Data collected from responses to a popular personality test called the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, or MMPI for short, and analyzed by researchers at five different universities show that it There are up to five times the number of adolescents suffering from anxiety and depression as there were in the early 20th century. The exact cause of the sharp increase in mental disorders identified among our young people is still unknown. In order to curb the rising numbers, we need to identify the underlying issues causing these troubling mindsets. Today, it is less stigmatizing to announce a mental disorder and therefore to seek treatment. Progress made over the last century, resulting from in-depth studies of mental disorders, has notably made it possible to identify and name more specific mental illnesses. Gone are the days when the insane were all classified as psychotic, schizophrenic or in some sort of post-traumatic condition and therefore confined to solitary confinement, considered a lost case of being removed from society. I believe our culture has created a more accepting environment than the prejudices of the 1950s and 1960s toward people with mental illness because some of the mystery, and therefore some of the fear, has been removed. Evidence shows that more and more young people are experiencing anxiety and expressing problems related to depression. The world of today is not the world of yesterday, neither for the better nor, above all, for the worse. Teenage pregnancies are increasing, as are teenage suicide rates. Teenage bullying and weight and appearance issues such as envy of "Super Skinny" models are epidemic among today's youth in a way that makes the medium controversial. .....t right. The physiological pain they experience, either through lack of sleep or drugs or alcohol, also takes a toll on their mental health. Perhaps one day the solution would be to screen potential parents through an application process before they are allowed to start a family. Screening all high school students for any type of mental illness during their first year of school would help identify the type of resources needed to help those who could benefit from programs for depression or anxiety. For now, we can educate those who are too young to vote about the weight of their personal decisions, whether those decisions seem minor, like whether or not to show up for school, eat a balanced diet, or enact their reproductive rights. or really big, like deciding to love yourself for who you are, no matter what.