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Saturday, August 20th, 2022

U.S. Youth Face Unprecedented Mental Health Challenges, Says Surgeon General

Author:     Shannon Firth
Source:     Medpage Today
Publication Date:     August 19, 2022
 Link: U.S. Youth Face Unprecedented Mental Health Challenges, Says Surgeon General
Stephan:   The stress that is tearing America apart is causing all kinds of damage to young people. The November election is either going to foster the needed healing, or it will further exacerbate this damage which will, in turn, change the next generation of American culture profoundly. We need to recognize this and develop a universal birthright single-payer healthcare system based on fostering wellbeing. Because if we don't we are going to go through an extended period of civil violence.

The U.S. Surgeon General said he is gravely concerned about the “unprecedented” obstacles facing young people — from climate change and racism, to the “culture of comparison” embraced by social media.

“We think of high school as a time where your life is opening up for you, but nearly half of high school kids are feeling despondent about themselves and about the future,” noted Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, speaking at a Washington Post live event on Wednesday.

According to a nationwide survey, 44% of high school students said they feel “persistently sad or hopeless.” Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, suicide rates jumped 57% among kids and young adults ages 10 to 24, and have only worsened in some states since.

On top of these alarming statistics, there are other concerns, Murthy said. For example, it takes, on average, 11 years for a child to receive treatment after developing symptoms of a mental health problem

Asked whether it’s possible that “social media contagion” has led susceptible children to mistakenly believe […]

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1 Comment

  1. Rev. Dean on Saturday, August 20, 2022 at 9:53 am

    I know exactly what this article is talking about. When my Step-Daughter and her husband brought her family up to see me and her mother; the one and only time they did, their two teenage children spent the entire day on their cell phones, And I could never get a chance to talk to them at all. Therefor I never got to really know them or their concerns. I was dismayed by this inability to connect with them.