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VIDEO: U.S. kids grappling with mental health crisis made worse by the pandemic 60 Minutes Sep 4, 2022
Sharyn Alfonsi reports from Wisconsin where rates of adolescent self-harm and attempted suicide have nearly doubled since 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nnb5Jg9fH0
Direct Headline: Parents worry about growing post-pandemic youth mental health crisis
By Chia-Yi Hou Jan. 25, 2023
Young people’s mental health declined sharply in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools were closed and most students were learning remotely. School administrators and caregivers were optimistic the crisis might ease this year after most students returned to classrooms during the 2021-2022 school year. “It was the hope that after settling for the first year and returning to in person learning that some things would have slowed down....”
...But that doesn’t appear to be the case. Midway through the 2022-2023 school year, school social workers are finding that youth are still experiencing a high level of mental health challenges, and a new survey shows that many parents are worried about anxiety and depression in their children. ...Many of the mental health challenges young people are currently facing are a result of historical trauma from when they were in close proximity with others in their households during lockdowns early in the pandemic, she says. Now that restrictions have eased, she explains young people appear to be releasing their feelings arising from those traumatic situations, which they may have previously been holding inside them, in a different way. ...“We have a lot of students that have also had difficulty managing their emotions and are acting out...”
Research and statistics measuring young people’s mental health by a variety of different metrics remained relatively stable until about 2009, says Young. After that, an inflection point marked the beginning of a steady degradation of youth mental health. In recent years, that decline has also been accompanied by a consistent rise in suicide rates and emergency department visits among young people for psychiatric reasons....The reason for the downturn in young people’s mental health, Young suggests, is the rise of technology and social media. Smartphone and social media use is linked to increased mental distress, self-harm and suicidal ideation among youth....The isolating effect of remote learning and other stressors, like food insecurity worsened by children no longer having access to school meals, may have put a strain on young people’s mental health amid the pandemic.
...Amid the ongoing crisis, more than three-quarters of parents are at least somewhat worried about their children’s mental health, according to a report published Tuesday from the Pew Research Center....The survey included 3,757 U.S. parents with children under 18 years old. Mental health topped the list of the parents’ concerns, ahead of bullying and kidnapping or abduction. Forty percent of respondents said they were extremely or very worried about their children struggling with anxiety or depression, while another 36 percent said they were somewhat worried....
...Research has found that social isolation significantly increases a person's risk of premature death from all causes, a risk that may rival those of smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity....Most of us understand that getting older can mean a loss of friends and a greater feeling of loneliness but in recent years, researchers have found millennials are feeling lonelier than Baby Boomers....According to a study by Cigna, young adults are twice as likely to be lonely than seniors. Seventy-nine percent of adults aged 18 to 24 report feeling lonely compared to 41% of seniors aged 66 and older. This is consistent with earlier research....“When you are on social media, a lot of what you’re seeing is not reality. What we post are our best situations, our best self, our best opportunities and often when we look at that, we may not measure up to what our friends are doing or what our acquaintances are doing...Feelings of loneliness can lead to increased risk of depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, aggression, impulsivity and suicidal thoughts...”
https://thehill.com/changing-americ...ing-post-pandemic-youth-mental-health-crisis/
https://newsroom.osfhealthcare.org/...p-but-loneliness-epidemic-keeps-a-tight-hold/
Direct Headline: Last responders: Mental health damage from Covid could last a generation, professionals say
Holly Ellyatt FEB 10 2022
Many psychologists and psychiatrists have reported an influx of people seeking mental health support during the pandemic, with the unprecedented global health crisis causing an increase in anxiety and depression as well as exacerbating existing mental health conditions....“I can’t refer people to other people because everybody is full. Nobody’s taking new patients ... So I’ve never been as busy in my life, during the pandemic, and ever in my career,” he said, adding that he’s also seen an influx of former patients returning to him for help....Raiteri said that many of his patients are still working remotely and were isolated, with many feeling “disconnected and lost, and they just have this kind of malaise.”
...Numerous studies on the impact of Covid on mental health have been carried out. One study, published in The Lancet medical journal in October, looked at the global prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic....It found that mental health dramatically declined in that year, with an estimated 53 million additional cases of major depressive disorders and 76 million additional cases of anxiety disorders seen globally. Women and younger people were found to be affected more than men and older adults....“There’s definitely a huge mental health impact from a long period of uncertainty and change that’s left people very isolated and not sure how to connect. Just being out in public and interacting in a very casual way with strangers or mild acquaintances, that’s very regulating, and norm-creating and reality affirming....”
