How does it affect Teenagers?

In today’s times, mental health seems to be a very important subject that is immensely discussed. This specific topic has been getting a lot of attention from the media recently from 2020 to 2022. Teenagers all over the nation have been struggling with this, and it has now been labeled as a growing problem. Due to COVID-19, lots of people’s (especially teens) mental health has grown to worsen over these past few years.          

But why does our generation’s mental health matter? Based on the statistics, over the past few years, teenagers’ mental illness estimated cases percentage has risen dramatically. How can we fix this? How will we dig ourselves out of this poor mental health hole? Will the teengaers in the U.S. ever recover?

“In a 2020 survey of 1,000 parents around the country facilitated by the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, 71% of parents said the pandemic had taken a toll on their child’s mental health, and 69% said the pandemic was the worst thing to happen to their child. A national survey of 3,300 high schoolers conducted in spring 2020 found close to a third of students felt unhappy and depressed much more than usual”- American Psychological Association               (https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/01/special-childrens-mental-health). 

Of adolescents with any sort of mental disorder, 22.2% had severe impairment. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many young people’s mental health has worsened faster than at any other time. According to the statistics of 2021, it is estimated that 49.9% of adolescents have some range of mental disorder. With this information in hand, our nation has declared this a growing problem. ( NIMH ” Mental Illness https://www.nimh.nih.gov › health › statistics › mental-ill…  ). The United States of America particularly has a high amount of confirmed cases of mental illness of all sorts. Based on the statistics, it is estimated that around half of young people in the U.S. have some sort of mental disorder. 

“Figure 5 shows the lifetime prevalence of any mental disorder among U.S. adolescents aged 13-18. An estimated 49.5% of adolescents have a mental disorder.” – National Institute of Mental Health

Our mental health MATTERS. Teenagers today are struggling to get the help they need, but they shouldn’t be afraid because they are not alone. So please, if you are struggling, make sure to talk to someone about it, maybe it will help!