Page 41 - BusinessWest April 14, 2021
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 Healthcare
Youth in Crisis
Pandemic Ratchets Up the Stress on Kids, Teenagers
Let’s face it — the past year of COVID-19 has probably been tough on you, in any number of ways that weigh on your peace of mind. But what about your kids? How are they doing? And ... do you even know? That might seem like a flip or aggressive question, but a group of local teenagers who have been talking to public- health leaders about the issue say their parents aren’t fully hearing them when it comes to the impact of the pandemic. And that impact, in many cases, has been worrisome.
BAy Joseph Bednar
lane Burgess began by stating the obvious.
“It’s not normal for kids to be home all the time.”
As clinic director of the BestLife Emotional Health
& Wellness Center, a program of MHA Inc., Bur- gess is one of many healthcare professionals keenly invested in how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted young people. And the picture is worrisome.
“They like to be out. They like to socialize. Most kids like to be with friends,” she said. “COVID forced isolation on a lot of people; they haven’t been able to go to school, to socialize, to be involved with activities they once loved, like sports. Community spaces haven’t been open.”
It’s not surprising, she added, that this isolation has contributed to an uptick in anxiety, depression, frustration, and a tendency to act out in negative ways.
Indeed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between April and Octo- ber 2020, hospital emergency departments saw
a rise in the share of total visits from childen for mental-health needs. Nationwide numbers on sui- cide deaths in 2020 are still unclear, but anecdotal evidence suggests an uptick.
But here’s the less obvious reality, Burgess noted: while the pandemic may be (and that’s may be) on its last legs and schools and other gather- ing places are slowly opening back up, that doesn’t mean the stresses of the past year will just fade away.
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