An original speech, written by our student Rudra Bansal.

Rudra is 13 years old young writer and orator from Jaipur. He loves singing and cooking. We are proud to have him as a student Public Speaking Through Applied Storytelling & Theatre Program in Jaipur under the mentorship of Trainer Khusshbo Chokhaani. We congratulate Rudra for this exemplary true self-expression.

Mental Health for Teenagers

Imagine a 14-year-old boy spending his whole day in his room. He has withdrawn from studies, from activities, and from socialization. He is always lost in his own world which has no connection with the outer world. He is always aloof. Family and Friends think that he likes to be alone but in reality, he is weeping because he was bullied. Hello everyone, I am Rudra. This is the true story of my friend Alex. Alex was bullied every day for his body image because he was obese. He heard statements like “Hello Fatso”, and “Walk Slowly else you will make a hole in the ground” every moment when he was in either school or on the sports ground. All these statements used to disturb him and slowly he started withdrawing from school, the playground, and all other activities.

Do you think that commenting on others’ body image is doing any good to you? Do we consider how our rude and insensitive words may impact the mental health of a fellow teenager? Isn’t it worrisome or even scary to think of a teen developing a mental health issue when he or she should be focussing on building a great career in sports or science or arts? Do parents monitor their teen’s mental health the way they keep a watchful eye on their teen’s physical health? Mental health issues often emerge during the tumultuous teen years. In fact, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics: “More than 14 million children and adolescents in the United States, or 1 in 5, have a diagnosable mental health disorder.

Let’s go back to Alex’s Story and find out what happened to him. Alex’s parents were busy with their work life and Alex’s mental health was out of their sight. They were not irresponsible parents, just that they never thought that their 14-year-old was going through a horrible phase. Until the child shares anything with their parents the parents also don’t intervene these days. Parents feel scared that they will get to hear: “you don’t give space to us”. While being locked up in his room Alex’s only friend was his phone. This “only friend” gave him access to the ever-blooming various social media channels. On one such channel, he posted videos of his singing and dancing skills. His videos were loved by the virtual followers. He gained many unreal virtual friends in the name of followers. He also started enjoying this. At this juncture, he was getting bullied again in the form of negative comments on his body image. Since he already had his taste in body image bullying, he chose to ignore it. Now you may call it bad luck or a conspiracy of stars one of his virtual followers was nasty. This nasty follower hacked his phone. This hacker made private videos of Alex and posted them on Alex’s personal social media channel. These videos and the comments on these videos were embarrassing.
This was the time when Alex broke. His physical and mental strength gave up. He was in deep depression. Anxiety attacks were a regular norm for him by now. He didn’t know what to do. He was in tears at all times. What do you think Alex has done at this juncture? Are you thinking that he committed suicide? Well to disappoint you he didn’t do that. After all, he was a great singer and dancer who knew the art of self-expression. He decided to take help. He went to his parents and shared everything. His parents were sorry for not paying attention to Alex due to their work life. They immediately reported the crime in a cyberbullying cell. They spoke to school authorities about body image bullying. Slowly everything was becoming normal for Alex. It was Alex’s inner strength that got him back in his life. He knew that he was stronger than his depression.

My dear friends, depression is a chronic disease in teenagers. Early intervention is the only key. Parents and School Authorities must have enough support systems to prevent bullying in any form. Teenagers must be given the space and platform to express their feelings. Most importantly, parents please pay attention when you notice that your teen is withdrawing. A supportive environment is all that today’s teens need than something filled with negativity. To conclude, I would reiterate that any form of bullying for anyone is not conducive. Focus on your self-growth by increasing your skill sets than putting someone down based on their body image.

Leave your comments to encourage our students.