US kids living through mental health crisis
Every morning, I play a song from “Dear Evan Hansen” called
“You Will Be Found” — and it’s become my anthem. “Even when the dark comes crashing through, when you need a friend to carry you, you will be found,” goes the chorus. “So let the sun come streaming in, cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again. Lift your head and look around. You will be found.”
The Tony Award-winning musical tackles a tough topic: school suicide. In doing so, it presents an optimistic soundtrack which sets the tone for my day. It reminds me that I have a support system in place —a message our young people need to hear.
America’s youth are living through a mental health crisis. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, more than 4 million kids suffer from anxiety while studies have shown that one in five teens struggle with depression. What’s more, NAMI names suicide as the third most prevalent cause of death among people ages 10-24.
What factors are to blame? Certainly, we know the adolescent and college years are stressful — demands from school, social lives, and normal developmental changes all contribute. Pair that with the bullying that many young people fear in school or online, and the shame or embarrassment experienced by those who feel they aren’t “normal.”
Adults may say that it’s easy for these young people to seek out help — just ask for it, right? But it’s not that simple. As few as 7 percent of adolescents meet with a mental health clinician in a given year — leaving many without the help they need. The mental well-being of an entire generation is under siege, but we cannot leave them in the darkness.
Fortunately, there are reasons to be hopeful. For instance, the stigma around mental health issues is gradually beginning to erode. Pop culture has been fueling this long-awaited change. In recent years, some of the brightest stars — Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and Lady Gaga— have opened up about their mental health issues. Films like “A Star Is Born” and “Ben Is Back” have opened the public’s eyes to the realities of suicide or substance abuse, and demand these issues be aired openly.
Put simply, mental health is having a moment right now. But temporary awareness is not enough. That’s why my colleagues at Retreat Behavioral Health and I decided to host a panel discussion called “The Mental Health Crisis: Protecting Our Youth” on Wednesday, July 24 (4020 Lake Worth Rd Palm Springs, Florida, 33461). The free and public event explores the intersections between a traditionally private sector problem — mental health among the adolescent and young adult population — and the kind of public sector solutions that we can put into place.
There will be a formidable lineup of panelists tackling this topic, including Cameron Kasky, the 18-year-old who co-founded March for Our Lives, a national movement that emerged in the wake of the shooting at his high school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland last year. Another panelist, Linda Mills, is the Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice Provost for University Life at New York University, where she oversees wellness programs for a student population of more than 50,000.
They’ll be joined by Allen West, an Emmy-nominated documentarian and executive producer behind A&E’s groundbreaking series “Addiction Unplugged”. You will also hear from Sharon L’Herrou, CEO of the Palm Beach County suicide hotline 211. Rounding out the panel are Retreat CEO and founder Peter Schorr and Liza Piekarsky, LMHC, a veteran mental health counselor with 15 years’ experience concentrating her practice in adolescent care.
Each voice will contribute their unique perspective, and I’m looking forward to moderating what promises to be an eyeopening conversation. I hope you and your loved ones can join us, but above all, I hope young people remember: You’re not alone. Like the song goes in “Dear Evan Hansen,” you, too, will be found.