Mayer said the start of summer is usually an emotionally complicated time for teens and young adults — however, with having to navigate online classes, canceled activities and the sudden loss of social interactions young people are at an even greater risk for mental health issues.
Missing or delaying major developmental milestones like prom, graduation or moving from home to start college or a new job can cause feelings of loss and grief, Mayer said.
“These milestone events are usually accompanied by cultural traditions and rituals that help young adults navigate and celebrate major life changes,” Mayer said. “Not being able to participate in these rituals might feel devastating.”
The feelings of loss and grief can sometimes manifest into more pressing mental health issues like depression and anxiety for the first time, Mayer said.
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“For teens and kids that haven’t really had any troubles and mental health issues, maybe they have never experienced anxiety or outbreaks of anger, or trouble enjoying things, they may see some problems bubble up,” Mayer said.
For teens who may already suffer from mental health issues, or maybe substance abuse, issues may worsen.
But despite the major changes occurring in teens’ life throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the number of teens or families seeking mental health services has remained steady — not spiked like the MHRB anticipated, Mayer said.
“We haven’t seen the surge we have been expecting in the health care field across the board. As care providers, especially in mental health, we were planning for a sharp increase,” Mayer said.
Robert Fitzwater, Director of Behavioral Health at Rocking Horse Community Health Center, agreed with Mayer, as the community health center was also anticipating a spike in service but has yet to see one.
“I’m surprised. Our numbers have been pretty consistent as far as requests for service goes, which is surprising to me that they have stayed constant during the pandemic,” Fitzwater said.
Mayer said she believes there are two reasons why the county hasn’t seen that spike.
The first reason is that people deal with their mental health in their own ways, Mayer said.
“On average, people come forward like 10 years after the fact after they have experienced trauma,” Mayer said. “We all experience symptoms in a different way, whether they don’t know they have symptoms or it’s a fear that they know that there may be a problem and they don’t want to face it.”
The pandemic has made it harder for those in need to reach out too, Mayer said, as it’s kept people confined at home when issues can simmer between teens and parents until they eventually boil over.
“Teens are still developing and learning to become adults. They are often trying on new roles. Maybe they are driving and they are doing things outside of their parents supervision,” Mayer said. “But suddenly they have this need to be at home and given less freedoms than before, there are bound to be some frustration there.”
Another reason services may not have spiked is because of the “stigma,” around mental health, Mayer said.
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“It’s always difficult reaching out for help with mental health. There is very much still a stigma with seeking help and it’s really tough for anyone to reach if they have problems themselves, let alone problems with their child,” Mayer said.
According to the Clark County Combined Health District’s 2019 Clark County Youth Behavior Survey, which monitors a variety of health risks behaviors in high school students, 52.5% of teens ages 12 to 18 reported at least three days in the past 30 days their mental health was not good.
Of that percentage, 39.7% of teens said they rarely or never got help when feeling sad, empty, hopeless, angry or anxious.
That’s why it’s important to watch for behavior changes in teens instead of depending on them to speak openly about mental health issues, Kelly Rigger, CEO of Mental Health Services for Clark & Madison Counties, Inc. and contract care provider of MHRB, said.
“Watch for behavior changes in your teenagers,” Rigger said. “Not all children and teens respond to stress in the same way. Some common changes include increased irritability, difficulty paying attention or concentrating, avoidance of activities enjoyed in the past and unexplained headaches or body pain.”
Rigger asked that parents, “follow their gut,” when it comes to their children’s behavior.
“No one knows them better than you, like are they sleeping too much? Are they eating?” Rigger said.
Mayer said if parents do believe their teen may be experiencing feelings of loss or grief, there are a couple of ways to help them cope like:
• Give them permission to grieve.
“Teens are in a period of their lives where they are starting to define their individuality and how they express that to others,” Mayer said. “Give your teens room to share their feelings and listen without judgment.
• Acknowledge and validate their feelings.
“You can agree with your teen that it’s frustrating or disappointing to miss friends or events,” Mayer said. “Then reassure them of their ability to talk about it and think it through. These skills build resilience to find ways to make the situation bearable.”
• Establish a routine.
Establishing a routine can be helpful in allowing parents to pick out signs of distress if a teen is straying from typical behavior, Mayer said.
“Keeping a consistent sleep schedule, along with regular exercise and mealtime, can help naturally boost teens’ mood and immune systems,” Mayer said.
• Stay connected.
“Help teens maintain their social relationship, even if it means more screen time than normal,” Mayer said.
• Engage in self-care.
Mayer encourages parents and guardians to remember to, “put on your own mask before helping others.”
“Parents can set an example for their teens by openly talking about or demonstrating the ways they cope with stress and helping their teens find healthy strategies that work for them,” Mayer said.
If a parent believes their child might be suffering from more than just temporary feelings of sadness, Mayer stresses that they should seek help immediately.
“Make an appointment and take that first step and get on the books with someone and then share whatever your concerns are. There is no harm in doing that,” Mayer said. “We like to think of it like when a light comes on in your car. You want to take your car in as soon as possible, so it doesn’t get worse and cause more issues.”
Local and national mental health resources available to both teens and parents:
• COVID-19 CareLine: 1-800-720-9616
• Ohio Crisis Text Line: Text “4HOPE” to 741-741
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8245
• Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990, or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 for English or “Hablanos” to 66746 for Spanish
• In case of an emergency, always dial 911
Source: Mental Health Recovery Board of Clark, Greene and Madison County
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