How should mental health be treated for boarding students? 

Many don’t have the option to take a day off, especially boarding students. Day students can have their parents call them out sick, but boarding students have to go check in at the health center. This makes sense, but many times you can only stay for a class or two unless you are really sick. 

While mental health days were misused, they were an idea that I believe could still be applied. To speak from experience, many times I have just needed a day of relaxation this year, but I don’t have the option of mental health days.

In my experience, KHS seemed to dismiss things like sensory issues or just needing time to recharge and I often find that the lunch periods are way too short to be able to eat and get mentally prepared for the next classes (if we have them in the afternoon). 

For example, one of the things I struggle with is overstimulation, especially in morning meetings, and it can be especially hard for people who have sensory issues related to noise.  

Although students can talk to their advisors about accommodations, it can be hard to understand if it is something you don’t really know about. I find that while the health center is good at helping with giving some time for people to relax, it is very tiring to get overstimulated every day. 

I also think sports tend to take up a lot of free time. 

When doing an activity like yoga and other non competitive activities, you go three times a week; with sports, you practice four to five times a week and then usually have a game. There is also a theater which usually meets every day of the week — plus some weekend practices / games for theater and sports. Even though we might enjoy the activity we are doing, we also need time for ourselves that isn’t filled with homework. Often people say they are up till all hours of the night trying to finish their homework. 

While this might be in part to do with time management, it also has to do with how much homework we get. It is also hard for people to get motivation to do homework especially when they are neuro-divergent and are tired from masking all day or trying to avoid overstimulation. 

I think we could all benefit from having more information shared about mental health and how it can differentiate from what TV and movies show. It also is important to note that Mental Health Awareness Month is during May. 

I know as someone who is neuro-divergent it would feel nice if it were acknowledged as that because it can help me and others feel more seen in the community. All in all, the school is doing a good job starting to work towards a more inclusive feel, but there is more that needs to be discussed with students who are neuro-divergent.