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Columbine byDaveCullen
Inover70%ofschoolshootings,theattackersshowedclearsignsofmentalhealth struggles-butnooneinterveneduntilitwastoolate(Chatterjee,2022).Teendepressionplayeda criticalroleintheColumbineshooting,particularlyinthecaseofDylanKlebold.Dylan’s journalsoftenrevealedhimstrugglingwithextremedepressionandsuicidalthoughts.Despite theseveryclearwarningsigns,heandotherslikehim,oftengounnoticedwhenitcomesto mentalillness.DaveCullen,theauthorof Columbine,callsteendepression“thegreatest unlearnedlesson”of Columbine-awarningwehavestillfailedtofullyunderstand.Schools, parents,andcommunitiesmustprioritizeearlymentalhealthscreening,reducestigmaaround seekinghelp,andcreatesafeoutletsforstudentstopreventfuturetragedies.
DylanKlebold’sinternalstruggleswereveryprofound,yetlargelyinvisibletothose aroundhim.ThiscanbeseeninaTedTalkSueKleboldspokeat,addressingthechallengesshe facedrelatedtoherson'sactions.Sheclaimssheneverknewhowmuchhewasstrugglingand howmuchpainhewasin(2017).Thisisshockingbecauseinthebook,Cullenrevealsthat Dylan’spersonaljournalswerefilledwithdespair,hopelessness,andsuicidalthoughts.One hauntingentryreads,“Meisagod,agodofsadness,”showingDylan’sdeepemotionalstruggles anddistortedself-image(Cullen,2024).ThisiswhatmakesDylan’scasesoalarming-hewasn’t alone.Teendepressionisfarmorecommonthanmanyadultsrealize,anditoftengoes undetected.AccordingtotheNationalInstituteofMentalHealth,aboutoneinsixteenagesinthe U.S.experienceamajordepressiveepisodeeachyear.Yetstudiesshowthatmorethan60%of themdonotreceiveanytreatment(SubstanceAbuseandMentalHealthServicesAdministration
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QuillandScroll (SAMHSA),2025).Onewaytopreventthesefuturetragediesismentalhealthscreening.Mental healthscreeningplaysacriticalroleinidentifyingemotionaldistressbeforeitescalatesinto crisis.InthecaseofDylanKlebold,regularmentalhealthscreeningsmayhavedetectedthe severedepressionhewashidingforsomanyyears.Preventingtragedydoesn’talwaysmean predictingviolencethough.Often,itmeansofferinghelptostudentsinpainbeforetheir sufferingspiralsintoself-harmorharmtoothers.Whenschoolsinvestinearlydetectionthrough mentalhealthscreening,theymovefromreactingtocrisistopreventingitentirely.
Oneofthegreatestbarrierstoaddressingteendepressionisstigma.Manyteensfear beingjudged,dismissed,orlabelediftheyadmitthey’restruggling.TheNationalAllianceon MentalIllness(NAMI)reportsthatstigmaisoneofthetopreasonswhyadolescentsdonotseek helpformentalillnesses(2024).InDylan’scase,thissilencewasdevastating.Hisjournals revealedayoungmanconvincednooneunderstoodhimorcared.Cullenmakesaclear distinctionbetweenEricandDylan,emphasizingthatDylanwasnotevilorvengeful,but emotionallylost(Cullen,2024).Thiskindofhiddensufferingiscommoninteenswhofearthey willbemockedormisunderstoodiftheyopenup.IfDylanhadbelieveditwasokaytotalk openlyaboutdepression-ifhisschoolhadnormalizedthesementalhealthconversations-he mighthavereachedoutforhelp.Toeliminatestigma,schoolsandcommunitiesmusttalkabout mentalhealthopenlyandregularly Themorevisibleandnormalizedmentalhealthbecomes,the morelikelystudentsaretoviewitasapriority.TragedieslikeColumbineoftenbeginwhen studentsfeelliketheycan’tspeakupforthemselves.Breakingthatsilence-bybreakingthe stigma-canpossiblysavelives.