...Natalie Bodart, a London-based clinical psychologist and head of The Bodart Practice, told CNBC that the pandemic meant that many people had to confront issues in their life that they’d been able to avoid before, such as alcoholism, relationship issues, isolation and loneliness.....“Our day to day lives serve as great defense mechanisms, we have lots of distractions that help us to avoid things, for good and for ill....”
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/10/covid-pandemic-mental-health-damage-could-last-a-generation.html
*********
"Definitely turning more spiritual. My focus is not so much on the water and the shelter and the fire and the food, because I know I have those things. It's becoming more inward looking.... If you are forced to spend a lot of time by yourself, well, you better like yourself as a person first...." - Alan Kay, Alone S1, History Channel
"I wouldn't say a single word to them. I would listen to what they have to say, and that's what no one did.” - Marilyn Manson, Bowling For Columbine
Here is another topic that is designed to increase discussion and participation in the FFA.
I'd like to have an open honest discussion here about the mental health crisis regarding youth and children as fallout from the COVID19 pandemic. I am not looking to delve into public policy, the actions/inactions of elected officials, the MSM, judicial rulings regarding the pandemic, etc, etc. I'd like to keep the topic focused on the perspective of parents here, and how they see what has happened in their own families or within other children in their general local social /educational network.
If you are a parent with teens / young children during the isolation phases of the pandemic, how did that impact your children? (Those without children are welcome to share their casual observations of others they know directly on the matter) Are some of those issues still lingering now? How did you feel about it and why? How did it impact other children you could see around your own child? What steps did you take to try to mitigate some of the conflicts implied? Were there other stressors in your own adult life ( i.e. your own mental health, finances, career, martial conflict, etc, etc) that impacted your ability to better aid your children in this regard? Outside of public policy discussion, what should be done to help kids with these issues? Are you concerned about more isolation type scenarios in the future? What role do you see social media, influences in mass entertainment, peer pressure and other cultural forces at work, regarding kids and teenagers, have in all of this? Knowing what you know right now, is there anything you would have done much differently (again avoiding public policy related discussion) during the beginning phases of this crisis?
I'll leave this here for others to discuss. (10/30)
Sharyn Alfonsi reports from Wisconsin where rates of adolescent self-harm and attempted suicide have nearly doubled since 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nnb5Jg9fH0
Direct Headline: Parents worry about growing post-pandemic youth mental health crisis
By Chia-Yi Hou Jan. 25, 2023
Young people’s mental health declined sharply in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools were closed and most students were learning remotely. School administrators and caregivers were optimistic the crisis might ease this year after most students returned to classrooms during the 2021-2022 school year. “It was the hope that after settling for the first year and returning to in person learning that some things would have slowed down....”
...But that doesn’t appear to be the case. Midway through the 2022-2023 school year, school social workers are finding that youth are still experiencing a high level of mental health challenges, and a new survey shows that many parents are worried about anxiety and depression in their children. ...Many of the mental health challenges young people are currently facing are a result of historical trauma from when they were in close proximity with others in their households during lockdowns early in the pandemic, she says. Now that restrictions have eased, she explains young people appear to be releasing their feelings arising from those traumatic situations, which they may have previously been holding inside them, in a different way. ...“We have a lot of students that have also had difficulty managing their emotions and are acting out...”
Research and statistics measuring young people’s mental health by a variety of different metrics remained relatively stable until about 2009, says Young. After that, an inflection point marked the beginning of a steady degradation of youth mental health. In recent years, that decline has also been accompanied by a consistent rise in suicide rates and emergency department visits among young people for psychiatric reasons....The reason for the downturn in young people’s mental health, Young suggests, is the rise of technology and social media. Smartphone and social media use is linked to increased mental distress, self-harm and suicidal ideation among youth....The isolating effect of remote learning and other stressors, like food insecurity worsened by children no longer having access to school meals, may have put a strain on young people’s mental health amid the pandemic.
...Amid the ongoing crisis, more than three-quarters of parents are at least somewhat worried about their children’s mental health, according to a report published Tuesday from the Pew Research Center....The survey included 3,757 U.S. parents with children under 18 years old. Mental health topped the list of the parents’ concerns, ahead of bullying and kidnapping or abduction. Forty percent of respondents said they were extremely or very worried about their children struggling with anxiety or depression, while another 36 percent said they were somewhat worried....
