The case study paragraph shall focus on four youths recounting their experiences

The case study paragraph shall focus on four youths recounting their experiences with stigmatization. The four children feature in the PBS’s “Kids in Crisis: You’re Not Alone (2019)” documentary. TJ Esser is a teenage transgender person who has experienced anxiety due to the societal pressure to conform to the traditional gender. TJ Esser notes that the pressure to change his personality and gender orientation affected his mental health. Esser highlights his troubled teenage years and his struggles during puberty because his family and society were in denial of his gender orientation. Esser struggled with his problems both at school and home because his mother did not acknowledge his sexuality. Instead of Esser receiving affirmation from his family, he used YouTube content because the narrations resonated with his experiences. During the transitioning period, Esser experienced depression, ridicule, and bullying from school (Milwaukee PBS: 2019). The second case is Reyna Saldana, who battles with depression, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Saldana explains how her childhood was troubled due to a dysfunctional family. Her mother was a substance abuser, which prompted her grandmother to put her up for adoption. Saldana was first hospitalized with a mental condition at the age of seven, and by her 18th birthday, she had lived in 32 placement homes. Saldana was also sexually assaulted as a child and was infected with a sexually transmitted disease. The experience was unbearable (Milwaukee PBS: 2019). The third case is Alex Hart Upenda, who has experienced bullying that has undermined his mental health. Upenda reveals that he was homeless at some point in his life. Upenda narrates how his peers did not turn out for his 7th birthday; he wrote a suicidal note apologizing to his mother because he did not want to appear as a burden to her. Upenda also reveals that his mother had considered suicide due to stigmatization as a result of teenage pregnancy. However, she triumphed, and Upenda describes her as a strong-willed person (Milwaukee PBS: 2019). The fourth is Barret Poetker, who reveals her struggles with depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Poetker narrates extensive bullying in school that nearly incapacitated and almost drove her into suicide. She confronted her bullies in school, and her parents reported to the school about the bullying by volleyball teammates (Milwaukee PBS: 2019). Poetker refrained from committing suicide because she reckoned the idea would hurt her family and also affirmed that her bullies had won.

References

Milwaukee PBS.2019. Kids In Crisis: You’re Not Alone | Livestream | 5/16/2019.Youtube. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8HIP7MInfQ