so that I can concentrate on my school work and not mental illness?

(((hugs))) I relate totally. I just started 6th form and I am one of the very few who hasn't taken psychology, where they are leading about mental health and the talk is all the time. The current topic they are studying is antidepressants and my friends always give me this look if they start to discuss their homeworks and things. It drives me crazy. My best advice is jut to breathe, tell yourself it's not everyone trying to make to feel anxious and put you on the spot (as I often feel) either try and remove yourself from the situation or do what I do, do something to distract you so you don't think about it? Do you have a form tutor? I spoke to mine and told her all about my depression and when I was worried and stuff. You could tell your tutor some of what you have put on here and stress your worries and concerns, and then maybe she/ he can do something about it in a subtle way? It seems really wrong that your teachers said stuff like that, so many people are address by mental health and some of them comments were so insensitive. Hugs xx

[EverythingCanWait]

I can't really remove myself from lessons, as this just raises more issues.
I think my form tutoe knows, my sixth form advisers and head of zone do, but I don't want to complain incase it makes it worse. The teacher who claimed the whole class sane told my younger brother to write a suicide note which was reported. She's a good teacher I don't want her sacked.
I may bring it up after it happens like after a lesson and see what happens.
Thank you