Hanoi students raise voice on mental health issue at school

Below are three letters from students of St Paul American School Hanoi to Hanoitimes:
Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my opinion on the article, "Hanoi pays attention to role of counselling in schools", published on December 6, 2016. First of all, I would like you to encourage you to write more articles about mental health like this engaging article. I agree with the statement “It is necessary to have a place to help students deal with psychological problems, and there are so many social problems entering the school”. This is true at my school as well.
For me, as a student, I usually get stressed due to a lot of social problems and homework. In other words, there are many factors that worsen students’ mental health but most people's attention is solely focused on physical health. In Hanoi, there are many local and international students who are struggling from social problems. I politely encourage you to write more articles about mental health in Hanoi which would raise awareness about this problem. In my opinion, people do not take their mental health seriously. However, it is equally as important as physical health.
Sincerely,
Park hyunwook
Junior at St Paul American School Hanoi

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Dear​ ​Editor,
I​ ​am​ ​writing​ ​to​ ​express​ ​my​ ​opinion​ ​on​ ​the​ ​article,​ “​​Hanoi ​ ​ pays ​ ​ attention ​ ​ to ​ ​ role ​ ​ of counseling ​ ​ in ​ ​ schools”, ​ ​​ published​ ​on​ ​December​ ​6,​ ​2016.​ ​I​ ​think​ ​that​ ​the​ ​article​ ​does​ ​an​ ​excellent job​ ​in​ ​raising​ ​awareness​ ​concerning​ ​the​ ​mental​ ​health​ ​of​ ​students​ ​in​ ​schools.​ ​I​ ​think​ ​that​ ​having​ ​a counselor​ ​in​ ​schools​ ​drastically​ ​reduces​ ​the​ ​anxiety​ ​of​ ​students​ ​and​ ​can​ ​eventually​ ​help​ ​them improve​ ​academically.​ ​In​ ​a​ ​counseling​ ​room,​ ​students​ ​can​ ​express​ ​what​ ​is​ ​making​ ​them uncomfortable​ ​​as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​troubles​ ​at​ ​school​ ​or​ ​at​ ​home​.​ ​Counselors​ ​try​ ​to​ ​find​ ​ways​ ​to​ ​help students.​ ​This​ ​could​ ​also​ ​improve​ ​students’​ ​confidence​ ​due​ ​to​ ​them​ ​opening​ ​up​ ​to​ ​the​ ​counselor, which​ ​would​ ​help​ ​students​ ​in​ ​the​ ​long​ ​run. However,​ ​there​ ​​are​ ​very​ ​few​ ​articles​​ ​about​ ​mental​ ​health​ ​on​ ​the​ ​Hanoi​times​ ​website.​ ​I think​ ​that​ ​those​ ​kind​ ​of​ ​articles​ ​should​ ​be​ ​posted​ ​more​ ​often​ ​to​ ​​raise​ ​awareness​ ​in​ ​our community,​ ​especially​ ​for​ ​people​ ​on​ ​the​ ​school​ ​board​ ​and​ ​in​ ​government.​.​ ​Mental​ ​Health​ ​has always​ ​been​ ​a​ ​touchy​ ​subject​ ​that​ ​everyone​ ​avoids​ ​discussing​ ​in​ ​Hanoi.​
​However,​ ​I’m​ ​positive that​ ​exposure​ ​to​ ​these​ ​types​ ​of​ ​articles​ ​would​ ​affect​ ​people’s​ ​mindset​ ​and​ ​​create​ ​a​ ​more​ ​open atmosphere​ ​in​ ​which​ ​people​ ​with​ ​mental​ ​health​ ​issues​ ​feel​ ​comfortable​ ​seeking​​ ​help​ ​from professionals.  In​ ​my​ ​opinion,​ ​mental​ ​health​ ​stigma​ ​is​ ​an​ ​important​ ​issue​ ​that​ ​we​ ​have​ ​to​ ​deal​ ​with​ ​right now.​ ​Like​ ​I​ ​stated​ ​previously,​ ​mental​ ​illness​ ​is​ ​something​ ​that​ ​is​ ​looked​ ​down​ ​upon​ ​in​ ​Hanoi. Thus,​ ​people​ ​may​ ​just​ ​keep​ ​their​ ​problems​ ​to​ ​themselves​ ​and​ ​​likely​ ​eventually​ ​worsen​.​ ​Mental illnesses​ ​like​ ​depression​ ​and​ ​anxiety​ ​are​ ​serious,​ ​although​ ​ignored,​ ​problems​ ​in​ ​our​ ​culture.
Therefore,​ ​publishing​ ​more​ ​articles​ ​about​ ​mental​ ​health​ ​can​ ​raise​ ​awareness​ ​and​ ​encourage people​ ​with​ ​mental​ ​illness​ ​to​ ​seek​ ​help​ ​if​ ​needed.​ ​I​ ​would​ ​love​ ​to​ ​read​ ​more​ ​of​ ​your​ ​articles related​ ​to​ ​mental​ ​health​ ​since​ ​it​ ​is​ ​such​ ​an​ ​important​ ​and​ ​urgent​ ​issue​ ​we​ ​are​ ​currently​ ​facing. 
Sincerely,
Minh​ ​Bui
Junior​ ​at​ ​St​ ​Paul​ ​American​ ​School​ ​Hanoi

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Thus, I sincerely beseech the editor of the Hanoitimes to increase the proportion of mental health coverage in the Health & Education section of the website.
 
Sincerely,
Sehan Park
Senior at St Paul American School Hanoi