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STATISTICS ON MENTAL HEALTH

In recent years, the rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide have drastically risen among adolescents. 3.2 million (13%) US adolescents said they had experienced at least one major depressive episode, and of that, nearly 2.4 million are girls (one-in-five girls). Furthermore, adolescent suicide rate has risen by 34% for boys and 82% for girls, making it the 3rd leading cause of death among the group. 

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Around 30% of adolescents have engaged in non-suicidal self-harm, according to a study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
 

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Percentage of adolescents in the US aged between 12 and 17 that suffered at least one major depressive episode. (Aau.edu)

SOCIAL MEDIA

Promoting Mental Illness

Social media is continuously exposing adolescents to content related to suicide and self-harm, and redefining depression to be something beautiful and mysterious, which leads to people who are “wannabe depressed”. Adolescents exposed to this would view and post black and white photos of self-harm, which eventually leads to them believing and feeling they are depressed and becoming just that.

Science

The science behind the correlation between social media and mental health is dopamine. Dopamine a type of neurotransmitter that is the “reward center”, which gives you a sense of pleasure. Using social media causes your brain to release dopamine at a higher level than usual, which leads to dopamine deficiency in people’s brains. This results in health conditions such as Parkinson's disease and depression. 

POOR PARENTING

Two Main Types

Authoritarian 

 Authoritarian parents demand their children to meet high standards but are cold and distant to the child’s emotional needs and wellbeing.

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Authoritarian parenting is highly associated with child abuse by physical mistreatment and emotional manipulation/negligence. This type of parenting usually results in the child being:

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  • Less independent

  • Obedient to parents while hostile and aggressive to others

  • Bad at social skills and feel less socially accepted by peers

  • More likely to develop OCD, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts

  • Unhappy and low self-esteemed

  • Less resilient and bad at handling failure

Neglectful

Neglectful parents are uninvolved in their child’s life with low expectations and do not meet their child’s needs.

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Neglectful parenting is highly associated with the abandonment of parental duties and being uninvolved in the child’s development. This type of parenting usually results in the child being:

 

  • Emotionally withdrawn and fear being dependent on others

  • More impulsive, less self-control

  • Likely to develop Borderline Personality Disorder and mood disorder

  • Undisciplined and exhibit more delinquency 

  • Stressed and anxious due to being forced to provide for themselves at young age

  • At higher risk of substance abuse

SCARCE HELP RESOURCES

There is a severe and escalating shortage of mental health providers in the US. 

Only 17% of attempts to get an appointment for therapist were successful, while the waitlist time ranged from weeks to months, to even a year.

It is estimated that by 2025, the US would have a shortage of over 15000 professionals.

59% of youth with major depression do not receive any mental health care or treatment

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