ADDRESSING THE ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH EPIDEMIC NOW
What is the Current State of Adolescent Mental Health?
Over the years, friends and clients have shared the challenges they face with their teens’ mental health. Since the start of the pandemic, these families have been confronted with even greater difficulties. They are not alone. What was already a serious issue has now become a dire situation in the U.S. with serious consequences not only for these young adults and their families but also for our communities and economy.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO):
Globally, one in seven 10-19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder, accounting for 13% of the global burden of disease in this age group.
Depression, anxiety, and behavioral disorders are among the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents.
Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-19 year-olds.
The consequences of failing to address adolescent mental health conditions extend to adulthood, impairing both physical and mental health and limiting opportunities to lead fulfilling lives as adults.
How Has The Pandemic Affected Adolescents?
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and Children’s Hospital Association “have declared a national emergency in children’s mental health, citing the serious toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on top of existing challenges. The pandemic then brought on physical isolation, ongoing uncertainty, fear, and grief. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers found between March and October 2020, emergency department visits for mental health emergencies rose by 24% for children ages 5-11 years and 31% for children ages 12-17 years. In addition, emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts increased by nearly 51% among girls ages 12-17 years in early 2021 compared to the same period in 2019. “We are caring for young people with soaring rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality that will have lasting impacts on them, their families, their communities, and all of our futures,” said AACAP President Gabrielle A. Carlson, M.D. “
Are They Growing Pains or a Sign of Something More Serious?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “if the following conditions persist for weeks or months older children and adolescents may benefit from a professional evaluation.
Have lost interest in things that they used to enjoy
Have low energy
Sleep too much or too little, or seem sleepy throughout the day
Are spending more and more time alone, and avoid social activities with friends or family
Diet or exercise excessively, or fear gaining weight
Engage in self-harm behaviors (such as cutting or burning their skin)
Smoke, drink alcohol, or use drugs
Engage in risky or destructive behavior alone or with friends
Have thoughts of suicide
Have periods of highly elevated energy and activity, and require much less sleep than usual
Say that they think someone is trying to control their mind or that they hear things that other people cannot hear.”
Main Types of Disorders
According to the WHO, the main disorders can be categorized as:
Emotional disorders - anxiety is the most common of these conditions, followed by depression.
Behavioral disorders - Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), characterized by difficulty paying attention, excessive activity and acting without regard to consequences; conduct disorder (involving symptoms of destructive or challenging behavior);
Eating disorders - anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa;
Psychosis - symptoms can include hallucinations or delusions;
Suicide and self-harm - risk factors for suicide are multifaceted, and include harmful use of alcohol, abuse in childhood, stigma against help-seeking, barriers to accessing care, and access to means of suicide;
Risk-taking behaviors - substance use or sexual risk-taking; perpetration of violence.
Celebrities Speak Out
Celebrity visibility gives them the platform to raise awareness of issues in ways that can open conversations that are often difficult and painful. As these conversations broaden within the general public, we then have the opportunity to step into that space and demonstrate the same self-love and compassion as these celebrities to take responsibility for our own mental and physical health and well-being.
Who are some celebrities to read about? Simone Biles, the 4-time Olympic gold athlete, showed incredible awareness and bravery by taking a stand for her own mental health, despite the pressure from multiple sources. Despite years of training for the latest Olympics, she made the decision to withdraw from both the team final and all-around individual events. Wow! According to Lee Health, in Biles’ case, the pressure she felt under the bright lights and the scrutiny of millions upon millions of strangers watching her led to something called “the twisties.” This means that her mind-body connection, honed into muscle memory from years of intense practice, suddenly betrayed her, and she lost track of herself in the air – quite a problem when spinning and flipping at top speed. A gymnast dealing with “the twisties” opens themselves to serious injuries.
Michael Phelps, with 28 medals, is the most decorated American Olympian. He also suffered for years from depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. It took courage to ask for help, checking himself into an inpatient treatment center in 2014. He admits that these conditions don’t go away; however, he now has the tools and abilities to manage them. As a man, he is also a role model for young men dealing with mental health issues. Phelps continues his advocacy work both through his Michael Phelps Foundation and the popular Talkspace, an online counseling service.
