A note to readers: this story discusses suicide.
The surgeon general just issued a warning that young people are facing 鈥渄evastating鈥� mental health effects as a result of the challenges experienced by their generation, including the coronavirus pandemic.
The said emergency room visits for suicide attempts rose 51% for adolescent girls in early 2021 as compared to the same period in 2019. The figure rose 4% for boys.
Families are seeking help for their children in record numbers at in Dallas. The outpatient clinic has been at capacity for more than a year.
鈥淥ne of the biggest symptoms of depression is isolation,鈥� said Roshini Kumar, Clinical Manager of Outpatient Psychology and Suicide Prevention and Resilience at Children's Health. She reports a spike in children suffering from social anxiety and depression with no previous history of mental health concerns.
A grueling couple of years
Shan鈥檡a Taylor, 14, spent most of last school year in her room: sleeping, watching television and writing.
鈥淚f I didn鈥檛 want to talk to my parents or my sister, I would just write in here. I'm good at hiding,鈥� she said. She鈥檚 in ninth grade at Red Oak High School. 鈥淚t was hard. It was confusing, stressful, depression. It was so hard.鈥�
Shan鈥檡a鈥檚 parents wanted their children to be vaccinated before sending them back to school in person. Mom Andryan Simpson said not being around her classmates really affected her daughter.
鈥淗er grades were showing, her self-esteem, her lack of communication. She was rebelling against it majorly,鈥� Simpson said. Even though Shan鈥檡a is back in school now, Simpson said she still thinks her daughter is lonely.
Dr. Madhukar Trivedi, Director of the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care at UT Southwestern Medical Center, said kids are struggling.
鈥淢y fear is that this is going to leave residual problems for a long time,鈥� Trivedi said.
Youth loneliness and its years-long upward trend
A looming concern for mental health experts is that loneliness in adolescents has been increasing for the last decade. surveyed more than a million teenagers worldwide. In 2018, nearly twice as many teens displayed elevated levels of loneliness compared to 2012. 2012 was also the year when smartphone ownership passed 50% in the U.S.
Before that, loneliness and depression among teens had been unchanged or down for several years.
Experts say screen time may also be taking the place of activities important for physical and mental well-being, including sleep, exercise and in-person activity. Kumar has worked with kids who have felt hopeless, and has found ways for them to foster connections.
鈥淭herapy is not always in an office. It can be yoga. It can be soccer. There鈥檚 also a lot of evidence-based ways that we can pull ourselves out of it.鈥�
But, that means prioritizing well-being for everyone 鈥� kids included. And experts say pandemic or not, that need won鈥檛 disappear.
If you need help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255