...Research has found that social isolation significantly increases a person's risk of premature death from all causes, a risk that may rival those of smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity....Most of us understand that getting older can mean a loss of friends and a greater feeling of loneliness but in recent years, researchers have found millennials are feeling lonelier than Baby Boomers....According to a study by Cigna, young adults are twice as likely to be lonely than seniors. Seventy-nine percent of adults aged 18 to 24 report feeling lonely compared to 41% of seniors aged 66 and older. This is consistent with earlier research....“When you are on social media, a lot of what you’re seeing is not reality. What we post are our best situations, our best self, our best opportunities and often when we look at that, we may not measure up to what our friends are doing or what our acquaintances are doing...Feelings of loneliness can lead to increased risk of depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, aggression, impulsivity and suicidal thoughts...”
https://thehill.com/changing-americ...ing-post-pandemic-youth-mental-health-crisis/
https://newsroom.osfhealthcare.org/...p-but-loneliness-epidemic-keeps-a-tight-hold/
Direct Headline: Last responders: Mental health damage from Covid could last a generation, professionals say
Holly Ellyatt FEB 10 2022
Many psychologists and psychiatrists have reported an influx of people seeking mental health support during the pandemic, with the unprecedented global health crisis causing an increase in anxiety and depression as well as exacerbating existing mental health conditions....“I can’t refer people to other people because everybody is full. Nobody’s taking new patients ... So I’ve never been as busy in my life, during the pandemic, and ever in my career,” he said, adding that he’s also seen an influx of former patients returning to him for help....Raiteri said that many of his patients are still working remotely and were isolated, with many feeling “disconnected and lost, and they just have this kind of malaise.”
...Numerous studies on the impact of Covid on mental health have been carried out. One study, published in The Lancet medical journal in October, looked at the global prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic....It found that mental health dramatically declined in that year, with an estimated 53 million additional cases of major depressive disorders and 76 million additional cases of anxiety disorders seen globally. Women and younger people were found to be affected more than men and older adults....“There’s definitely a huge mental health impact from a long period of uncertainty and change that’s left people very isolated and not sure how to connect. Just being out in public and interacting in a very casual way with strangers or mild acquaintances, that’s very regulating, and norm-creating and reality affirming....”
...Natalie Bodart, a London-based clinical psychologist and head of The Bodart Practice, told CNBC that the pandemic meant that many people had to confront issues in their life that they’d been able to avoid before, such as alcoholism, relationship issues, isolation and loneliness.....“Our day to day lives serve as great defense mechanisms, we have lots of distractions that help us to avoid things, for good and for ill....”
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/10/covid-pandemic-mental-health-damage-could-last-a-generation.html
*********
"Definitely turning more spiritual. My focus is not so much on the water and the shelter and the fire and the food, because I know I have those things. It's becoming more inward looking.... If you are forced to spend a lot of time by yourself, well, you better like yourself as a person first...." - Alan Kay, Alone S1, History Channel
"I wouldn't say a single word to them. I would listen to what they have to say, and that's what no one did.” - Marilyn Manson, Bowling For Columbine
Here is another topic that is designed to increase discussion and participation in the FFA.
I'd like to have an open honest discussion here about the mental health crisis regarding youth and children as fallout from the COVID19 pandemic. I am not looking to delve into public policy, the actions/inactions of elected officials, the MSM, judicial rulings regarding the pandemic, etc, etc. I'd like to keep the topic focused on the perspective of parents here, and how they see what has happened in their own families or within other children in their general local social /educational network.
If you are a parent with teens / young children during the isolation phases of the pandemic, how did that impact your children? (Those without children are welcome to share their casual observations of others they know directly on the matter) Are some of those issues still lingering now? How did you feel about it and why? How did it impact other children you could see around your own child? What steps did you take to try to mitigate some of the conflicts implied? Were there other stressors in your own adult life ( i.e. your own mental health, finances, career, martial conflict, etc, etc) that impacted your ability to better aid your children in this regard? Outside of public policy discussion, what should be done to help kids with these issues? Are you concerned about more isolation type scenarios in the future? What role do you see social media, influences in mass entertainment, peer pressure and other cultural forces at work, regarding kids and teenagers, have in all of this? Knowing what you know right now, is there anything you would have done much differently (again avoiding public policy related discussion) during the beginning phases of this crisis?
I'll leave this here for others to discuss. (10/30)
