According to Stigma Health (August 2022), the World Teen Mental Wellness Day, observed on March 2nd, is a time to raise awareness about teen mental health issues, eliminate stigma, and normalize the conversation. Despite global events being organized to improve mental health outcomes, stigma against mental illness remains a major barrier limiting young people’s access to mental health services.
Efforts to reduce stigma and change attitudes about mental health are focused on educating and encouraging children to make mental health an open concern for everyone. School-based mental health services, mental wellness curricula, and “safe” spaces are common in middle and high schools.
More and more young people are working to raise mental health awareness and support open and honest conversations about mental health through joining clubs and participating in nonprofit organizations like Active Minds. Active Minds, which specializes in promoting the mental health of teens and young adults, has more than 600 campus-based chapters in the United States, including his 22 chapter in Michigan.
Despite progress toward normalizing youth mental health, stigma remains a significant factor preventing children from receiving early intervention for their mental health needs, and in some cases, preventing them from receiving early intervention for their mental health needs. Sometimes it is not possible to intervene. what happened?
There is a deep body of research supporting mental health concerns among adolescents. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that nearly 50 percent of adolescents will have a mental health problem at some point. The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control agree that nearly 20% of 13- to 17-year-olds in the United States have a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder. There is a similar growing body of research showing that half of adults with mental health conditions had their symptoms in childhood or adolescence. If our children are speaking up, getting educated, and becoming more aware, why is stigma still a barrier to care?
I recently had the opportunity to have eye-opening conversations about mental health with two diverse groups of local high school students. One is his local Active Minds chapter and the other is his group of teen leaders and athletes in the area. Their awareness and candor about mental health issues, themselves and their peers, highlighted the point that Gen Z is an agent of change in mental health stigma. Both groups’ concerns squarely answered why stigma still hinders access to care, with the question: “What if parents are reluctant to seek help?”
These poised, more mature than I expected teenagers posed questions that rival current literature with astonishing precision. They talked about parents’ embarrassment and self-blame for their teens’ mental health issues. According to Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health (2021, Vol 4), 41% of parents are reluctant to seek professional help and their child’s mental health symptoms make them question their parenting abilities. It is reported that.
They talked about their struggles, which were dismissed by their parents as “not that bad.” According to DC’s The Therapy Group (February 2024), the idea that mental health problems are a choice and can be changed with effort is a common reaction regarding mental health symptoms and delays treatment. It will be.
They excused their parents by expressing that they believed their parents also had mental health issues and that they probably couldn’t help. Eerily insightful and consistent with a large body of research, more than a third of the teens surveyed said that, according to an August 2023 Harvard Graduate Education Publication, At least one parent suffers from anxiety or depression, and nearly 40% of teens said they suffer from at least some degree of anxiety or depression. I’m worried about my parents’ mental state.
Smart high school students are calling for changes to current Michigan law that limits the number of therapy sessions that children ages 14 to 17 can attend without parental consent. So that if you can’t convince your parents, at least you can take care of yourself. .
Our professional medical communities, schools and public health sectors, along with adult awareness programs, are working to promote communication and recognize that 50% of adults with a mental health condition have symptoms at the age of 14. You need to participate in and provide programs that strengthen your skills.
What can we do to bridge the widening generation gap, learn from and align with our children? Lisa Lambert of the Child Mind Institute Stories shared by parents of children with children explain that parents learn to be quiet. Parents should be careful not only with friends, but also with teachers, doctors, etc. We need to provide alternative narratives to outdated information. We need to create an adult environment that frees us from silence.
About the Author Carol Zuniga, MS, LLP, CEO of Hegira Health, Inc., is an appointed member of the Michigan Suicide Prevention Commission and a licensed psychologist with over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Hegira Health, Inc. is a leading provider of behavioral health services with clinics in the Western Wayne and Downriver communities.
