No matter how you stack it, the numbers are alarming. In the U.S., approximately 1 in 5 youth (ages 13–18) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point. In Minnesota, suicide is the second-leading cause of death for 11- to 18-year-olds, and statewide surveys show increasing rates of youth depression, anxiety, and suicide.
We talked with four experts about what is driving this mental health crisis and how the medical community, schools, and communities are working to help youth get the attention and support they need.
“Teens are under incredible stress these days,” says Susan Nygaard, manager of Allina Health’s community health improvement. “Contributing factors include academics, peer pressure, sports, and jobs. Teens are taking on more and more, and the balancing act becomes too much.”
That “too much” includes their time spent online. Mental health experts point to the advent of social media as a strong factor driving an increase in anxiety and depression, especially among teens.
“Access to technology provides teens a wealth of information, while at the same time, it appears to cause much of their stress and anxiety,” Nygaard says.
Mental health became a priority for Allina in 2013, when its community health needs assessment found that high levels of stress among teens was robbing them of sleep, aggravating bad behavior, and hurting grades.
In response, Allina created its Change to Chill (CTC) program, an online resource to help teens manage stress and build resiliency. The CTC program is also reaching into schools, where it is helping more than 100,000 students learn deep-breathing strategies and mindfulness techniques.