In today's society teens are under a lot of pressure. I took a minute to speak with high school counselor Mrs. Westfall about the rise in anxiety in children and teens. When asked if she has noticed any kind of rise in problems teens have brought to she says, “Nationwide I feel like there is a surge in anxiety and its because we’ve cluttered up our lives with so many activities and technology, our attention is constantly demanded by something.” I asked Mrs. Westfall what type of advice she could give to anyone struggling she responded, “always reach out, there’s always someone willing to help and take on part of that emotional burden for you and you’re never the only one with those thoughts, whatever is going through your mind I promise you that human connection we have just by sitting down, looking face to face, putting the phone away, and just talking makes all the difference, the warmth that comes from someone's voice is so much soothing than looking at a screen and seeing emojis. I just think that human connection is so much more comforting and we miss out on that a lot, reach out to somebody if you feel like you´re struggling with anything always reach out to a friend, to a school counselor, or to your parents, never suffer by yourself.
--Keily Brown