Koy Roberts, Ph.D.

Today the National Suicide and Crisis hotline changes its number to 988 to make the system more accessible. One can text or call this number and be routed to a mental health counselor within 60-90 seconds. There is hope that this is the beginning of a bigger push for mental health care access, especially in Texas. Mental Health America ranked Texas last in the U.S. for access to such care in 2022. Each year, more people die by suicide in the U.S. than in car crashes. I am relieved and encouraged by this transition because it comes at a time when more people are experiencing mental health crises.

From 2009 to 2021 the percent of high school students reporting “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” rose from 26 percent to 44 percent according to a CDC study. This is the highest level of sadness ever recorded. Derek Thompson writes in The Atlantic after analyzing CDC data that almost every measure of mental health is getting worse, for every teenage demographic and it’s happening all over the country. However, sadness among white teens is rising faster than among other groups. He proposes four reasons for these increases: social-media use, sociality is down, the world is stressful and there is more news about these stressors and modern parenting strategies. The world is overwhelming to not only teens but for moms and dads as well. These societal trends amplified by a global pandemic and social isolation makes the dramatic rise in teenage sadness not that mysterious or surprising.

New research indicates suicidal thoughts are on the rise among teens and young adults. The February 3rd issue of the Wall Street Journal (Apple News) recently published a great article titled “What Parents Can Do When Kids Have Suicidal Thoughts” by Andrea Petersen. Undoubtedly this trend has grown during the pandemic. A June 2020 survey reported that 25.5% of 18-24 year olds had seriously considered suicide during the last 30 days. Weekly emergency room visits for suspected suicide rose 50.6% among 12-17 year old girls in March 2021 when compared to the same period in 2019. Certain behaviors are linked to an imminent risk of a child’s suicide attempt which includes a sharp rise in the time spent at home and a dramatic increase in the use of negative words in texts and social-media posts. Most kids don’t act on those thoughts but we can better understand those most at risk and what we can do to help. Parents can reduce risk by openly asking teens about their feelings. A conversation you should have many times. Warning signs to take seriously include increased alcohol or drug use, withdrawing from usual activities, changes in sleep patterns and other behavioral changes.

Teenage social media use and mental health has received a great deal of attention and scrutiny. However, a recent large-scale study also links social media use and depression among adults. We’re experiencing a mental health crisis where one-third of adults in the U.S. are depressed according to an October study. This number is up from 8.5% before the pandemic. For this recent research over 5000 adults’ social media habits were studied for one year. Adults using FaceBook, SnapChat, Instagram and TikTok with an average age of 56 were substantially more likely to report depression. It’s no surprise social media use has increased during the pandemic. Experts agree our brains were not meant for this type of interpersonal interaction. Social media has hijacked the need for socializing with something artificial and insufficient.

Check out the August/September issue of DFW Child. I was interviewed for an article on how to avoid entitlement issues raising your kids. Gina Mayfield wrote a helpful and practical article for parents.

“How to Stop Spoiling Your Child and Why”

Hope everyone has a great start to the new school year! Here’s my College Freshman and High School Freshman.

Summer Newsletter

Congrats to all the high school and college graduates! You know who you are. I am thrilled, proud and blessed to be a small part of your journey. My daughter punched her ticket and is headed to college in the Fall. I couldn’t love her anymore than I do. The future is going to be a great adventure. “People’s lives testify to their beliefs as much or more than their words.”

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. One of the few positives that have occurred over the course of this pandemic is the increased attention on mental health. However, this has come at the expense of the deterioration of both children and adult mental health over the past year. It appears Depression and Anxiety rates are three to four times higher than pre-pandemic. Cook Children’s has launched a campaign to raise awareness about suicide. They have treated double the number of suicidal patients in a given month. Suicidal death was the leading cause of traumatic death at Cook’s Children’s in 2020.

As we near the one year mark of the pandemic research is trickling in on the psychological effects on children and adults. Finally, with some light at the end of this dark tunnel we will begin to see improvements in these statistics over the coming months. Hope and optimism can buffer our kids and mitigate these issues from becoming long-term mental health problems. What we do know is the effects of this pandemic on our children can be compared to those of children who have survived natural disasters. A study of 10,000 high school students revealed that classroom students are faring better. They have lower rates of stress and worry than their online peers. However, high school students overall are reporting a 56.4% increase in stress compared to a year ago. Another study indicates there is a 24% increase in mental health visits to emergency rooms among 5-11 year olds and a 31% increase in these visits among teenagers. I’m optimistic we will resume some sense of normalcy sooner rather than later but our kids need our continued support and understanding.