May is Mental Health Awareness Month. On Monday, Miss USA Noelia Voigt announced her decision to step down and focus on her mental health.
Voigt is 24 years old. She was crowned Miss USA on September 29, 2023. She is Venezuelan-American and represented Utah. She has been competing in pageants for seven years. Her stated primary causes are "dating violence awareness and prevention, mental health, anti-bullying and immigration issues."
She posted on Instagram to inform her 106K followers of her decision. The Miss USA pageant officials posted on its account that has 649K followers.
In her statement today, posted on Instagram (read it in full below), Voigt wrote, in part, “Deep down I know that this is just the beginning of a new chapter for me, and my hope is that I continue to inspire others to remain steadfast, prioritize your mental health, advocate for yourself and others by using your voice, and never be afraid of what the future holds, even if it feels uncertain.”
In a caption alongside the statement, she wrote, “I realize this may come as a large shock to many. Never compromise your physical and mental well-being. Our health is our wealth. A million thank you’s to all of you for your constant and unwavering support. Time to write the next chapter. I hope you’ll stick around to see what’s next.”
She didn't specify what caused her to leave her position before her time is finished.
"In life, I strongly value the importance of making decisions that feel best for you and your mental health," Voigt wrote in her post. "As individuals, we grow through experiencing different things in life that lead us to learning more about ourselves."
"My journey as Miss USA has been incredibly meaningful, representing Utah with pride, and later the USA at Miss Universe," she continued. "Sadly, I have made the very tough decision to resign from the title of Miss USA 2023. I am grateful for the love and support of the fans, old and new, my family, my friends, my coaches, former state and local directors, and my darling beloved Miss Teen USA, UmaSofia [Srivastava]."
The Miss USA and Miss Teen USA organizations thanked her and wished her well.
"Thank you, Noelia, for your service as Miss USA. 👑❤️ We wish you the best in this next chapter," the organizations wrote alongside the joint Instagram post . "We respect and support Noelia's decision to step down from her duties. The well-being of our titleholders is a top priority, and we understand her need to prioritize herself at this time."
Did she wait until Mental Health Awareness Month arrived before stepping away to make a point?
She is a childhood cancer survivor. Noelia has devoted years to pageant life. She finished as first runner-up in three of her state's pageants before she won Miss Utah last year
It would be easier to be sympathetic if we had an inkling as to what is going on. Who will the organization choose to replace her? The first runner-up seems like the appropriate choice if she is free to accept.
She is a former University of Alabama student. Voigt published a children's book in 2022.
Voigt hopes to inspire others to prioritize mental health and to advocate for themselves. Mental health used to be an issue that was not talked about and those suffering did so in silence. Now some people say it is talked about too much.
Now, some researchers warn that we are in danger of overdoing it. Mental health awareness campaigns, they argue, help some young people identify disorders that badly need treatment — but they have a negative effect on others, leading them to over-interpret their symptoms and see themselves as more troubled than they are.
The researchers point to unexpected results in trials of school-based mental health interventions in the United Kingdom and Australia: Students who underwent training in the basics of mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy did not emerge healthier than peers who did not participate, and some were worse off, at least for a while.
And new research from the United States shows that among young people, “self-labeling” as having depression or anxiety is associated with poor coping skills, like avoidance or rumination.
I do think young people have a life more difficult than people my age had growing up. There are different challenges for each generation but the rising generation have been smacked pretty hard. The pandemic exposed a lot of mental illness and harmed school children as it caused them to fall behind in basics like math and reading. Social isolation crippled them.
The Marxist teachers in classrooms pushing social justice and gender issues are causing great harm to children and young adults. Transgenderism is becoming like a fad and is applauded. Drag queen story hours start with very young children and their parents accept it. Social media is destroying childhoods. There are a lot of contributors to mental health issues.
Young people and young adults don't know how to cope with life. When they are presented with challenges, they are not able to problem-solve and move on.
About 60 percent of young Americans with severe depression receive no treatment, according to Mental Health America, a nonprofit research group. In crisis, desperate families fall back on emergency rooms, where teens often remain for days before a psychiatric bed opens up. There is good reason to embrace a preventive approach, teaching schoolchildren basic skills that might forestall crises later, experts say.
It's good that a high-profile figure like Miss USA is spotlighting the mental health crisis in our country. I hope she gets the help she needs.
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