From http://www.joywongliu.com/index/tag/statistics/
By Allison Ringold
High school can be a very stressful time. But because of the rise in Anxiety and Depression in teens, high school can be even worse for some. According to numerous articles online, including one by www.nymag.com, there has been a rise in depression and anxiety and in teens as of late. However, there are people who are working to fight this increase.
According to NAMI, (National Alliance on Mental Illness) anxiety and low mood (or depression) are a part of life for many, but they become disorders when the symptoms an individuals is feelings get to the point of disrupting daily life. While there are many different forms of anxiety disorders, in general they all share the same issue: fear (or anxiety) in situations that are not life-threatening. This may prevent a person for doing everyday things. Depression works similarly in that, while occasional sadness is normal, sadness and lack of interest become overwhelming it prevents a person from living a normal life and it becomes a Depressive Disorder or Depression as it is commonly known.
According to the American Anxiety and Depression Association (AADA), about 25 percent of teens aged 13-18 have anxiety disorders and about 6-8 percent of teens aged 13-18 have major depression, but only about 31 percent of those teens are getting treatment.
Senior Abby Walsh is a part of the 6-8% of teens who have depression. She was diagnosed with depression when she was hospitalized for suicidal ideation (suicidal thoughts) her sophomore year. She’s also one of minority of teens that actually get treatment for depression. But even now that she’s on medication, some days depression still affects her life. “There are days when I’m medicated and I feel great,” she said, “but there are also days where no matter how many meds I take I just can’t feel happy.”
According to Walsh, it can be hard to get resources to help with anxiety and depression. “The resources that are available aren’t given unless you’re a high suicide risk,” she said. However, there are people that are trying to make those resources available. Specific to pioneer, a program called Peer to Peer exists that is a partnership between the school and the University of Michigan.
According to Ms. Creal, the counselor at Pioneer who supervises Peer to Peer, this is a program in which students are trained by the University of Michigan Depression Center to identify other students that may be struggling with depression and anxiety; but their job is not to treat them. “They’re not therapists and they’re not counselors. They’re just trying to be the eyes and ears out there,” she said. She also says that their job is to educate their fellow students and to destigmatize depression and anxiety.
And while Creal believes that Peer to Peer is doing a good job educating other students about the signs and symptoms of depressions, she believes that it’s hard to identify every student that may be struggling with anxiety or depression; and that’s scary. “It’s alarming because it’s not just kids that are anxious and depressed, there’s a lot of kids that want to kill themselves,” she said, “and that worries me a lot.” She went on to say that just last week she had three students come to her because they wanted to kill themselves.
But there are ways students can help themselves. According to Creal, students can turn off social media, be active and go do things that they enjoy to help their mental health. Essentially, balance is key. But there are still more things you can do if you’re struggling with anxiety or depression.
Other resources that are available to students online include NAMI (www.nami.org/) and the AADA (https://aada.org/). In addition to providing information about anxiety and depression, these website also provide information about possible treatments and self help techniques to reduce stress. For example NAMI has a whole section dedicated to helping teens.
In addition to all of these resources, there are some people that are working to make it easier for teens with mental health issues to get help such as Dr. Elizabeth Koschmann, who directs a program called “Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students” or TRAILS. According to their webpage the purpose of this program is to “provide clinical training to school professionals in evidence-based mental health care approaches, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness”. Additionally they work to “train community mental health providers to provide follow-up coaching in their local schools, reinforcing new skills and promoting sustainability.” TRAILS was developed because “effective mental health care is riddled with difficulties, including limited insurance coverage, long wait lists, and a shortage of providers qualified to deliver effective treatment,” according to their webpage. Dr. Kochmann has partnered with 24 schools, including Pioneer, within 10 counties within Michigan to and has a goal of creating a “statewide network of 150 mental health providers trained to coach school professionals learning CBT”
According to Koschmann, it’s important to make mental health services available to teens in schools because teens often have trouble getting help elsewhere. “It’s a human right,” she said. And also according to Koschmann, the work TRAILS has been doing has been effective and in high demand, so much so that they can’t help every school that asks them for help.
Anxiety and Depression can be a normal part of life, but when get overwhelming it is not normal. Many students feel stress in high school, but fortunately there are people who are working to make resources available for those that need help.