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Moreover,creatingsafeoutletsforstudentstoexpresstheiremotionsisessentialto preventingfuturetragedies,especiallyinschoolswhereacademicpressureandsocialstresscan maketeensfeelisolatedoroverwhelmed.Safeoutletsoftentakemanyformsinsideschools. Someofwhichcanbementalhealthclubs,peersupportgroups,offeringcounselingservices,or journalingactivities.Theseresourcesprovidestudentswithaspacetoprocesstheirthoughtsand givethemachancetobereassuredthatthey’renotalone.In Columbine, DylanKleboldhad expressedinhisjournalhavingexperiencedintenseemotionsofloneliness.Hadhebeen encouraged,orevenrequired,toparticipateinemotionalcheck-ins,hissufferingmighthave beennoticedbythosearoundhim.InoneCaliforniaschooldistrict,implementingastudent-run mentalhealthclubledtoa30%increaseinreferralstocounselingservices-notbecausestudents weredoingworse,butbecausetheyfinallyfeltsafeenoughtoaskforhelp(Nguyen,2021).
Theseexamplesdemonstratethatwhenschoolscreatesafe,accessibleenvironmentsfor emotionalexpression,studentsdon’tjustsurvive-theybegintolivehappilythroughtheirhigh schoolyears.Programslikethesecanserveasamodelforschoolsacrossthecountrythatwant topreventfuturetragediesnotbyreactingtoviolence,butbylisteningtopainbeforeitturns harmfultothestudents,orothers.
TheColumbineHighSchoolmassacrecontinuestoserveasaharshreminderofthe criticalneedformentalhealthsupportwithineducationsettings.DylanKlebold’sexperiences highlighttheoften-unseenstrugglesofstudentswhooftenappearhappyontheoutsidewhile privatelybattlingdeepemotionalchallenges.Thefactthatsimilartragediescontinuetooccur nearly26yearslaterspeakstremendouslyaboutourinadequatesupportsystemforstruggling students.Toeffectameaningfulchange,along,strenuousprocesswillneedtotakeplacein
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ordertochangethewayoureducationsystemviewsmentalhealth.Thingslikeearlymental healthscreening,eliminatingthestigmaonaskingforhelp,andcreatingsafeoutletsfor strugglingstudentsisonlythebeginning.Columbine’slegacywasneveroneofdespair,instead, itshouldencourageapowerfulchangeinoureducationsystemtohelpstrugglingindividuals.
Thequestionisn’t if wecanlearnfromthisunfortunateevent,but when wewillfinallyactfor ourstudents.
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Sources
Chatterjee,R.(2022,May29). School shooters: Understanding their path to violence is key to prevention.NPR.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/02/10/690372199/school-shooters-whats-th
eir-path-to-violence#:~:text=School%20shooters:%20Roots%20of%20violence%20often %20include,kids%20to%20open%20fire%20on%20a%20classroom.&text=For%20exampl e%2C%20Dylan%20Klebold%2C%20one%20of%20the,been%20depressed%20and%20s uicidal%20two%20years%20prior.
YouTube.(2017,February27). My son was a columbine shooter this is my story | sue klebold | ted.YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXlnrFpCu0c&rco=1
Cullen,D.(2024b). Columbine.Twelve.
SubstanceAbuseandMentalHealthServicesAdministration(SAMHSA).(2025,March 31). 2024 national strategy for suicide prevention.HHS.gov. https://www.hhs.gov/programs/prevention-and-wellness/mental-health-substance-use-disor der/national-strategy-suicide-prevention/index.html
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Common with mental illness.NAMI.(2024,December4).
https://www.nami.org/about-mental-illness/common-with-mental-illness/ Nguyen,T.(2021,October30). Silicon Valley Schools Prioritize Student Mental Health. SanJoséSpotlight.
https://sanjosespotlight.com/san-jose-schools-add-programs-for-student-mental-health-serv ices/#:~:text=Local%20schools%20including%20San%20Jose,tools%20for%20mental%2 0health%20support.