Trending
From 2009 to 2019, the number of high school students who reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased by 40 percent, to more than one in three, according to Jackie Baker of UPMC Behavioral Health.
The pandemic and other challenges confronting society "will have rippling effects for years to come," Baker told the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.
Dr. Olufunke Oladejo advises parents of teenagers to be aware that mental health afflictions often have different symptoms for young people than for adults.
She says teens may overreact, have behavioral problems and display irritability.
Other indicators Oladejo encourages parents to watch for include withdrawal from activities the teenager used to enjoy, changes in diet, new difficulties with schoolwork and voicing dread or unease.
Oladejo and other health care professionals encourage parents to communicate with teens, to know the baseline for their behavior and temperament so that signs that they may be struggling with a mental health affliction can be noticed.
Mental health also needs to see the stigma that surrounds it removed, as that stigma is one of the most vexing obstacles to treatment.
The growing problem of mental health afflictions needs to be addressed.
We hope the advice from Oladejo and other professionals is helpful to parents in our communities and we are thankful that UPMC and other health care professionals are being proactive in addressing juvenile mental health treatment.
We believe we all want to see the teenagers in our community thrive and prosper, and addressing the weight of dread and unease they feel is part of providing them with the tools so that the can thrive and prosper.