High school can be a very stressful time. But because of the rise in Anxiety and Depression in teens, high school can be even worse for some. According to numerous articles online, including one by www.nymag.com, there has been a rise in depression and anxiety and in teens as of late. However, there are people who are working to fight this increase.
According to NAMI, (National Alliance on Mental Illness) anxiety and low mood (or depression) are a part of life for many, but they become disorders when the symptoms an individuals is feelings get to the point of disrupting daily life. While there are many different forms of anxiety disorders, in general they all share the same issue: fear (or anxiety) in situations that are not life-threatening. This may prevent a person for doing everyday things. Depression works similarly in that, while occasional sadness is normal, sadness and lack of interest become overwhelming it prevents a person from living a normal life and it becomes a Depressive Disorder or Depression as it is commonly known.
According to the American Anxiety and Depression Association (AADA), about 25 percent of teens aged 13-18 have anxiety disorders and about 6-8 percent of teens aged 13-18 have major depression, but only about 31 percent of those teens are getting treatment.
Senior Abby Walsh is a part of the 6-8% of teens who have depression. She was diagnosed with depression when she was hospitalized for suicidal ideation (suicidal thoughts) her sophomore year. She’s also one of minority of teens that actually get treatment for depression. But even now that she’s on medication, some days depression still affects her life. “There are days when I’m medicated and I feel great,” she said, “but there are also days where no matter how many meds I take I just can’t feel happy.”
According to Walsh, it can be hard to get resources to help with anxiety and depression. “The resources that are available aren’t given unless you’re a high suicide risk,” she said. However, there are people that are trying to make those resources available. Specific to pioneer, a program called Peer to Peer exists that is a partnership between the school and the University of Michigan.
According to Ms. Creal, the counselor at Pioneer who supervises Peer to Peer, this is a program in which students are trained by the University of Michigan Depression Center to identify other students that may be struggling with depression and anxiety; but their job is not to treat them. “They’re not therapists and they’re not counselors. They’re just trying to be the eyes and ears out there,” she said. She also says that their job is to educate their fellow students and to destigmatize depression and anxiety.
And while Creal believes that Peer to Peer is doing a good job educating other students about the signs and symptoms of depressions, she believes that it’s hard to identify every student that may be struggling with anxiety or depression; and that’s scary. “It’s alarming because it’s not just kids that are anxious and depressed, there’s a lot of kids that want to kill themselves,” she said, “and that worries me a lot.” She went on to say that just last week she had three students come to her because they wanted to kill themselves.
But there are ways students can help themselves. According to Creal, students can turn off social media, be active and go do things that they enjoy to help their mental health. Essentially, balance is key. But there are still more things you can do if you’re struggling with anxiety or depression.
Other resources that are available to students online include NAMI (www.nami.org/) and the AADA (https://aada.org/). In addition to providing information about anxiety and depression, these website also provide information about possible treatments and self help techniques to reduce stress. For example NAMI has a whole section dedicated to helping teens.
In addition to all of these resources, there are some people that are working to make it easier for teens with mental health issues to get help such as Dr. Elizabeth Koschmann, who directs a program called “Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students” or TRAILS. According to their webpage the purpose of this program is to “provide clinical training to school professionals in evidence-based mental health care approaches, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness”. Additionally they work to “train community mental health providers to provide follow-up coaching in their local schools, reinforcing new skills and promoting sustainability.” TRAILS was developed because “effective mental health care is riddled with difficulties, including limited insurance coverage, long wait lists, and a shortage of providers qualified to deliver effective treatment,” according to their webpage. Dr. Kochmann has partnered with 24 schools, including Pioneer, within 10 counties within Michigan to and has a goal of creating a “statewide network of 150 mental health providers trained to coach school professionals learning CBT”
According to Koschmann, it’s important to make mental health services available to teens in schools because teens often have trouble getting help elsewhere. “It’s a human right,” she said. And also according to Koschmann, the work TRAILS has been doing has been effective and in high demand, so much so that they can’t help every school that asks them for help.
Anxiety and Depression can be a normal part of life, but when get overwhelming it is not normal. Many students feel stress in high school, but fortunately there are people who are working to make resources available for those that need help.