Seattle Children’s Theater

Crossroads High School welcomed  the Seattle Children’s Theater with open arms as they performed Ghosted, a story of four teens dealing with different issues throughout one school day. Each character represents a different person that so many students can connect with. Andre, who feels like his life's too good to be depressed, who doesn’t want to talk about his feels, who feels guilty for having them. Kayla, Andre’s girlfriend, who doesn’t know how to help her boyfriend and is try too hard to control and fix the situation when it’s not her job. Sid, a girl dealing with anxiety attacks, and people think she’s odd, or weird. Liam, a boy with a mom who’s an addict, who is depressed and expresses his pain through anger. Ghosted tells a story of experiences, how talking to counselors and friends are good, and how to talk about the hard truths that students deal with. This play recognizes the students who rarely are seen or talked about. It gives kids someone to relate to, it tells them they’re not alone. After seeing this, it sparked a note in many students and we talked about how it’s okay to feel this way, what are ways to help you feel better, and about mental illness in general. If you or someone you know are dealing with issues like this then help them reach out. Talk to a friend, a counselor, and teacher, or their parents. Opening up is not wrong, and there are so many resources. If you need help starting your mental health journey then talk to your doctor or school counselor. If you are in a crisis call the suicide hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text 741741.

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Help:

People dealing with situations like this often are stressed, full of anxiety, can’t get their work done, and in general aren’t being helped. There of course are always healthy levels of stress, anxiety, and sadness, but knowing how much is good is important. Warning signs for these issues may be:

• Withdrawing from friends and family
• Stop doing activities that they enjoy doing
• Self harm, or planning to kill oneself
• Extreme risk taking
• Weight loss, weight gain, not eating
• Using drugs or alcohol
• Changes in personality, behavior, mood

If you notice any of these in yourself or your friends tell someone. Tell a teacher, a friend, your family. Tell someone. Reach out and try to get help. One in five youth are suffering from one of these conditions, and it doesn’t make you weird or bad. Find support!