Naomi Osaka is a 4 time Grand Slam champion and was once the #1 ranked player by the Women’s Tennis Association. She spoke out citing anxiety and mental health issues when she opted out of the French Open and Wimbledon. She shared having dealt with long bouts of depression since 2018. She is currently taking an indefinite break from tennis and starting her own sports agency, Evolve.
Addressing the Conditions
The first step in addressing mental health is to get a professional diagnosis. Discuss these self-care tips from experts such as Harvard Medical School’s Harvard Health Publishing, and The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital to develop new healthy routines. Begin slowly. It takes 21-45 days to create a new habit.
Meditation
For those new to meditation, it can be helpful to use a guided meditation that walks you through it. Mindfulness for Teens offers free videos and recorded meditations to help you focus on the present moment in a non-judgmental way. It can help to stop a cycle of being (thoughts, actions) that are unhealthy. Videos are of adolescents sharing their stories and those dedicated to supporting them. The recorded meditations are as short as 3 minutes. Check out the one on eating a raisin mindfully!
As I’ve shared in a previous blog, Why Gong Therapy is the Most Relaxing Summer Activity That You’ve Never Heard Of, gong sound therapy is the lazy or smart person’s meditation. You get the same benefits as meditation while only needing to lie down and allow the vibrations of the gong to wash over you. Attending regular sound therapy classes can help you tap into that calm, present state of mind more easily during your day.
Yoga
Psychology Today’s list of benefits of yoga to young adults includes: Improve fitness and physical health, reduce stress and anxiety, Improve optimism, Improve self-esteem and body image, and develop discipline and self-regulation. Yoga has become mainstream so it is easy to explore different types of yoga, both in person and online.
Kundalini Yoga, as I shared in my recent blog Kundalini Yoga for Beginners: A Primer focuses on specific meridians so it can target a specific imbalance. There are classes focusing specifically on reducing anxiety and depression. Since all Kundalini Yoga classes include meditation, you can incorporate 2 self-care activities into one.
Sleep
The National Sleep Foundation and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine agree that teens need between 8 and 10 hours of sleep per night. However, most teens get less than that. What is the impact of the loss of sleep? According to research by Neuroscience Biobehavior Review, loss of sleep has been shown to have an influence on depression and anxiety in adolescents. The research also found that, “preliminary evidence suggests that sleep loss also negatively affects mood and emotional regulation in adolescents, both following chronic, and acute doses of sleep restriction. In addition, parental limit setting can help: teens whose parents set a bedtime of 10:00 pm or earlier, for example, had fewer depressive symptoms and less suicidal ideation as compared to teens whose parents set a bedtime of midnight or later.”
Meet and communicate with friends
For adolescents who are looking for a healthy online community, the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine recommends the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ Strength of Us. They include discussion groups, space for sharing stories, and a very interesting app that allows users to anonymously share their stories and receive feedback from other users.
The Nemurs Foundation has short, easy-to-understand tools on how to deal with common experiences that adolescents face at this time of their lives. As a middle-aged person, I even found some of them very helpful. Since anxiety is the #1 challenge facing adolescents, I’ve added a link to their 5 Ways to Cope with Anxiety.
YouthLine, as described on its website, is a teen-to-teen youth crisis and support service that operates a national helpline that provides crisis support and referrals via call, text, and chat. The YouthLine is answered by teen volunteers daily from 4 pm-10 pm PST (and by adults at all other times!). Translation services are available upon request. It is supported by Lines for Life, a non-profit dedicated to preventing substance abuse and suicide.
We are individuals and different modalities work for us at different times. Often, it is also a combination of approaches that support us at any one time. Exploring new modalities begins with a perspective of self-compassion, releasing (or at least softening) self-judgment to be able to authentically explore these options and find what is most supportive and works best at the time.
Improve Mental Health with Gong Sound Therapy
If you want to attain inner peace and build strong mental health, SoundWellness is here to support you. All classes can be customized to meet the needs of an individual or a community. Call or set up a complimentary consultation today.